NFC South:Expected the Unexpected
The NFL is divided up into eight divisions of equal rank, stature and athletic abilities. But of all these divisions, it’s the NFC South which stands alone as the living testament of the golden rule of football: Anything can happen on any given Sunday, so brace yourself and expect the unexpected.
For the past seven years the last place team from the year before has somehow always managed to make the play-offs in the season that followed; the NFC South moves like the changing winds.
In the eight-year history of the division there has yet to be a single repeat play-off qualifier. This strange trend, consistent only in its inconsistency has caused many to ask themselves: where exactly is this going this year? In answer to that question, here is a run-down of what the NFC South has in store for football fans in the upcoming 2010-2011 season.
Let’s start with last season’s inspirational rags-to-riches Cinderella story, the New Orleans Saints. They tied the Minnesota Vikings and the Indianapolis Colts with 34 touchdown passes last season, and that was the league best.
The league average completion percentage was about 61%; the Saints on the other hand had 70%. Drew Brees knows how to pass and the team knows how to finish a play.
In fact, last year the New Orleans Saints became the fifth team in the last decade to break past the 500-point barrier in one season. They scored 510. They spread the field; they position themselves like an army of Spartans; the way they move is strategic, almost surgical; they will take apart your defences and watch you squirm.
So what do they have going against them? The defence, which is turnover-based is weak on the pass. In fact their pass defence is ranked about 26th in the league right now; they surrendered over 235 yards per game through the pass. If they want to make their way to the top of their stack this year, they’ll need to tighten that up.
Now onto those dirtiest of birds, the Atlanta Falcons. The Falcons are very reliant on the power running of Michael Turner, which is a problem since he injured himself last year. They say he’s back, and maybe with the help of up-and-coming quarterback Matt Ryan, the Falcons have a chance of making a bigger dent in their division this year, but the only way that’s possible is if their quarterback Matt Ryan does in fact step up and come down with some fierce game this season. I would normally think this to be beyond them, but this is the NFC South, and out here, anything goes.
If they improve their passing defence and put pressure on the quarterback, sky might just be the limit for the 2011 Falcons.
The Carolina Panthers, very much like their namesake, are runners, stalkers, and hunters. Only two teams bested them in running the ball last season and those teams were the Jets and the Titans.
The killer combination of Jonathan Stewart and DeAngelo Williams in the backfield is enough to make any defensive line weary. The pair created and broke a new NFL record by both reaching 1100 yards in 2009 and due to the fact both these guys are younger than 30 there is still plenty of room for Carolina to expand on that and build a stealthy, sleek, offence around them.
The problem is the passing game and their lack of any reliable pass-catchers. If they can manage to engineer a brilliant passing game (and that’s up to the coach to instil) then perhaps the panthers can claw their way up the rankings this season.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers know how to defend the pass; in fact, they’ll steal the ball right out of your hand if you give them the chance. Unfortunately that just won’t be enough to take them anywhere this year. Their leader is the late, great Ronde Barber, and when I say late and great I just mean that as a man approaching the half-century mark he might need to add a walker to his equipment list if he’s thinking of playing any more seasons after this one.
Add to that the fact that their run defence is deplorable, their line-backing is insulting and their safety is nowhere near up to scratch. It’s awful, but every cloud has a silver lining. With their new defensive tackles, Gerald McCoy and Brian Price, who knows what the future holds for these ever-swashbuckling Buccaneers.
The NFC South is the most shocking division in the NFL. For the past seven years they’ve constantly and consistently surprised us with turnarounds and Cinderella stories, with epic failures and miracle successes. Perhaps there is no sense in attempting to predict what will happen this season. The one thing we know for sure is that they’re consistently inconsistent. So where exactly is it going this year? Wherever the wind takes it, and there’s precious little anyone can do to foresee that.
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