2015 NFC South Preview

It is finally that time. We're just 11 days away from the start of the NFL season. It's been a long time coming with a lot of fun stuff in between, but there's just something exciting about fall rolling around and the sense in the air of the approach of football.

Over the span of the next few days, on days where I am not doing posts about college football (aka setting up the Death to the BCS Playoffs), I will go through one division at a time and preview what I think will end up happening. Like I do with all my preseason previews, I save the division with the defending champ for last, and work backwards from there.

For more previews, you can check out my friends at UKEndZone, where I will once again be contributing as well during the season. There are a lot of other great football minds on the site as well who have some great viewpoints on various topics, and I encourage you to check them out.

Also, for the fourth straight season I will be picking NFL games against the spread, and for the second year in a row, my friend Adam Quinn will be joining me in these endeavors. Last year I barely beat him in a contest that came down to the final week, so he'll be trying to take the throne again this season. If you are interested in joining us, you can join for free in our ESPN Pigskin Pick 'Em group.

With that out of the way, let's get to our previews. I'm kicking things off with the NFC South this year.

NFC South

Common opponents on schedule: NFC East, AFC South

1. Carolina Panthers
2014: 7-8-1 (1st), lost in Divisional Round
This division is probably the weakest in football again, and even the Panthers took a hit from last year. Cam Newton is still around and a threat, Jonathan Stewart is now the go-to back, and there are some weapons still in place for Newton to throw to, even with the loss of Kelvin Benjamin. The defense isn't bad this year either, though I do wonder about the secondary. Adding Charles Tillman, while he's up there in years, is still a decent move to bolster the back end, and I'm not concerned about the front. Having a fairly easy schedule overall helps them too to win the division for a third straight year.
2015 Prediction: 9-7

2. New Orleans Saints
2014: 7-9 (2nd), missed playoffs
Drew Brees is out his favorite weapon with the Jimmy Graham trade, but he still has plenty of toys to work with. Marques Colston and Brandin Cooks make for a decent 1-2 punch at receiver, and while Benjamin Watson is a definite downgrade at tight end, he's still not terrible and has a very good quarterback throwing to him. We'll probably see more of a reliance on the running backs this year though, with Mark Ingram seemingly poised to take a star role in the offense, while C.J. Spiller can break some big gains on the outside. New Orleans also got one of the big defections of the offseason with the Brandon Browner signing. If he's healthy, he can really be an asset to their secondary. I think the Saints will be fine this year, and after a long drought, I see them back in the postseason.
2015 Prediction: 9-7, Wild Card

3. Atlanta Falcons
2014: 6-10 (3rd), missed playoffs
Atlanta has been having some protection issues with their offensive line during the preseason, and while I'm sure at some point they will get solved, I doubt it will be in time to save their season. Matt Ryan is still a good quarterback, and he has two elite weapons to go to in Julio Jones, who just signed a new contact, and Roddy White. The big question for them, obviously, is if both can stay healthy. If they can, they might overachieve. On defense, Vic Beasley is an intriguing first round starter at defensive end, and new coach Dan Quinn will be a boon to this defense, but I don't think they can catch the top teams of this division, at least not this year.
2015 Prediction: 6-10

4. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
2014: 2-14 (4th), missed playoffs
I'll go on record and say this: I think Jameis Winston is overrated. Yes, he has a good arm and the talent to play quarterback in the NFL, but I don't like his off-the-field reputation, and he has that tendency to throw picks at bad times. He's a definite upgrade over what Tampa had last year at the position though, and he's got weapons in Vincent Jackson and Mike Evans. Problem is, I don't like their defense. Gerald McCoy is a good piece at defensive tackle, and their linebacking corps is okay, but their defense as a whole has too many former Bears who weren't even that good in Chicago. Major Wright? Khaseem Greene? Henry Melton? Chris Conte?! The Bucs will be better than they were last season, but there's still some building that needs to be done.
2015 Prediction: 6-10

I'll be back at the preview game tomorrow with a look at the AFC South.