2011 NFC South Predictions
Written by Steve Janus
The NFC South featured three of the conferences best teams in 2010. The New Orleans Saints won the division on their way to a Super Bowl title in 2009, but were overtaken by the Atlanta Falcons in 2010. The Falcons finished with an NFC-best 13-3 mark in the regular season, while the Saints earned a wild card spot with an 11-5 record. Both teams seasons ended rather quickly in the playoffs. New Orleans was upset at Seattle in the first round, while the Falcons got rolled at home by the Packers.
The team that really caught a lot of peoples attention was the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who went 10-6 after compiling a 3-13 record in 2009. The Buccaneers just missed out on making the playoffs, as they lost a tie-breaker with the Packers for the final wild card spot. The Carolina Panthers didn’t figure to be much of a factor in 2010, but few expected this team to finish 2-14, which was the worst record of any team in the NFL.
This division is without question one of the most competitive in the NFL, and things could get really interesting if Cam Newton ends up being a star in Carolina. Here is a quick look at how I see the division playing out in 2011.
1. New Orleans Saints – I look for the Saints to return to the top of the division in 2011. The injuries to the running game really forced this team to throw the ball way too much, and as a result Brees threw a career-high 22 interceptions. The running game should be as good as it has been with the addition of rookie Mark Ingram and free agent Darren Sproles. The defense was strong again in 2010, finishing 4th in total defense. Look for Brees and the Saints offensive attack to carry them to a 12-13 win season.
T-2. Atlanta Falcons -Atlanta took a huge gamble by trading away a number of draft picks for wide out Julio Jones, as they had more than just a hole at wide receiver to address. They went out and added free agent defensive end Ray Edwards to sure up the pass rush, but they didn’t do anything to improve their secondary that was picked apart by Rodgers and the Packers in the playoffs. The offense will have to be great for the Falcons to defend as division champs.
T-2. Tampa Bay Buccaneers -What a remarkable turnaround it was for head coach Raheem Morris and the Buccaneers. This is the youngest team in the NFL, and I wonder how they are going to respond to the hype after finishing 10-6. This team needed to come from behind in a lot of their wins. I think they will improve as a team, but I don’t think they will top their record from a year ago.
4. Carolina Panthers – The Panthers will be an interesting team to watch to start the season, as their poor 2010 finish allowed them to use the No. pick in the draft on Newton. The quarterback play was awful for the Panthers in 2010, which has me thinking that Newton could have this team surprising a lot of people in 2011. They have a dangerous running game behind a strong offensive line, and a very underrated defense that had to spend so much time on the field in 2010. I could see this team winning as many as seven games, but my gut feeling is they will finish 5-11.
Individual Team NFL Season Predictions
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