Well now that the first week of the NFL preseason has come and gone let's take a look at some players from each NFC South team who stood out amongst their teamates.

Atlanta Falcons : QB Matt Ryan looked good starting his first game in the NFL.  In his limited time behind center he passed for 113 yds and a touchdown while going 9-of-15 passing. Not bad for a rookie and a team without much hopes of making any noise at all this season.

His lone touchdown pass was a 25-yard strike to Roddy White with 10:55 remaining in the first half. White slipped behind the defense on the play and caught the pass as he worked his way into the endzone. 

The First team defense also played pretty well considering they started a rookie former LSU CB Chevis Jackson and three second year players Brent Grimes, Tony Taylor and Jamaal Anderson.

Carolina Panthers : DeAngelo williams stood out the most to me on the offensive side of the ball scoreing twice on the ground. He looked to be healthy and pretty quick when running the ball. He's a player the Panthers will rely upon this season to help take the load off QB Jake delhomme. He finished the night with 55 yards on nine carries for the night for an impressive 6.1-yard average.

Big props to the offensive line as well during these runs. The holes they created were huge enough that the worst RB in the league might have been able to look impressive going through.

The defensive line looked really impressive especially Juluis Peppers who forced a fumble and on another play his pressure caused an errant pass which turned into an interception. Peppers is looking to rebound after a mediocre 2007 season.

Tampa Bay : I wasn't all that impressed with the Buc's offense against a very weak Miami defense. Although they were without starting QB Jeff Garcia none of the other QB's showed me that if Garcia goes down they'd be able to carry this team to the playoffs. RB Michael Bennet had a very nice game. He  finished the game with 74 yards and a touchdown on 19 carries plus a game-high four receptions for 16 yards.

The defense on the other hand looked like the same Tampa defense we've come to know and expect. CB Ronde Barber had the Bucs' first sack, forced a fumble and tied for the team lead with three tackles.

The defense didn't allow a play longer than 21 yards, not bad for just a half days work. The Buccaneers' starters on defense made an impressive debut in the opening quarter. Miami's first drive was a quick three-and-out — two running plays that went nowhere and an incompletion that was momentarily ruled a fumble.

New Orleans : WR Robert Meachem was the best player for the Saints who opened their preseason on thurs. night in Arizona.  He had two highlight catches on the night. A short run brought up a third-and-10 and Brunell fired a 49-yard pass to a diving Meachem at the Cardinals’ 3 yard-line. However his TD catch and run was the most impressive. He caught a pass across the middle of the field and broke three tackles en route to a 60-yard TD that gave the Saints a 24-10 lead in the fourth quarter.

 QB Drew Brees went six-for-seven passing on the first drive for 35 yards, including a perfectly thrown pass on third-and-goal from the Cardinals’ 7 yard-line to WR David Patten for a score.

The defense didn't look all that good to me and even though they gave up no huge plays and kept everything in front of them, they still allowed Arizona to make those catches pretty much uncontested. The Saints still have plenty kinks to work out and hopefully look better in the next game when most of the starting defense will get a chance to play a few downs.

All the offseason talk about who will be the top teams in the NFC this season doesn't include any team from the South division. Most people want to already crown the Dallas Cowboys the conference champs. Seattle gets talked about as one team who should make as much noise as it's fans.  Greenbay is still for whatever reason a playoff team in most peoples minds even without the future HOF QB Brett Favre. Nobody is giving a team from the NFC South much respect.

Not last years division winner Tampa. Nope not the New Orleans Saints and it's High Powerd offense. Neither is Carolina whose QB is back in the saddle after off-season elbow Surgery and a new feature back rookie Jonathan Stewart, not to mention one of the best WR in the game Steve Smith. As for the Falcons it's obvious why nobody is giving them a snowballs chance in hell to be much of anything.

So this has got me to thinking why is this so? Is it because each team from the South division was subpar last season? Surely that can't be what it is. It's a new year and new players to fill in the holes that plagued each last season. Is it because of all four teams the Saints are the only to not make a Superbowl and only Tampa has won one?  Nobody can be naive enough to believe that'll happen for as long as the NFL exist.

So I'll break down the teams how I see it and try to come up with something that seems to have flown past me but most can see clearly.

   The Panthers have always been a tough team with the exception of last season. With Delhomme injured and a QB like David Carr running the show it wasn't surprising. This off-season though Jake will be back but his affectivness after having Tommy John sugery is questionable. Can he be affective enough to get the ball into the best player they have hands enough to be succesful? I think he can and with Muhsin Muhammad back that'll give him another option that the team lacked big last season.

The Panthers also added D.J. Hackett who can be a good third option as well. Also with a backfield consisting of DeAngelo Williams and rookie first round pick Jonathan Stewart handling the rushing attack it'll take some pressure off of Delhomme. The offense needs to make it happen and score as often as possible. Last season they only avg. 16.7 points a game. I can't see that happening all over again.

The defense is where they are sorely lacking in my opinion. Julius Peppers has to find himself and play with more intensity. He's the leader of that side of the ball, although I just don't think he has the fire anymore to produce like he once did. With Dan Morgan and Ruckers hanging up the pads, this defense is a shell of what it once was.

So I see them finishing third in the division. Until they can add some more peices to the defense I'll not change my opinion on this one.

Prediction: 8-8 and no playoffs for this group.

  Tampa is the defending division winner from last season. Now I do believe they were a product of a horrible division of which they were a little better than the rest. However this season they are better than last. Earnest Graham was  surprising to say the least and should be a good RB again this season. He has good speed to go along with power.

Jeff Garcia is and always has been a good QB who knows how to win games. His pocket presence is very good and knows how to get the ball into the ageless wonder and speedster Joey Galloways hands. WR Ike Hilliard had a very good season as well as the #2 man. They could however use more production from Michael Clayton who was virtualy a no show last year.

On the defensive side of the ball Tampa is still Tampa. They've always played with good intensity and seem to be in the right place at the right time. With Gains Adams coming along at DE, and LB Derrick Brooks still giving teams fits, I stll think this is the strength of this team. Ronde Barber is a very good vet. and with a draft pick like Aquib Talib the DB's who ranked 1st in the league in passing yards allowed should be just about as good.

They'll push for another division title but I see them falling short. Although if they do win it I'll not be surprised one bit.

Prediction: 9-7 possible wildcard, who knows depends on the rest of the conference records.

 New Orleans was probably the biggest disappointment of any team last season. I know it was for me atleast. For the first four games I thought I was watching the same Saints Jim Haslett coached his last season. They had spurts of looking like the 2006 Saints here and there but without Deuce McAlister on the field, I'm not sure the could have beaten the Raiders. Deuce is coming off his second knee Surgery in 3 seasons. Although it isn't the same knee as the first, can he really shake back and be the powerful runner he was in '06? That's a question that remains to be answerd.

Drew Brees in my opinion has been the best QB the past two seasons. He's done almost as much as Peyton Manning or Tom Brady with less talented wideouts. I fully expect him to continue producing in the passing game again this season. With the gem they found in Marquis Colston, who seems to catch everything thrown his way, why shouldn't I? Word is from the Saints personel that second year WR and last years first round pick Robert Meachem has taken big strides after sitting out all of last season with a nagging injury.

Throw in rookie Adrian Arrington who is also getting rave reviews from coaches, hell push Devery Henderson for the #3 reciever position. Bush ramains a mystery to me still. I'm not ready to say he can carry the load if Deuce isn't able to produce. Although I like Pierre Thomas and what he has shown so far.

The defense of the Saints was sicking and that's putting it lightly. Although they were 13th in the league against the run, teams were able to mix it up and make huge plays over the top in the passing game. That'll not happen again this season as and First round pick Sedrick Ellis will be a force to be reckon with. He'll apply pressure up the middle on QB's and not allowing them to sit back and burn the DB's. Also he is a monster at stuffing the run. Ellis has the speed to move lateral and long arms to reach out and tackle RB's trying to bounce outside. That'll force offenses to double up on him freeing up the Saints very good DE's.

Free agent pickup Jonathan Vilma was a huge acquisition for them. The former DROY will pay big dividends for the Saints this season. Mike McKenzies injury is a concern but 2nd year CB Usama Young has looked good and coach Payton is impressed with rookie Tracy Porter so far.

I think the Saints have the right players and attitude to win the division. With the only real competition comeing from Tampa.

Prediction:10-6 maybe better if Duece can bust loose once again. I do however see them getting to the second round of the playoffs atleast.

    The Atlanta Falcons have more issues than playboy magazine. Sure they have gotten a pretty good QB in Matt Ryan who someday may have their fans forgeting the whole Mike Vick thing. However this team has some character issues all over the place. I'm not to sure a first year coach with a rookie QB can change that in one season. As a tam they ranked almost dead last in well everything.

Former Saints WR  Joe Horn(we still love you here Joe) is looking for a window to fly out of after just one very unproductive season. After that the only recievers with a name is Michael Jenkins who is very incosistant and Brian Finneran who'll never be much of anything more than he already is.

Jerious Norwood showed he can run at times but it'll take more than just a descent run game to get these falcons flying. Although they did pickup a nice free-agent in Michael Turner but will he be able to do the same in Atlanta as he did filling in for L.T in San Diego? I highly doubt it, but one never truely knows.

On the otherside it get's no better a sfar as big names go. Sure there is John Abraham,Keith Brooking and Lawyer Milloy but both Milloy and Brookings are old vets and probably in the decline of their careers. Gone is CB DeAngelo Hall who although had attitude problems he was a top 3 CB in this league.

Now they'll rely heavily on young CB's and who knows rookie Chevis Jackson from LSU just might be the best one they have. It will be quite some years befor this team is ready to compete with the rest of the division much more the league itself. Sucks to be a Falcons fan right now because I'm pretty sure a Miami like '07 season is in store for this team.

Yeah as you guessed it they'll finish dead last in the division if not the whole conference or league. Whew! glad that's over with I was getting depressed just typing about them.

Prediction: 5-11 maybe worse depends on if the team implodes or not. This is giving them the benifit of the doubt.

So there it is ladies and gentleman my breakdown of the NFC South teams and possible likely finishes. Feel free to add your opinion or just tell me I took one to many blows to the head. I look forward to your comments.

 We all know that there are some teams that will be contenders for this season. The Patriot, Colts, Steelers and Cowboys are almost sure to be some of those teams. What about some other teams. There are some we thought had a sure shot and some we never gave much chance to. I'm going to take this opportunity and look at some teams and break down whether they are contenders or pretenders this 2007 season.

Cleveland Browns- The Browns signed RB Jamal Lewis in the off season to help in the running game. They also have TE Kellen Winslow who they was expecting to return and put up some good numbers. QB derrick Anderson so far has looked good and makes you wonder what Coach Crennel was thinking during training camp. The Browns offense is pretty good. they are 4th in the league in scoring avg. 27.8 a game. 8th in total yds with 354.5 a game. 9th in passing yds posting 293.3 a game and 15th in rushing with an avg. of 115.2 yds a game. The problem with this team is defense. They are almost dead last in every catogory. That's not good because we all know defenses win championships. So at this time I will have to say they are: Pretenders

Minnesota Vikings- This is a team comeing into this season we knew had a pretty good run defense. They drafted RB Adrian Peterson in the first round hopeing to help out the offense that was not all that good last year. Peterson leads the league in rushing so far this season. He is an outstanding rookie but the Vikes lack a passing attack and I think that is what has lead them to haveing only two wins so far this season. Not to mention they can't stop other teams from throwing the ball all over them. They do not give up many points on defense and it's hard to run against them but until I see more consistant play from them they are: Pretenders

Jacksonville Jaguars- This is a team I actualy thought had a shot comeing into this season. They have a great rushing attack with two good backs in Maurice Jones-Drew and Fred Taylor. Jacksonville ranks 4th in the league in rushing avg. 154.8 yds a game. they are also 7th in the league total yds a game with 355.2 avg. Sending QB Byron Leftwhich to Atlanta was a smart move by them. QB David Garrard gives them a better chance of winning and there record in the AFC South is 4-1 at this time. There defense is what impresses me the most. they are ranked in the top ten  in every statistical category except passing yds allowed which is still very good at 12th in the league. Playing good defense like this has me saying these guys are true: Contenders

Tampabay Buccaneers- This team is a product of a very weak division. Nobody picked the Buc's to be ahead of New Orleans in the NFC South. The thing is they are and have a descent record to show for it. At 4-2 you would think that maybe they are that good. But when you look at statistics they are not at all. they are only scoreing 18 pts a game and only 99.2 rushing yds a game. Though they are holding opponents to 14.5 points a game and only allowing 197.4 yds passing a game I'm still not convinced they make it out the wildcard game in the playoffs. They'll more than likely win the division as they play a majority of their remaining games at home but i'm not sold on the fact that they are that good so for now I say they are: Pretenders

Kansas City Chiefs- This team needs a QB very badly. I know they have Brodie Croyle waiting in the wing but I don't think he is all that good. Also Larry Johnson has been a big disappointment to me this year. They do have a star in the making though and that's rookie WR Dewayne Bowe from LSU who has 3 TD's so far this season and 415 yds on just 16 catches. I watched his whole career at LSU and he will be a good reciever. He has good size but tends to drop some easy catches sometimes. If the offense can get it together the defense isn't all that bad. They are only averging 74.8 yds rushing a game and with a sub par QB like Damon Huard that's not going to get them anywhere. So until they find their running game then they're just: Pretenders

New Orleans Saints- This one you think would be easy but it's not. Hard to say all these negative things about your home team. The Saints are last years media darling. A team that put a whole city on it's shoulders in 2006 and carried it all the way to the NFC championship game. This year however they are finding it difficult just to win. It has taken them 5 games so far to get thier first one against an all of a sudden flightless Seahawks team. This Team was supposed to contend this year for the NFC crown again. Looks as though the only thing they are contending for are the rights to get the first draft pick this season. The season has been such a disapointment for me and fellow Saints fans. Statisticaly the New Orleans is so bad that when I went to nfl.com the page came up about blank. So if you realy want to know stats on this team I can tell you this much. They are bottom of the barrell on both sides of the ball. So until this team can find the Heart they left burried in the ice and snow in Chicago last year,  they are most certainly: Pretenders

So there it is folks, my analysis of teams that just might give these so called elite teams trouble and some that just might have a better 2008 season. For those teams I said are pretenders I certainly hope I'm wrong. There is still alot of games to be played and anything can happen. Goodluck to everyones favorite team the rest of the way.

   The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have found themselves in a very bad situation. They've lost RB "Cadillac" Williams to a season ending knee injury and Michael Pittman will be out six to eight weeks with an ankle injury. Now third string RB and fourth year pro Earnest Graham becomes the starter. So far this season Graham has 36 carries for 147yds with 3 TD's.

 To help Graham out when he needs a breather the Buc's signed 13 year veteran Zack Crockett Wednesday morning. Crockett is very familiar with Coach Gruden and his offensive scheme, having played for Gruden in Oakland. Also to make room for Crockett the Buc's placed QB Chris Simms on the IR list.

 Tampa is tied with the Panthers for the lead in the NFC South. This week they must take on a tough task in the Tennesse Titans. The Titans are 13-1 against the NFC south under Coach Fisher and I look for him to continue that streak this weekend. A depleted backfield may be to much for the Buc's to overcome against a good defense like Tennesee's.

 All in all the Buc's may just make it through the season and win a very weak NFC South Division. There isn't one Playoff team from last season left on their schedule other than the Saints whom they already beat at home,  with everyone else in the division taking huge impacts due to injury (or felony charges) in their rosters the Buc's could easily go 10-6 and win out to make a playoff birth. To get them their they will need a real strong push from the new running back tandem of Graham and Crockett. Not to mention some smart coaching by Gruden.

 QB Jeff Garcia can also be a difference maker for this team. He's smart and very mobile and also has a fairly strong arm to get the ball downfield. With a speedy veteran reciever like Joey Galloway that at times has shown that he still has game left in him, these two vet's should be able to get just enough done to make a push towards the playoffs. This is what the rest of Tampa's schedule looks like starting with this sunday's game. I will mark next to each game my win/lose prediction to show how they might finish.

Home vs the Titans- loss

@ Detroit- win

Home vs the Jaguars- loss

Home vs the Cardinals- win

@ Atlanta-win

Home vs Washington- loss

@ New Orleans- win

@ Houston- loss

Home vs Atlanta- win

@ S. Francisco- win

Home vs Carolina-win

Overall finish 10-6

With six of the next eleven games left at home, I think it's very possible for them to save the season and win the division. They have already beaten Carolina and the Saints pretty soundly. It will not be an easy task for them to accomplish but they have the players and coach to do it.

 Defensively is the only question I have for this team. Although they do have six interceptions on the season and 3 fumble recovery's as a team. With all that said I look for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to win enough games to make the playoffs but how deep they go is another thing altogether.