Post by Cincinnati Bengals (Chris) on Sept 8, 2017 0:39:22 GMT -5
NFC South
The NFC South is next on the hot seat. Three years ago the South was the worst division in league history, sporting a 4-8 division-winner. Last year they placed two teams in the playoffs and had a competitive winner-takes-all game for the division crown. What an improvement these teams have made. The question is, now that they’ve arrived as a division, can they keep it up? And can teams like Atlanta and Tampa Bay interject themselves on the division race? Let me know what you think about my projections and post you own comments. Also, DON’T FORGET to vote in the poll, as that’s the whole point.
Atlanta Falcons (Tim)
Last year’s finish: 32nd (Division: 4th)
Outlook: Tim finished dead last a year ago, setting him up to pick an impact player at the top of the draft, and it looks like he did just that in Leonard Fournette. When added to his other offensive impact players (Chris Conley, Mohamed Sanu, Eric Ebron, Eddie Lacy and now likely Nelson Agholor), the Falcons should field a pretty functional offensive unit, even if Mike Glennon faceplants or is replaced at some point by Mitch Trubisky. On the side of the ball that wins championships, there are still some warts. Kony Ealy and Chris Long are below average contributors at defensive line, and Ndamukong Suh is not an elite option, especially considering his $7 salary. The linebacking corps is flush with perennial disappointments Stephone Anthony, Paul Worrilow, Demario Davis, Audie Cole and Barkevious Mingo, and the secondary has Ricardo Allen and Jason McCourty, average defensive backs. Marcus Williams is the only remaining DB.
X-factor: Defense. There’s no question which side of the ball Atlanta needs improvements on. If Tim can make his defense match his offense, his ascent to the playoffs may be quicker than expected.
Projected division finish: 3rd
Carolina Panthers (Justin)
Last year’s finish: 8th (Division: 2nd)
Outlook: Carolina was one of the most-improved teams in the league last year, and Justin has the Panthers knocking on the door as one of the league’s powerhouse teams. An offense that now features Marcus Mariota, Ezekial Elliott, Odell Beckham Jr., Evan Engram, Jordan Howard and Adrian Peterson, very few teams can match the Panthers’ offensive firepower. On the opposite side of the ball, Justin fields a strong unit as well. The defensive line is anchored by Brandon Graham and Grady Jarrett (The only two DL currently on his roster). The LB corps contains yearly IDP stars Derrick Johnson, Danny Trevathan and Craig Robertson, as well as up-and-comer Vince Williams. Tyraun Mathieu, Kenny Vacaro, Jordan Poyer, T.J. McDonald, Darian Thompson and Miles Killebrew make up the defensive backfield, which should be strong as well.
X-factor: WR/DL depth. Carolina’s good enough at every other position, but the lack of depth at these two put the Panthers in a precarious spot, especially with ODB’s recent injury. He still has more than enough firepower to win the division, and I think he will, but Justin would be smart to add reinforcements and redundancies to be sure.
Projected division finish: 1st
New Orleans (Vic)
Last year’s finish: 6th (Division: 1st)
Outlook: New Orleans still sports an unbelievably talented and deep offense, with fantasy darlings such as Devonta Freeman, A.J. Gren, Jay Ajayi, Tevin Cleman and Jimmy Graham. Added to that are contributors Cole Beasley, Tavon Austin and Allen Hurns (Despite his recent demotion). Tyler Higbee could be a useful player in reserve as well. Vic did gamble, heavily, on rookie QB Deshone Kizer as his quarterback. He’s counting on him to play very well in a spot (Both as a rookie QB and a Brown) that previous players have failed in. If I were a betting man, I would take the under on whatever the expectations on Kizer are this year. On D, the projections have seriously been dampened with the trade of Reggie Ragland to KC for a reserve role. Previously, he was expected to be a huge contributor for this defense, but now looks to play a minimal role. Cassius Marsh and Cameron Wake man an underrated but underwhelming depth-wise DL, and Nigel Bradham, Karlos Dansby and Korey Toomer make up the rest of the linebacking corps. Defensive back is also a concern for the Saints, as Ron Parker, Adrian Amos and Justin Simmons comprise the whole unit. All in all, it’s a bare bones operation numbers-wise.
X-factor: Defense. Though I don’t have nearly as much faith as Vic does with Kizer, the offense should keep on humming and some. The problem is, the defense doesn’t match up to Carolina, and could be the undoing of New Orleans’ season altogether. They’ll still probably be okay, but…again, there are some serious risks.
Projected division finish: 2nd
Tampa Bay (Mike)
Last year’s finish: 26th (Division: 3rd)
Outlook: Mike’s goal with this roster and his off-season plan was and remains unclear. If it was to acquire and roster backup quarterbacks and bit-part offensive players, he succeeded. He currently fields the most one-sided offensive to defensive ratio in league history. Even prior to Eric Berry’s (Perhaps his only fantasy-relevant defensive player) injury that looks like it will be season ending, he was unable to field a legal lineup with active players. But, as I don't know his plan, and will give him the benefit of the doubt that he has something up his sleeve in the next few days so that he can field a competitive team, because at present, Tampa Bay is the CDFL's worst team not being run by the league by a large margin, and I don’t think it’s worth wasting the time to write about the Bucs until Mike has filled out his roster with players who are actually going to play this year.
X-factor: Finding active players. It's kind of self-explanatory, but we'll hold off judgment to see how Mike handles his issues fielding a legal lineup.
Projected division finish: 4th
Remember to watch out for the seventh of our divisional previews, this time the AFC East, tomorrow, and the NFC East on Saturday.
The NFC South is next on the hot seat. Three years ago the South was the worst division in league history, sporting a 4-8 division-winner. Last year they placed two teams in the playoffs and had a competitive winner-takes-all game for the division crown. What an improvement these teams have made. The question is, now that they’ve arrived as a division, can they keep it up? And can teams like Atlanta and Tampa Bay interject themselves on the division race? Let me know what you think about my projections and post you own comments. Also, DON’T FORGET to vote in the poll, as that’s the whole point.
Atlanta Falcons (Tim)
Last year’s finish: 32nd (Division: 4th)
Outlook: Tim finished dead last a year ago, setting him up to pick an impact player at the top of the draft, and it looks like he did just that in Leonard Fournette. When added to his other offensive impact players (Chris Conley, Mohamed Sanu, Eric Ebron, Eddie Lacy and now likely Nelson Agholor), the Falcons should field a pretty functional offensive unit, even if Mike Glennon faceplants or is replaced at some point by Mitch Trubisky. On the side of the ball that wins championships, there are still some warts. Kony Ealy and Chris Long are below average contributors at defensive line, and Ndamukong Suh is not an elite option, especially considering his $7 salary. The linebacking corps is flush with perennial disappointments Stephone Anthony, Paul Worrilow, Demario Davis, Audie Cole and Barkevious Mingo, and the secondary has Ricardo Allen and Jason McCourty, average defensive backs. Marcus Williams is the only remaining DB.
X-factor: Defense. There’s no question which side of the ball Atlanta needs improvements on. If Tim can make his defense match his offense, his ascent to the playoffs may be quicker than expected.
Projected division finish: 3rd
Carolina Panthers (Justin)
Last year’s finish: 8th (Division: 2nd)
Outlook: Carolina was one of the most-improved teams in the league last year, and Justin has the Panthers knocking on the door as one of the league’s powerhouse teams. An offense that now features Marcus Mariota, Ezekial Elliott, Odell Beckham Jr., Evan Engram, Jordan Howard and Adrian Peterson, very few teams can match the Panthers’ offensive firepower. On the opposite side of the ball, Justin fields a strong unit as well. The defensive line is anchored by Brandon Graham and Grady Jarrett (The only two DL currently on his roster). The LB corps contains yearly IDP stars Derrick Johnson, Danny Trevathan and Craig Robertson, as well as up-and-comer Vince Williams. Tyraun Mathieu, Kenny Vacaro, Jordan Poyer, T.J. McDonald, Darian Thompson and Miles Killebrew make up the defensive backfield, which should be strong as well.
X-factor: WR/DL depth. Carolina’s good enough at every other position, but the lack of depth at these two put the Panthers in a precarious spot, especially with ODB’s recent injury. He still has more than enough firepower to win the division, and I think he will, but Justin would be smart to add reinforcements and redundancies to be sure.
Projected division finish: 1st
New Orleans (Vic)
Last year’s finish: 6th (Division: 1st)
Outlook: New Orleans still sports an unbelievably talented and deep offense, with fantasy darlings such as Devonta Freeman, A.J. Gren, Jay Ajayi, Tevin Cleman and Jimmy Graham. Added to that are contributors Cole Beasley, Tavon Austin and Allen Hurns (Despite his recent demotion). Tyler Higbee could be a useful player in reserve as well. Vic did gamble, heavily, on rookie QB Deshone Kizer as his quarterback. He’s counting on him to play very well in a spot (Both as a rookie QB and a Brown) that previous players have failed in. If I were a betting man, I would take the under on whatever the expectations on Kizer are this year. On D, the projections have seriously been dampened with the trade of Reggie Ragland to KC for a reserve role. Previously, he was expected to be a huge contributor for this defense, but now looks to play a minimal role. Cassius Marsh and Cameron Wake man an underrated but underwhelming depth-wise DL, and Nigel Bradham, Karlos Dansby and Korey Toomer make up the rest of the linebacking corps. Defensive back is also a concern for the Saints, as Ron Parker, Adrian Amos and Justin Simmons comprise the whole unit. All in all, it’s a bare bones operation numbers-wise.
X-factor: Defense. Though I don’t have nearly as much faith as Vic does with Kizer, the offense should keep on humming and some. The problem is, the defense doesn’t match up to Carolina, and could be the undoing of New Orleans’ season altogether. They’ll still probably be okay, but…again, there are some serious risks.
Projected division finish: 2nd
Tampa Bay (Mike)
Last year’s finish: 26th (Division: 3rd)
Outlook: Mike’s goal with this roster and his off-season plan was and remains unclear. If it was to acquire and roster backup quarterbacks and bit-part offensive players, he succeeded. He currently fields the most one-sided offensive to defensive ratio in league history. Even prior to Eric Berry’s (Perhaps his only fantasy-relevant defensive player) injury that looks like it will be season ending, he was unable to field a legal lineup with active players. But, as I don't know his plan, and will give him the benefit of the doubt that he has something up his sleeve in the next few days so that he can field a competitive team, because at present, Tampa Bay is the CDFL's worst team not being run by the league by a large margin, and I don’t think it’s worth wasting the time to write about the Bucs until Mike has filled out his roster with players who are actually going to play this year.
X-factor: Finding active players. It's kind of self-explanatory, but we'll hold off judgment to see how Mike handles his issues fielding a legal lineup.
Projected division finish: 4th
Remember to watch out for the seventh of our divisional previews, this time the AFC East, tomorrow, and the NFC East on Saturday.