Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Who is RB1?

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers won the Super Bowl and then returned every starter back to their roster, so there is no burning question other than if they can repeat or not. The one unknown (somewhat) for this team is who the lead running back is: Ronald Jones or Leonard Fournette. Jones led the way last season with 978 yards compared to Fournette’s 367. The easy answer is that there is going to be a committee, but that is probably going to be the case, and play it based on the hot hand. Tampa also added Gio Bernard to the mix, who brings excellent receiving skills out of the backfield, something Brady has thrived within his past. There are no holes on this team and it is not a crazy thought they can repeat as Super Bowl champs.

New Orleans Saints: Who is QB1?

The calendar has turned and the Drew Brees era in New Orleans is officially over. Now, who is the next man up. The two quarterbacks fighting for the starting job are Taysom Hill and Jameis Winston. Hill has been used as more of a wildcat player in his past, while Winston was the starting QB for Tampa Bay for five years. Winston is probably the favorite to win the job, but it is obvious New Orleans is hesitant to commit to one guy, so this will be a day-to-day thing all the way up until week 1.

Carolina Panthers: Is Sam Darnold the Answer?

QB Sam Darnold did not enjoy much success in New York with the Jets. Now, he gets his second chance with the Panthers. Carolina has built a solid culture and has a surplus of weapons for Darnold to use, something he never really had in New York. Darnold is going to be under a lot of pressure now because there is no excuse about “a bad coach” or “no receiver help”. The Panthers are a bubble team when it comes to making the playoffs, but a good season out of Sam Darnold will show a lot more promise even without a playoff bid.

Atlanta Falcons: Buyers or Sellers?

After the Julio Jones trade, it became clear that the Atlanta Falcons are sellers….or are they? Atlanta is coming into yet another year where there is no clear path for this team. Jones is gone, but Matt Ryan is still the quarterback under center on a team that has too many flaws to compete for a Super Bowl. They are also under a rookie head coach in Arthur Smith. Smith has the chance to be a good head coach but may not have the pieces that he wants, especially with an aging quarterback and no clear answer on who is behind him. Atlanta is at a crossroads and needs to figure out the identity of the team before the team becomes a mess and stuck in the same limbo once again.

Stats from profootballreference.com

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-By: Richie Dordas

New Orleans Saints

The Saints are coming off a tremendous 13-3 season, but they collapsed in the playoffs to a familiar foe in the Vikings. The Saints are coming back with the same veteran squad, but should be worried about the improvements all three division opponents have made, as well as a tougher schedule ahead of them compared to 2019. The NFC south is stacked up against some of the best divisions in football this year, including the AFC West and NFC North. The Saints have enough offensive firepower to compete with every team on their schedule, and the additions of tight end Adam Trautman and center Cesar Ruiz solidifies that QB Drew Brees and coach Sean Payton have a truly elite offense. But Brees and company won’t be able to walk over their divisional rival Buccaneers this season. The addition of Tom Brady with their loaded group of weapons will create a huge Week 1 battle. The combination of the Eagles, Vikings, and Chiefs in back-to-back weeks at the end of the season creates obstacles at the beginning and end of their season, so the Saints cannot afford to lose too many games against less-talented teams. The Saints have a good unit, and more experience on their defense may result in a successful regular season. They are set for Drew Brees to try for the Super Bowl one last time.

Record Prediction: 11-5

• Week 1: Sept. 13 vs. Buccaneers, 4:25 p.m. (Fox)

• Week 2: Sept. 21 at Raiders, 8:15 p.m. (ESPN, MNF)

• Week 3: Sept. 27 vs. Packers, 8:20 p.m. (NBC, SNF)

• Week 4: Oct. 4 at Lions, 1 p.m. (Fox)

• Week 5: Oct. 12 vs. Chargers, 8:15 p.m. (ESPN, MNF)

• Week 6: BYE

• Week 7: Oct. 25 vs. Panthers, 1 p.m. (Fox)

• Week 8: Nov. 1 at Bears, 4:25 p.m. (Fox)

• Week 9: Nov. 8 at Buccaneers, 8:20 p.m. (NBC, SNF)

• Week 10: Nov. 15 vs. 49ers, 4:25 p.m. (Fox)

• Week 11: Nov. 22 vs. Falcons, 1 p.m. (Fox)

• Week 12: Nov. 29 at Broncos, 4:05 p.m. (Fox)

• Week 13: Dec. 6 at Falcons, 1 p.m. (Fox)

• Week 14: Dec. 13 at Eagles, 4:25 p.m. (Fox)

• Week 15: Dec. 20 vs. Chiefs, 4:25 p.m. (CBS)

• Week 16: Dec. 25 vs. Vikings, 4:30 p.m. (Fox/NFL Network/Amazon, Friday)

• Week 17: Jan. 3 at Panthers, 1 p.m. (Fox)

Tampa Bay Buccaneers 

The Buccaneers may be the most exciting team in the NFL. Tom Brady finally has the weapons that he dreamed of for years in Foxborough, including WR Chris Godwin, WR Mike Evans, TE OJ Howard and TE Rob Gronkowski. But the Tampa defense was abysmal last season, surrendering 29.3 points per game. They addressed it with a second-round pick in a promising safety by the name of Antoine Winfield, a former Minnesota standout who should provide some youthful energy to this Bucs team. In the first round, they were able to add another luxury for Brady in Iowa tackle Tristan Wirfs, who could have been taken even earlier. He fell to the Bucs, though, who are now going to try to do everything they can to protect their new 42 year-old quarterback. But Brady will face a bit more competition in this division than the AFC East provided while he was in New England. This Bucs team is new, and it may take them multiple weeks to build chemistry, which will be exacerbated by a lack of offseason activities. Tampa also has a tough schedule beyond their division, but they lucked out with two home games vs some of their toughest opponents, like the Packers and Chiefs. Arians and the Bucs will be tested early and often: they have 5 primetime games, ranking among the most in the league. The Bucs will have some bright lights shining on them in 2020: can they live up to it?

Record Prediction:10-6

• Week 1, Sept 13: at Saints (4:25 p.m. ET on Fox) 

• Week 2, Sept. 20: vs. Panthers (1:00 p.m. ET on Fox) 

• Week 3, Sept. 27: at Broncos (4:25 p.m. ET on Fox) 

• Week 4, Oct. 4: vs. Chargers (1:00 p.m. ET on CBS) 

• Week 5, Oct. 8: at Bears (8:20 p.m. ET on Fox, NFL Network and Amazon - Thursday Night Football) 

• Week 6, Oct. 18: vs. Packers (4:25 p.m. ET on Fox) 

• Week 7, Oct. 25: at Raiders (8:20 p.m. ET on NBC - Sunday Night Football) 

• Week 8, Nov. 2: at Giants (8:15 p.m. ET on ESPN - Monday Night Football) 

• Week 9, Nov. 8: vs. Saints (8:20 p.m. ET on NBC - Sunday Night Football) 

• Week 10, Nov. 15: at Panthers (1:00 p.m. ET on Fox) 

• Week 11, Nov. 23: vs. Rams (8:15 p.m. ET on ESPN - Monday Night Football) 

• Week 12, Nov. 29: vs. Chiefs (4:25 p.m. ET on CBS) 

• Week 13: BYE

• Week 14, Dec. 13:  vs. Vikings (1:00 p.m. ET on Fox) 

• Week 15, Dec. 20: at Falcons (1:00 p.m. ET on Fox) 

• Week 16: TBD: at Lions

• Week 17, Jan 3: vs. Falcons (1:00 p.m. ET on Fox) 

Carolina Panthers 

The Matt Rhule era has begun in Carolina, and the Panthers revamped their whole franchise to fit what the former Temple and Baylor head coach prioritizes. Carolina was able to move the ball last season with QB Kyle Allen, and have one of the most explosive players in the league in Christian McCaffrey. The addition of Teddy Bridgewater will only stabilize this offense, as it eliminates the inconsistencies of Allen and QB Cam Newton.

The Panthers selected 7 defensive prospects in their seven rounds of drafting, and the selections of DT Derrick Brown and DE Yetur Gross-Matos should help the lack of secondary players they have in Carolina. The Panthers are going to take a while to become a playoff team, especially in one of the best divisions in football. They are a young team who will be tested with trips to both Green Bay and Kansas City, but their tough schedule immediately may end up being great exposure for a young and upcoming team who has a whole new coaching staff. Expecting ten wins out of this Panther squad in 2020 is a pipedream. But if they can find a way to compete in games, look out for their explosive weapons to help pull off some upsets.

Record Prediction: 6-10

• Week 1: Sept. 13 vs. Raiders, 1 p.m., CBS

• Week 2: Sept. 20 at Buccaneers, 1 p.m., Fox

• Week 3: Sept. 27 at Chargers, 4:05 p.m., CBS

• Week 4: Oct. 4 vs. Cardinals, 1 p.m., Fox

• Week 5: Oct. 11 at Falcons, 1 p.m., Fox 

• Week 6: Oct. 18 vs. Bears, 1 p.m., Fox

• Week 7: Oct. 25 at Saints, 1 p.m., Fox

• Week 8: Oct. 29 vs. Falcons (Thursday Night Football), 8:20 p.m., Fox

• Week 9: Nov. 8 at Chiefs, 1 p.m., Fox

• Week 10: Nov. 15 vs. Buccaneers, 1 p.m., Fox

• Week 11: Nov. 22 vs. Lions, 1 p.m., Fox

• Week 12: Nov. 29 at Vikings, 1 p.m., Fox

• Week 13: BYE WEEK

• Week 14: Dec. 13 vs. Broncos, 1 p.m., CBS

• Week 15: Dec. 19 OR Dec. 20 at Packers, TBD

• Week 16: Dec. 27 at Redskins, 1 p.m., CBS

• Week 17: Jan. 3 vs. Saints, 1 p.m., Fox

Atlanta Falcons

The Falcons, like the Panthers, may have a tough 2020 season. Their schedule gives them no favors, starting the year with 4 straight teams who are legitimate playoff contenders. Their draft picks in 2020 won’t be able to succeed in the league day 1, either, but players such as CB A.J Terrell from Clemson, DT Marlon Davidson from  Auburn and C Matt Hennessy from Temple provides a young core to build around. Ultimately, this team will likely rely far too much on QB Matt Ryan and WR Julio Jones. Owner Arthur Blank and the rest of the Falcons front office may need to think about tearing down and playing for the future before they are caught in the middle.

Record Prediction 4-12

• Week 1, Sept. 13: vs. Seahawks 

• Week 2, Sept. 20: at Cowboys 

• Week 3, Sept. 27: vs. Bears 

• Week 4, Oct. 5: at Packers (Monday Night Football) 

• Week 5, Oct. 11: vs. Panthers 

• Week 6, Oct. 18: at Vikings 

• Week 7, Oct. 25: Lions 

• Week 8, Oct. 29: at Panthers (Thursday Night Football) 

• Week 9, Nov. 8: vs. Broncos 

• Week 10: BYE 

• Week 11, Nov. 22: at Saints 

• Week 12, Nov. 29: vs. Raiders 

• Week 13, Dec. 6: vs. Saints 

• Week 14, Dec. 13: at Chargers 

• Week 15, Dec. 20: vs. Buccaneers 

• Week 16, Dec. 27: at Chiefs 

• Week 17, Jan. 3: at Buccaneers 

-By: Sam Kirk

Sam Kirk

After Win over Saints, Are Falcons best in the NFC South?

The Falcons needed a win. More so they needed a divisional win. Before breaking a  6 game losing streak against the Saints, the Falcons looked to be the worst team in the NFL. The defense was ranked last in turnovers and sacks and they were giving up a league-worst, 35 points a game. However, the Defense looked brand new in Sunday’s win over divisional rival, Saints.

Despite being on a 6 game losing streak, the Falcons were never truly out of playoff contention. I mean has there ever been a 1-7 team to win a Superbowl? But what truly matters is the fact that none of the 7 losses came to a divisional opponent which truly makes the difference. While this may speak to the weakness of the NFC South, it only indicates that the Falcons are definitely still in contention and their divisional path might allow them to be the NFL’s biggest Sleeper. 

About a week ago the Atlanta Falcons saw their season fleeting before their eyes. After a 6 sack performance by the defense, the Falcons were able to keep Drew Brees under control and off the field. The defensive communication helped the Falcons neutralize one of the best passing attacks in Brees to Thomas and the consistent offense led to the dominant defensive showing. 

The Falcon rushing attack is what made the difference as they were dead last in the league in rushing coming into this game. Before Devonta Freeman was ruled out with an ankle injury, he had rushed for 38 first-half yards, which nearly came close to his full game average. Although not the best performance, it surely propelled the rest of the offense to control the clock and not make any mistakes. 

The 2-7 Falcons are the best 7 loss team in the NFL. Although a very odd statement to make, the type of optimism that the Falcons should have right now is reserved specifically for them. From a fan perspective, the Falcons can go as far as they want to. But from my perspective, the likelihood of the Falcons winning all 6 divisional games is extremely slim, however, if any team is capable of doing this, the number 1 passing offense in the NFL can accomplish the impossible. 

-By: LeMarkus Bailey

Blogger/ Interviewer