Team Previews

Atlanta

What is being built in Atlanta should last for a while.  The Falcons have made the playoffs two of the last three seasons.  Last year saw them finish with a 13-3 record.  Their best since 1998 when they made it to their only Super Bowl appearance.  Unfortunately they were eliminated by the eventual Super Bowl champion Green Bay Packers in the Divisional Round last year.  The Falcons were exposed as weak defensively and short on offensive weapons. That should be different this year.

Atlanta’s head coach Mike Smith has been fortunate to have a franchise quarterback in Matt Ryan play so well at the beginning of his career.  Without that the Falcons would be an average team. Ryan has the good fortune of having one of the best wide receivers in Roddy White to throw to.  White’s career year last season has put him among the best pass catchers in the game. To go along with White, the Falcons acquired TE Tony Gonzalez back in 2009. He had a bit of down year last year, but they still consider him an elite pass catcher and safety net for Ryan. Drafting WR Julio Jones was seen by some as a risk.  Not because of Jones, but because of how much they gave to move up and draft him.  Five draft picks is what the Falcons gave to acquire Jones.  But after what happened last year against Green Bay, Atlanta had to get more talent for QB Matt Ryan.  Expect Ryan’s numbers to be even better this season.  Even with all the success at quarterback, Atlanta is still a run first team.  RB Michael Turner is a workhorse. He had a nice return from an injury plagued 2009 last year.  Turner should continue to be the top back, but expect rookie RB Jacquizz Rodgers to see some time in passing situations.

The Falcons solved a major problem on the defense last year by signing CB Dunta Robinson.  They were among the top teams in interceptions last year.  It also saw the emergence of CB Brent Grimes as a perfect complement to Robinson.  Another problem arose last year and that was the lack of a pass rush.  DE John Abraham had 13 sacks last year, but the next player had only 4. Atlanta hopes they solved this problem by signing DE Ray Edwards.  He was a major force for Minnesota’s pass rush playing opposite DE Jared Allen.  The Falcons hope the same will happen with Edwards playing opposite Abraham.  At linebacker the Falcons need LB Curtis Lofton and LB Sean Weatherspoon to be consistent performers in the middle of the field.  Both have high motors and are excellent in coverage.

New Orleans

They play in the toughest division in football and that’s a good thing for the Saints.  It helps that you play against top competition within your own division.  The Saints fought hard to get by Tampa Bay to clinch a playoff spot last year behind Atlanta who won the NFC South.  New Orleans knows that this year won’t be any easier with Atlanta making adjustments and Tampa Bay staying intact.  But when you have Sean Payton as your head coach and Drew Brees as your quarterback, New Orleans knows they will always have a chance.

QB Drew Brees was turnover prone last year.  His 22 interceptions last year were the highest of his career.  He knows he needs to improve in that area.  And it should help that the Saints are improving the running game.  They ranked near the bottom last year.  That was due to injuries and inconsistent play.  RB Pierre Thomas should be fully healthy now.  RB Reggie Bush was traded. And New Orleans drafted Heisman trophy winning RB Mark Ingram. Signing RB Darren Sproles should prove to be one of if not the best free agent acquisition of the season.  Sproles is a better fit in this offense than Reggie Bush was.  Brees still has WR Marques Colston to throw to.  He’s a big target and when healthy is among the best receivers in the game.  WR Robert Meachem is becoming more comfortable in the offense, but he needs to step up and become a reliable second receiver.  WR Lance Moore is a good slot receiver and a favorite target of Brees.  TE Jimmy Graham will have a big season.  He became Brees’ security blanket late last season as injuries mounted for TE Jeremy Shockey.

The elite part of the Saints defense is their secondary.  S Malcolm Jenkins is becoming one of the best in the NFL.  He’s made the transition from corner to safety look easy, but it’s not.  His coverage skills are among the best and is getting better in run support.  CB Jabari Greer and CB Tracy Porter are still improving. They are great cover corners and aren’t intimidated by bigger receivers.  LB Jonathan Vilma is the leader of this defense.  He’s an excellent run stuffer and very deceptive in coverage.  The lack of a consistent push on the line didn’t stop him from having another stellar season.  Expect the Saints to be much better against the run this year now that they’ve signed DT Shaun Rogers and NT Aubrayo Franklin.  Both are excellent run stuffers and will help keep blockers off Vilma.  DE Will Smith and DT Sedrick Ellis will benefit also as the best pass rushers on defense.

Tampa Bay

It’s amazing to think that after firing Jon Gruden in 2009 that current head coach Raheem Morris would have the Bucs back as contenders just two years later.  One thing Morris does have that Gruden didn’t is a franchise quarterback.  Morris has handed the reins to QB Josh Freeman on offense and Morris himself has turned around a flat defense.  Tampa Bay is primed to make some noise this season, but with New Orleans and Atlanta making moves, the Bucs stood back and kept some of their own instead of going after big name players.  It could come back to haunt them.

All the confidence of the organization was given to QB Josh Freeman last season.  His career year was no fluke as he had a good running game to take pressure off him in the middle of games.  His late game heroics instantly took him to the top of his draft class which included QB Matthew Stafford and QB Mark Sanchez.  The only thing left is to see what Freeman can do in the playoffs.  Tampa Bay will be without former 1st round pick RB Cadillac Williams.  Instead they will hand the job to RB LeGarrette Blount who was an unstoppable force for three quarters of the season.  If Blount can repeat that production, the Bucs can expect a 1,500 yard rushing season from him.  Freeman developed a great repertoire with WR Mike Williams and WR Arrelious Benn. Both were rookies last year, but didn’t play like rookies at times. Especially Williams who is the top receiver going into this season. TE Kellen Winslow showed why he is to be considered one of the best tight ends in football.  Part of Freeman’s heroics last year came when Winslow was making drive saving catches at crucial times.

Morris knows that he needed the defense to play well if the Bucs were to be playoff contenders last year.  They were until a late season defeat to the Lions ended that opportunity.  Tampa Bay’s major flaw was the lack of a pass rush last year.  That will change with the additions of rookie DE Adrian Clayborn and DE Da’Quan Bowers.  The Bucs were fortunate to have Bowers fall where he did.  He’s a first round talent that fell to the 2nd round due to injury concerns.  They won’t be using him often, but he will certainly play on passing downs.  Clayborn is a high motor defensive end that can be a good run stuffer off the edge.  DT Gerald McCoy struggled at times last year, but looked much more comfortable as the season progressed.  Expect a big year from him.  CB Ronde Barber and CB Aqib Talib are a good duo, but it’s hard to believe that Barber can continue to produce at such a high level for much longer.  Talib’s off field issues might affect him this year, but he’s still a reliable corner.  Especially against taller receivers.  Tampa Bay could see a drop off at linebacker.  They figure to start rookie LB Mason Foster who is reminding some of LB Hardy Nickerson. LB Quincy Black is becoming a Pro-Bowl caliber player.  Each year he’s showing major improvements from the previous season.

Carolina

Everything that could go wrong, did go wrong for the Panthers last year.  Their head coach John Fox had suddenly lost his fire.  They had no reliable quarterback.  The injuries were piling up.  There was a lot of talk about big name players leaving as free agents.  The lockout was probably a good thing for Carolina.  It gave everyone time to step back and take a deep breath.  New head coach Ron Rivera is getting his first chance to show what he can do at the helm.  He has established a new gameplan and will have a new quarterback to lead the way.  Even better news was most of their high profile free agents returned to right this ship.

It will be tough to gauge just how the quarterback situation will play out in Carolina.  QB Jimmy Clausen was considered to be the most ready of last years quarterback class to play.  However, he looked lost and had almost no protection as Panthers quarterbacks were sacked 50 times.  This year he sees competition coming from the 1st overall pick QB Cam Newton.  The Heisman trophy winning quarterback from Auburn had a tremendous season for the Tigers last year, but the NFL is a whole other ball game.  Clausen should be the starter, but Newton might see some time late in the season. Whoever the quarterback is, he will have some weapons to throw to.  Carolina acquired TE Jeremy Shockey and TE Greg Olsen in separate deals.  Both are great pass catching tight ends who will provide a great check down option in the passing game.  WR Steve Smith has decided to give this new coaching staff a shot and returned as a model citizen after a tumultuous end to last year. His presence will help fellow WR Brandon LaFell and WR David Gettis develop.  RB DeAngelo Williams was re-signed and with RB Jonathan Stewart the Panthers should still have one of the best running back duos in the NFL.

Rivera’s speciality is on defense.  He was a big part of what the Bears built on defense under head coach Lovie Smith and was instrumental in turning around the Chargers defense.  John Fox was becoming predictable defensively.  Didn’t take too many chances.  That’s the total opposite with Rivera.  He will expect DE Charles Johnson to repeat his 11.5 sack performance last year. Johnson was given a hefty pay raise and will be counted on to meet those expectations.  On the interior the Panthers did draft DT Terrell McClain and DT Sione Fua with their 3rd round picks.  Both aren’t expected to start right away, but they will help in the rotation which was abysmal last year.  All three starting linebackers were re-signed to long term contracts.  LB Jon Beason is the leader in the middle.  Rivera wants his linebackers to be active not just in coverage, but rushing the passer.  That will play to Beason and LB Thomas Davis strengths.  Both are quick off the line.  LB James Anderson isn’t the best pass rusher, but can cover some of the best receivers in the league.  The focus for next year will probably be getting a shut down corner.  CB Chris Gamble has struggled to be that guy.  He’s still their best cover corner, but hasn’t been able to play very often.  S Charles Godfrey is becoming the leader of the secondary.  He’s excellent in coverage and isn’t afraid to make a tackle in run support.