Having Cam Newton healthy for a full season would be a big help to the Carolina Panthers. (Photo credit: PDA.PHOTO / Foter / CC BY-ND)
The most mediocre division in the NFL is also the most competitive. The NFC South looks like a toss-up between the Falcons, Panthers and Saints, especially after Carolina won the division last year with a record below .500.
With the 2015 NFC South betting odds so close between the three teams, let’s see if any one of them has the edge.
Atlanta
The Falcons stumbled to a 6-10 showing last year. Long-time coach Mike Smith got the blame, getting fired, but it might have been more about age catching up to the Falcons.
Atlanta hasn’t replaced TE Tony Gonzalez, and WR Roddy White has slown down. That leaves QB Matt Ryan without many options other than WR Julius Jones. The Falcons have gotten rid of plodding RB Steven Jackson and brought in a couple of speedy young backs, but their offensive line is still a weakness and Ryan will be left to do a lot on his own again this season.
The Falcons used the draft to patch up their defence, addressing concerns with their pass rush and in the secondary. Atlanta has an easy schedule, with its toughest non-divisional opponents being the Eagles, Giants (in New York) and Cowboys (in Dallas). A .500 season seems to be a realistic goal, which could be enough to win the NFC South, but we don’t think the Falcons have it in them.
Carolina
Carolina was ridiculed for winning the NFC South last year with a 7-8-1 record, but we think the Panthers were much better than they let on.
First of all, Carolina started the year with a 3-8-1 record before catching fire to win five in a row, including a playoff contest. Secondly, Panthers QB Cam Newton was involved in a serious car accident during the year and was not capable of playing his physical style much of the season. Finally, Carolina made some adjustments to its defence halfway through the year and allowed just 15 points per game in its last six contests.
The Panthers aren’t perfect. Their offensive line isn’t great, Newton turns the ball over too much and they don’t have much at the WR position. But Greg Olsen is a stud at TE, Jonathan Stewart is a solid RB (as long as he stays healthy) and Carolina has an easy schedule. We see the Panthers as the favourite in this division.
New Orleans
There are big changes in the Big Easy this year as the Saints, coming off a 7-9 season, have overhauled their entire offence.
In a stunning deal, New Orleans sent TE Jimmy Graham to Seattle for the Seahawks’ starting centre. That might seem like nothing in return, but centres are very important to the running game, and that’s the direction the Saints are going. Drew Brees is 36 years old now and coming off one of the worst years in his career, so New Orleans hopes to hand the ball off more and play more conservatively. Signing RB C.J. Spiller could go a long way towards making that successful.
The Saints spent six of their first eight draft picks on defence, a good idea considering that unit was awful one year ago. New Orleans’ defensive line is good, but they’re still weak at linebacker and not great in the secondary.
Like the rest of their division, the Saints benefit from an easy schedule. The NFC South will come down to winning the divisional games. The Saints are capable of winning the NFC South, but we don’t think they will.
Tampa Bay
The silver lining in an awful 2-14 campaign last year for the Bucs was that they were able to take sought-after QB Jameis Winston in the draft.
Winston is a big upgrade over what Tampa had, but he comes with a history of off-the-field issues and is also very turnover-prone. He does have a decent offensive line to protect him, though, and young RBs and WRs that should improve throughout the year.
Unfortunately for Tampa, they spent so much time fixing up their offence that they didn’t do much to improve their leaky defence. Tampa’s defensive line is bad, their linebackers are bad, and their secondary is VERY bad. Even though they only play one playoff team from last year in their first 10 games (a division game against Carolina), the Bucs are a long way from competing for a title, even in the weak NFC South.
2015 NFC South Betting Odds at Pinnacle Sports
Click here to go back to NFL Division Previews Main Page