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:

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• 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.
  

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• 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.

He was Tampa Bay’s second-round draft pick in 2010 but never has been much of a force and certainly not someone the opponent’s defense has to game-plan for. His best season with Tampa was his second season, the 2011 campaign, when he had 30 receptions for 441 yards and 3 TDs. He missed half of last season with injuries and started in but a single contest. He had 4 catches for 26 yards for the entire year and is obviously deemed expendable by the franchise that nabbed star WR Vincent Jackson during free agency last season.

It looks like Philadelphia signed him on as a reserve, since their dynamic WR tandem of DeSean Jackson and Jeremy Maclin remains intact. The Eagles appear to be focusing on revamping their defense as they were soft last year and are switching from a 4-3 to a 3-4, requiring a different personnel mix.

Nov 27, 2011; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; New York Jets tight end Dustin Keller (81) drags Buffalo Bills defensive back Justin Rogers (26) and free safety Jairus Byrd (31) into the end zone for a touchdown during the third quarter at MetLife Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Anthony Gruppuso-USA TODAY Sports

The Miami Dolphins have been the team that has made the biggest splash in free agency so far this season, having signed WR Mike Wallace, LB Dannell Ellerbe, and LB Phillip Wheeler prior to today as well as keeping WR Brian Hartline in the fold with a new contract.

Embattled Dolphins’ GM Jeff Ireland is trying to save his job and spending worse than a drunken sailor to do so. Today, we discover some of the terms of the Mike Wallace deal, and he will cost the team over $17 million against the salary cap in 2014. The only more expensive WR in that year is Larry Fitzgerald.

They signed former New York Jets TE Dustin Keller to replace departed TE Anthony Fasano while upgrading the position at the same time.

The team also added former St. Louis Rams WR Brandon Gibson with a 3-year deal. Within one off-season, they’ve gone from being the most WR-needy team in the NFL to one of the most stacked at the position today.

Sept. 23, 2012; Glendale, AZ, USA; Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kevin Kolb (4) during the game against the Philadelphia Eagles at University of Phoenix Stadium. The Cardinals defeated the Eagles 27 – 6. Mandatory Credit: Jennifer Stewart-USA TODAY Sports

Meanwhile in Arizona, $11 million per year QB Kevin “Korn on the” Kolb was released primarily due to costs, but his durability is also a concern. Their issues on the offensive line certainly didn’t help Kolb’s cause, but it isn’t clear that the team won’t re-sign him later at a greatly reduced rate depending on the interest in Kolb from other teams. Just a shrewd guess here, but something tells me other NFL teams won’t be beating down his agent’s door.

The Cardinals have Brian Hoyer and Drew Stanton at QB as-is, and it’s quite possible another QB-needy team like the Jets or the Buffalo Bills could give him a good look. Since the Cardinals have pick 7 in next month’s draft and Buffalo the eighth, the Bills cannot count on West Virginia QB Geno Smith, who had a very impressive workout during W.V.’s Pro Day yesterday, being around at #8 overall. The chess match is on, it appears.

Too bad the Carolina Panthers don’t have the cap room to sign Greg Jennings. I sure wish they did.

It is the same charge that landed Plaxico Burress in prison for two years when the firearm he was illegally carrying in a night club discharged and wounded him in the leg. He spent the 2009 and 2010 seasons there.

That’s about all the information on the case so far – just the bare bones. Speculation as to how or why he had it there is just that.

Bowers had just finished up his second year in Tampa Bay after having been injured for most of those two seasons. As I recall, he was talked about as being the #1 overall pick in Cam Newton’s class early on before the extent of his knee issues at Clemson University had been and he fell off all the way into the second round, where the Bucs took a flyer on him.

There was talk of him being what’s commonly referred to as a “one-contract player” – someone whom you might get 4 or 5 good years from but had the upside to take a chance on. Unfortunately for Tampa Bay, he stayed on a first-name basis with the medical staff there as at Clemson.

Da’Quan has only appeared in a handful of games and defensive end remains a primary need for the team and his arrest could be enough to send him packing from Tampa Bay for good. He was never a force at all with the Bucs and it shouldn’t affect their draft plans much other than to perhaps move the position up a notch on their needs list simply from a depth standpoint. It emphasizes the fact that they have none.

As it is, the Buccaneers start one average NFL defensive end with injury issues in Michael Bennett. The other end is third year journeyman Daniel Te’o-Nesheim.

The Bucs have the 13th overall selection in a draft deep in talent on both the offensive and defensive lines and, like the Panthers at 14th, are probably hoping to trade down for an extra pick or two and still grab a good lineman on the defensive side.

Tampa Bay also needs help at cornerback to improve upon a bottom-dwelling unit against the pass last season.