With weeks to go before any games are played, I wanted to go ahead and give my projections for the 2013 season.  The first division I will be projecting will be the NFC South.  I will be taking a look at each team’s offense, defense, and special teams and predicting their order of finish.

Atlanta Falcons:

Sep 30, 2011; Atlanta, GA, USA; Carolina Panthers fullback Mike Tolbert (35) is tackled by Atlanta Falcons defenders in the second half at the Georgia Dome. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Liles-US PRESSWIRE

• Offense:  Matt Ryan returns after leading the team to a 13-3 season last year.  He passed for 4719 yards with 32 touchdowns and 14 interceptions at a 68.6 % completion rate.  The receivers are led by Roddy White and Julio Jones who combined for 171 catches, 2549 yards, and 17 touchdowns.  Tony Gonzalez decided to come back after considering retirement to provide Ryan a security blanket over the middle.  The running game will be led by Steven Jackson and Jacquizz Rogers, who was the 3rd down back, with Michael Turner having been cut.
• Defense:  The Falcons lose John Abraham and his team leading 10 sacks.  The hope is his production will be replaced by Osi Umenyioura and Jonathan Massaquoi.  Umenyioura in particular, is coming in highly motivated after not being brought back by the Giants. They also picked up a couple of players to help with the pass rush in the draft in Malliciah Goodman and Stansly Maponga.  Leading Tacklers Stephen Nicholas and Sean Weatherspoon head up the linebackers.  While in the secondary, Desmond Trufant and Robert Alford were drafted to help replace Dunta Robinson who was also cut.  Thomas DeCoud and William Moore return at Safety with a few players drafted to provide depth like Zeke Motta and Kemal Ishmael.
• Special Teams:  Leading scorer Matt Bryant returns at kicker.  Matt Bosher will handle the punting duties.  In the return game, Jacquizz Rogers will return kicks with several players competing to return punts.

Carolina Panthers:

• Offense:  The offense begins and ends with Cam Newton.  Newton passed for 3,869 yards with 19 touchdowns and 12 interceptions.  In addition, he ran for 741 yards with 8 more touchdowns.  DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart assist with the running attack with Mike Tolbert at Fullback and Kenjon Barner brought on as a third down back.  Steve Smith heads into his 12th season still leading the receiving corps.  Brandon LaFell and Domenik Hixon will compete to be the number two.
• Defense:  Carolina returns the core of a pretty salty defense.  Charles Johnson and Greg Hardy bring the pass rush.  Dwan Edwards, Star Lotulelei, and Kawann Short clog up the middle against the run and collapse the pocket against the pass.  Luke Kuechly mans the middle, with Thomas Davis and Jon Beason on the outside.  In the secondary, competition will be fierce for the corner position.  Charles Godfrey will be at free safety, after that every other position is up for grabs.
• Special Teams:  Graham Gano and Brad Nortman handle the kicking and punting duties as of now.  The return positions will be looked to be handled by Ted Ginn and possibly Barner.

New Orleans Saints:

Courtesy of thesportsbank.com

• Offense:  Drew Brees headlines an explosive passing offense.  The rushing offense still needs work.  The 25th ranked running attack lost Chris Ivory, so Mark Ingram will be expected to pick it up in his now third season along with Pierre Thomas.  Marques Colston, Lance Moore, and Jimmy Graham are the main receiving threats.  Kenny Stills was brought on as depth through the draft.
• Defense:  The Saints will be moving to a 3-4 defense under Rob Ryan, with Akiem Hicks and Cameron Jordan at the Ends and Brodrick Bunckley at Nose.  Johanthan Vilma will be the leader of the defense. Curtis Lofton will be probably be at the other inside spot.  Several players will battling for time and the two outside line backer positions.  Kenny Vaccaro was brought in via the draft to provide competition for Melvin Jenkins and Roman Harper at the safety position.  Patrick Robinson and Jabari Greer are the corners.
• Special Teams:  Garrett Hartley and Thomas Morestead handle the punting and kicking duties.  Darren Sproles and Travaris Cadet if he makes the team will return kicks and punts.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers:

• Offense:  Josh Freeman returns as the starter at quarterback, but is playing for a contract extension and now may be watching over his shoulder with the drafting of Mike Glennon out of NC State in the third round.  That situation may bear watching.  The “Muscle Hamster” Doug Martin will lead the running game after rushing for 1,454 yards and 11 touchdowns last year.  Vincent Jackson and Mike Williams will be the main receivers.
  

  Courtesy of biographyplayers.com

• Defense:  The big story on defense was the trade for cornerback Darrelle Revis.  The secondary will need to be top-notch against the pass because  the Bucs let their leader in sacks  from last year Michael Bennett sign with the Seahawks.  Da’Quan Bowers and Adrian Clayborn are expected to pick up the slack here.
• Special Teams:  Connor Barth again will handling the kicking duties and Michael Koenen will punt.

My predictions for the division are as follows:

1- Carolina Panthers

2- Atlanta Falcons

3-New Orleans Saints

4-Tampa Bay Buccaneers

I think the Panthers will be challenging the Falcons for supremacy in the NFC South.  I also feel that the Panthers will be playoff bound because of a punishing running game and a suffocating defense.  The Saints and Bucs have a lot of problems on defense which I think will hold them back.  What  do you think Panther fans?  Agree or Disagree, let us know in the Comments Section below.

Some teams that come to mind for potential need at the RB position are; Rams, Dolphins, and the Lions. To me all three of these teams could use a steady, experienced RB.

Dec 29, 2012; Bronx, NY, USA; West Virginia Mountaineers wide receiver Stedman Bailey (3) runs with the ball during the third quarter against the Syracuse Orange at the 2012 New Era Pinstripe Bowl at Yankee Stadium. Syracuse defeated West Virginia 38-14. Mandatory Credit: Rich Barnes-USA TODAY Sports

First the Rams, they added two WRs in the draft, Tavon Austin and Stedman Bailey. Austin might be something the Rams want to hold on to, but Bailey might be a little more available. Bailey and some picks given to the Panthers seem reasonable to me. They have a young RB crew in St. Louis and could use the experience Deangelo Williams could provide. Also the fact that a strong running game could open the passing game for Bradford.

Second I think the Dolphins have a need for a strong RB. They too have a relatively young backfield with most experienced player having only 3 years under his belt. The problem with the Dolphins is who/what do we get in return that’s of equal value? Draft picks alone wont get a deal done and there aren’t to many players that would make sense. Maybe going defense and getting Grimes to help the secondary plus picks, but that to me would be a long shot.

Last, but not least are the Lions. They have a stellar offense because of the passing game, but their running game has had zero continuity to it. They have had a time with RB’s getting injured or just plain not performing like expected. They did bring in Reggie Bush this year, but he is not an every down back that can run it up the middle. The main thing that would stop this deal dead in its tracks is who on the Lions are they willing to deal? Outside of Megatron and Stafford no one really excites you. So this deal would seem to be the least likely out of the three.

With all that being said, I think the backfield for the Panthers is becoming a little too crowded. If Barner can perform at the RB position like expected then I think the Williams loss wouldn’t sting as much. Even if Williams leaves, we still have a couple back ups behind Stewart.

Entering his third season as the starting quarterback for the Carolina Panthers, Cam Newton will be used even more as the focal point for the offense not less.  In his 32 starts, he has thrown for more yards than any player ever in their first two years.  To be exact, he has passed for 7920 yards and 40 touchdowns.  In addition, he has run for 1,447 yards on 253 carries averaging almost 8 yards a carry with 22 touchdowns.  With numbers such as these, you can see why he will continue to be the main weapon in the attack. I argue that this will be an even more break out season for Cam based on a series of factor: his experience, there is no one like him, and the players on offense we have around him.

The first thing I want to tackle is his experience.  He is entering his third year, pretty much having learned on the job how to be a NFL starting quarterback.  It is his third year and he is no longer a kid at the game’s most important position leading grown men in their late 20′s and 30′s.  He has pretty much seen how NFL defenses will play him and will be even more prepared to attack them.  Having going thru the fires of two seasons, he will be expected to better equipped in managing his emotions because how he is acting does affect the team.  According to Coach Shula via the Associate Press, “Probably the biggest thing for him is maintaining that balance… “Because everything around you during the football season is going to be up and down. The more you can continue to stay on an even plane and lead the group of guys around you, the more effective you are going to be as a quarterback.”

Cam is unique because there is no one playing the position like him in the league.  Yes, there are other players who are mobile playing quarterback, with accurate strong arms also, but  his sheer size and athleticism is what sets him apart.  This player is 6’5 250 lbs, who can run like a running back and built like a defensive end.  When he gets past the linebackers, there are not many defensive backs willing to take him on.

Here is a video that shows some of his exploits from last year:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KN2ZMsi-eBE

The last reason I feel Cam Newton is the ultimate weapon for the panthers, are the players he has assembled around him.  Along with  DeAngelo Williams, Jonathan Stewart, Mike Tolbert, and now Kenjon Barner they make up a punishing running attack.  Each back brings different abilities to the game.  It will be up to Offensive Coordinator Mike Shula to find the perfect balance to make them more effective on the field.  In the passing game, we have of course the ageless one, Steve Smith, Brandon Lafell, and new-comers to the team Domenik Hixon, and Ted Ginn. The offensive line has a good returning nucleus with Kalil and Gross leading the charges up front. The thing with the offense is, Cam Newton is not Eli or Peyton Manning.  The Panthers would be foolish not to take advantage of his talent running and passing and try to turn him into just a pocket passer.  According to a story on cnnsi.com, “Shula said Newton will still be used as a ball carrier but wouldn’t say how much the team will use the zone read option that Chudzinski used so frequently.”

Read More: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/nfl/news/20130512/shula-says-newton-ready-to-take-big-step-forward.ap/#ixzz2TKLEntm2

Cat Crave

This to me says we can expect to see Cam running the zone read and spread just as frequent or even more as we did last year.  I understand the argument that Cam did better under the center last year, but that is where his year to year improvement comes in.  Last year, defenses may have caught on to what we were doing but once we started mixing it up better we took off and made a run in the second part of the season.  We were breaking in a new guard and once he got acclimated to the NFL things kind of took off.  With another year under their belts, I see a ball control offense with a lot of play action.  The zone read is not a fad, nor is it going away.  Proof of that can be found that one of the Last Super Bowl’s participants ran the pistol and pretty much ate folks up in the playoffs in their run to that game.

Mobile quarterbacks who are dual threats to run and pass are the now and future.  Pocket passers are the past.  I am glad we have the prototype in #1 Cam Newton.  What do you think Panther fans, disagree or agree, let us know in the comments section below.