New Orleans Saints
You can’t start a discussion of the Saints offense without Drew Brees being front and center. Brees is 41-years old, he missed five games last year and still nearly threw for 3000 yards. The team has utility man Taysom Hill behind him but they hedged their bet by bringing in Jameis Winston also. This team will only go as far as Brees takes them and this may be his last season so he plans to make it count. WR Michael Thomas proved he’s one of, if not the best, WRs in the game last year and he is Brees’ favorite target. They did finally find Thomas a legit #2 WR to take some pressure off of him by bringing in veteran Emmanuel Sanders, he is a major improvement at the position. TE Jared Cook was also a solid weapon for Brees but he’s not getting any younger either. The other major offensive weapon is RB Alvin Kamara. He had to take over more of the running game last year after Mark Ingram left but Kamara is a dangerous player running or receiving and that’s what makes him special. The offensive line has been one of the better ones for the past several years. LT Terron Armstead, LG Andrus Peat and RT Ryan Ramczyk are established, high-level veterans. Erik McCoy stepped in at center last season and proved quite capable. This year, RG Cesar Ruiz was drafted in the first round and he steps in immediately. The line shouldn’t miss a beat and that should keep the offense humming.
The Saints defense doesn’t usually get mentioned with the best defenses in the NFL but Dennis Allen has done an excellent job for several years now and the they more than hold up their end. Cam Jordan is one of the best and least talked about DEs in the game. In the past seven years he’s had double digit sacks five times. They drafted Marcus Davenport two years ago to be the starter opposite Jordan and it’s time for him to really show up. Sheldon Rankins and Malcolm Brown are really good DTs even if people talk even less about them than they do Jordan. At LB, Demario Davis is the elder statesman and he has proven to be an effective blitzer for Dennis Allen’s defense. Alex Anzalone and Kaden Ellis are two young guys the team is trying to develop. Keep an eye on rookie Zack Baun, he may not be a full-time player for them yet but he may be a situational guy that can make a difference. CB Marshon Lattimore is a star at the position and the team got Janoris Jenkins from the Giants to play opposite him. Janoris Jenkins has always been a talented CB with some off-the-field issues that sometimes get in the way of his abilities. The team signed one-time Saint Malcolm Jenkins to come back at safety to give the back end of the defense a smart, steady veteran presence. He’s a leader they hope will solidify the defense overall. Marcus Williams is an emerging talent at the other spot they hope will learn from Malcolm Jenkins going forward.
The Saints have been one of the best teams in the NFL over the past several years and yet they have three consecutive heart-breaking playoff losses that have killed them. This is likely Drew Brees’ last season and I would think Sean Payton and the entire organization will be doing everything they can to win him a second Super Bowl. This is arguably the most talented roster in the NFC, now it’s up to them to get over the playoff hump.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Apparently, the Bucs have new QB, it would be nice if the media covered these kinds of things a little bit. Just to update you, the new Bucs QB is Tom Brady, yes, that Tom Brady. Brady couldn’t be a bigger change from Jameis Winston. Winston was a turnover machine who liked to chuck the ball down the field and hope for the best. Brady is turnover averse, 20 years with Bill Belichick will do that to you, and he’s a better intermediate passer who always knows the best place to go with the ball. This offense will offer Brady the best group of skill position talent he’s worked with since Randy Moss and Wes Welker were his WRs in New England. Mike Evans is a prototypical #1 WR, he’s big, fast and talented. He gives the offense a homerun threat. Chris Godwin is the move-the-chains guy that Brady will go to when he needs to keep a drive alive. Brady convinced Rob Gronkowski to come out of retirement and give it another go down in Tampa but Gronk won’t be alone at TE. The Bucs have OJ Howard, a talented youngster they hope Brady can unleash and Cameron Brate, a steady veteran. The running game consists of Ronald Jones II, LeSean McCoy, rookie Ke’Shawn Vaugh and new addition Leonard Fournette. Jones is the starter for now but that’s only because Fournette just signed. I’m skeptical of Fournette because he’s disappointed for years in Jacksonville but he is the most talented back they have and he’s still young enough to be a real force. McCoy is likely the third down back with Vaughn around for depth. The offensive line wasn’t great last year but Brady will help because he won’t hold the ball too long like Winston did at times. They return four starters; LT Donovan Smith, LG Ali Marpet, C Ryan Jensen and RG Alex Cappa. The only new starter is rookie RT Tristan Wirfs. He’s extremely talented and should prove an upgrade over the departed Demar Dotson.
Most don’t realize that the Bucs actually had a top 10 defense last year overall. Todd Bowles is an excellent defensive coordinator and he brought the best out of so many of his players. The front three has Ndamukong Suh (yes, he’s still around), Vita Vea and William Gholston. They held up pretty well last season. ILBs Lavonte David and Devin White are a playmaking pair that don’t let much get by them. OLB Shaq Barrett was a revelation coming over from Denver after being a part-time pass rushing specialist and became a Defensive Player of the Year candidate under Bowles. Jason Pierre-Paul may not be as dynamic as he once was but he was a solid complement to Barrett. Bowles did a great job with a secondary that is somewhat overmatched. Carlton Davis and Sean Murphy-Bunting were solid at CB. At safety, the team will start rookie Antoine Winfield Jr. and Jordan Whitehead while Justin Evans rehabs an injury. Winfield isn’t the biggest player around but he’s a dynamic guy in the secondary.
This Tampa Bay team should be considerably better than last year simply by having Tom Brady around to not throw 30 interceptions like Jameis Winston. The team will be good but I don’t know if I’m ready to anoint them a Super Bowl team just yet. The NFC has a number of really good teams including one in Tampa’s own division, the Saints. New Orleans, San Francisco, Dallas, Minnesota and Green Bay are all legitimate NFC contenders, it won’t be an easy road to Super Bowl Sunday for anyone.
Atlanta Falcons
The Falcons offense should be good but they need a healthy offensive line, a healthy Todd Gurley and dare I say a better game plan from Dirk Koetter. Matt Ryan somehow turned 35, Julio Jones is 31, Alex Mack will be 35, and Todd Gurley’s knees are 127 years old so this team needs to make a move now. That’s easier said than done in a division with Drew Brees and Tom Brady. Julio Jones is still one of the best WRs in the NFL and Calvin Ridley is an emerging player as his sidekick. Gurley is hoping to reestablish himself as a top RB by carrying the load in Atlanta but I’m skeptical he can stay healthy after a couple of less-than-stellar seasons. The team lost Austin Hooper in free agency and they are hoping to reinvigorate the career of former Ravens’ first-round pick Hayden Hurst. Hurst is talented but he wasn’t used much in Baltimore and their offense uses the TE plenty. The offensive line returns LT Jake Matthews and C Alex Mack, two stalwarts up front. They hope rookie Matt Hennessey can get healthy and take over the starting LG job and be better than James Carpenter. They are hoping their two first-round picks from last season, OG Chris Lindstrom and OT Kaleb McGary, can get healthy, stay healthy and be a top tandem on the right side. There’s a lot of hoping in Atlanta this year as they watch their franchise QB run out of time to win them a Super Bowl.
The defense was a shell of their former selves last year due to injury and ineffectiveness but they played better when Raheem Morris moved from wide receivers’ coach to coaching the secondary last year and he had more input into the defense. Morris is a defensive coach originally and now that he’s taking on the coordinator role it should improve the defense overall. The defensive line welcomes Dante Fowler Jr. who they hope will bring some pass rush from the DE spot. Takkarist McKinley hasn’t broken out yet but the team is still hoping it happens. Grady Jarrett and Tyeler Davison are set to start at DT but look for rookie Marlon Davidson to have an impact. The LB corps will see a major turnover as Deion Jones returns but De’Vondre Campbell left for Arizona and Duke Riley was traded away. Jones is an excellent MLB but he’ll have to direct Mykal Walker and Foyesade Oluokun around due to their inexperience. The secondary will be much improved if Keanu Neal and Damontae Kazee can stay healthy, not having those two last year was devastating. Ricardo Allen is the third safety and he’ll play plenty when they move Neal up to act as more of a LB. Rookie AJ Terrell is going to be counted on to be the teams new #1 CB as they hope Isaiah Oliver can hold down the other spot. It’s a tough assignment for a rookie considering the division houses Mike Evans, Chris Godwin, Michael Thomas and even DJ Moore is improving in Carolina.
I’m not convinced the Falcons can compete within their own division let alone the entire NFC. They have too many aging or injury prone players at important positions. Counting on Todd Gurley’s knees to hold out and carry your running game is not a solid plan at this point. They hope the offensive line is better and that gets them through. This team has a lot of hopes and dreams but I don’t see a lot of solid planning here.
Carolina Panthers
The Panthers are in a state of transition as new head coach Matt Rhule puts his plan in place for long-term success. Rhule is coming in from turning around the Baylor program in college football and he knows this is a rebuild. The team brought in Teddy Bridgewater to hold down the QB spot until they find their permanent solution. This offense will be based on the unbelievable talent of RB Christian McCaffrey. He is one of the most dynamic offensive weapons in the NFL and will almost assuredly go for 1000 yards rushing and 1000 yards receiving, that’s hard to do but he’s done it already. McCaffrey is the one established playmaker on the team but WR DJ Moore is an emerging one. He isn’t in the upper echelon of WRs yet but the kid is still working towards it. He gives Teddy Bridgewater someone to throw to on the outside. The team signed free agent Robby Anderson from the Jets and while he has been productive, he’s not always reliable. He’s better than what they have had and he does bring a downfield element to the offense. Greg Olsen is off to the great northwest so Ian Thomas is left to handle the TE spot, he’s okay but he’s not Olsen. The offensive line is a work in progress. They traded for LT Russell Okung but they had to give up OG Trai Turner to get him. Taylor Moton moves to RT and they hope Matt Paradis has a solid season in the pivot. The guard spots are not stellar and could be an issue.
The Panthers defense is going to be starting at least three rookies right off the bat with safety Jeremey Chinn likely to get plenty of playing time too. The defensive line has two rookie starters; DT Derrick Brown and DE Yetur Gross-Matos. Considering how the d-line was last year, new starters are a good thing. DE Brian Burns and DT Kawann Short are the holdovers and the team expects more from them both. At LB, the team lost future Hall of Famer Luke Kuechly and there is no replacing him. Tahir Whitehead will fill his spot but in no way will he fill his shoes. Shaq Thompson is the strength at LB now as they break in new guys. CB Donte Jackson will be asked to step up and rookie Troy Pride Jr. is slated to start opposite him. Juston Burris and Tre Boston are the safeties and that’s not great. This secondary is going to have problems especially in a division with Drew Brees, Tom Brady and Matt Ryan. Rookie Jeremy Chinn isn’t set to start but part of that might be because the team doesn’t know if he’s better suited to safety or LB so for now he’ll play where they can get him in.
I’m not sure the team is going to be bad enough to be in a position to draft Trevor Lawrence, Jacksonville is going to be hard to beat for the worst team in the league. However, they may be in a position to grab Justin Fields or another QB they like instead. Rhule was given a long contract so he may not reach for a QB if he doesn’t like one and may draft a guy like OT Penei Sewell or a defender he likes. Bridgewater has a three-year deal and Rhule’s is even longer, he doesn’t have to hurry.
The Hott Read 