NFC South Makes a Statement: Weak Sister No More

The NFC South was ridiculed pretty heavily last season and for good reason, the division champ finished with a 9-7 record, the only team to reach .500. If week one of the NFL season is any indicator then the South division may no longer be the weak sister of the conference. Certainly you've heard by now of the Panthers upset of the AFC powerhouse San Diego Chargers. I'm not going to dwell on that victory in this post except to say that I'm sure the rest of the division raised their eyebrows upon hearing the final score.

Instead I want to discuss what I saw from the three other teams I watched play while anxiously waiting for the Panther game to start. Starting from the bottom I watched a Falcons team that has been called the worst team in the conference completely steam roll the Detroit Lions. Rookie QB Matt "Ice" Ryan showed where that nickname came from by zipping a 62 yard TD on his first professional pass, quite impressive by any standard. Even more impressive was a rushing attack lead by Michael Turner who put up 220 yards and 2 TD's. The Falcons can also still get after the QB which is led by Panther nemesis John Abraham. The only glaring weakness on this team is the pass defense which Detroit exploited using their tall receivers. The Falcons will go through some growing pains this season but they are hardly the pushover many people were expecting.

The two other NFC teams the Bucs and Saints matched up in the Super Dome to see if the Saints could start the season a little better than last years 0-4 start. The Saints ended up winning this game through big plays, three of them to be specific, not the performance you expect to see from the vaunted Tampa 2 defense. These are the types of plays the Saints would fail to execute last season, though you may argue maybe the Bucs failed to make plays on defense. I think this game showed more than anything that the Saints have dramatically improved their defense and have repaired a rushing attack formerly led by Deuce McAlister. The Saints defensive line looked real good led by DT's Charles Grant and rookie Sedrick Ellis. The Bucs on the other hand seem no better than last year's 9-7 record and as a consequence may be playing catch-up with the Panthers and Saints for the remainder of the season. Even so the Bucs will still sport a salty defense and an offense potent enough to win some games.

I imagine every game capsule from Week 1 will caution that it is just one game and doesn't necessarily form a trend. So what got off on this rant? Just this post from a Chargers blog previewing their game with the Panthers:

At least they draw the Panthers, one of the softer spots on a decent schedule. And their upset hopes aren't helped by missing standout wide receiver Steve Smith.

This type of comment represents the general attitude every has about the South. I think it's safe to say the performances of the Panthers, Saints & Falcons stood out in many ways and sent a message to the rest of the NFL, the South division doesn't represent a ‘soft' spot in anybody's schedule this season. I'm sure the Chargers will concur.