If you were looking for the NFL’s red-headed stepchild last season, you just needed to aim your gaze southward. Follow the sun, if you will, to the states of South Carolina, Georgia, Louisiana and Florida because it was a complete mess down there.
The Carolina Panthers won the division and got a playoff home game (one they actually won over the Arizona Cardinals 27-16) with a losing record of 7-8-1. Pitiful and, of course, the entire NFC South was that same kind of bad scene. Will we get a scene change this year?
I think at least one team will make it happen.
Atlanta Falcons
2015 Projection: 11-5
2014 result: 6-10 (missed playoffs)
The Falcons job was easily the best one available in the NFL last season with a loaded offense that was just in need of a legitimate running back to be successful. All of Atlanta’s trouble was on defense so a defensive coach hire was all but inevitable and the Seattle Seahawks’ Dan Quinn was the man who finally took the golden clipboard of a team that should easily win double-digit games just by taking the field under a competent commander.
Quinn went about rebuilding the defense, first by drafting Vic Beasley Jr. out of Clemson, then brought in two new linebackers, Justin Durant from the Dallas Cowboys and O’Brien Schoffield from the Seahawks.
[related_post_one]
Roddy White begins the season a little banged up, but the Falcons have decent replacement early on in Leonard Hankerson. The biggest addition to the offense is Tevin Coleman out of Illinois who has already been named the starter and should be on your fantasy football team right now. Matt Ryan had a sneaky good season last year of his own, completing 66.1 percent of his passes for 4,694 yards, 28 touchdowns and 14 picks. Put that kind of performance with a decent defense, you’ll be alright. Especially in the NFC South.
Carolina Panthers
2015 Projection: 9-7
2014 result: 7-8-1 (Lost to the Seattle Seahawks in the divisional round )
I expect the Panthers to be a game and a half better, but be left out in the cold come January when the playoffs are seeded. The loss of Kelvin Benjamin is just too big for this team when quarterback Cam Newton counted on him so much in the passing game.
Newton continues to make strides as a quarterback and has just signed a massive new contract extension because of it. He’ll will the Panthers to be in almost every game they play, but just doesn’t have enough help this year to get it done.
[related_post_two]
On defense Luke Kuechly is a star on a unit filled with guys mostly taking up roster spots. The Panthers brought in Charles Tillman for some leadership, but there’s no telling how many games the 13-year veteran will even play after missing almost all of the last two seasons with injuries.
New Orleans Saints
2015 Projection: 8-8
2014 Results: 7-9 (missed playoffs)
The Saints spent the offseason shipping playmakers out of town. Jimmy Graham is now in Seattle and Kenny Stills is playing further southeast in Miami. New Orleans still has some good players on offense with Marques Colston and Brandin Cooks, but Ben Watson is a major drop off from Graham at tight end. Mark Ingram will finally be the feature back they drafted him to be, which is good news for fantasy owners across the country.
Defense, of course, is the Achilles heel of the Saints and will be again. They’ve added pass interference machine Brandon Browner to the secondary. Jarius Byrd still isn’t fully healthy and Cameron Jordan is their only pass rusher teams have any concern about.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
2015 Projection: 4-12
2014 Results: 2-14 (missed playoffs)
The Jameis Winston era begins for real and the Buccaneers will be better, just not much. The Bucs locked in on Winston early and never really seamed to debate it much leading up to the draft. Winston’s slow delivery in the preseason showed up on the tape, leading to incompletions, batted balls and sacks. He did shore it up in game two and it’s no secret that was probably his best performance in the exhibition schedule.
Tampa Bay has plenty of pieces in place from recent drafts and free agent moves at the skill positions, but the offensive line is a work in progress. Head coach Lovie Smith’s Tampa-2 defense is a bend, but don’t break scheme and last year they broke more than Kim Kardashian’s desk chair. There are some stars on that side of the ball too with Gerald McCoy and Levante David. The Bucs just need more pieces and one draft, especially one where a rookie QB was your centerpiece, isn’t going to get it done.
