NFC South predicted to go through New Orleans

The NFL regular season is almost here, and all too quickly it will seem like it will come and pass. However, before the season officially gets under way, it’s interesting to look at postseason predictions on the front end.

For the New Orleans Saints, the team will have to live up to expectations as they appear to be a consensus favorite to win the division for the third year in a row. NFL.com polled 29 different NFL analysts and asked them to predict each division winner across the NFL. For the NFC South, 24 of 29 voted for the New Orleans Saints.

Joe Thomas shared his rationale:

The Saints are returning the most dynamic offense in the NFL. It’s a unit that can beat you in conventional (“Drew, go throw a touchdown pass”) and unconventional (“Taysom, go draw up a Wildcat play in the dirt and score a touchdown”) ways. They have quietly built a defense that gets after the quarterback and finds a way to force turnovers in bunches. Sacks, takeaways and historic efficiency at the quarterback position -- that’s a recipe for the Saints to easily win another NFC South title.

The remaining five of 29 voted for the Atlanta Falcons, including perennial Saints-hater Maurice Jones-Drew. Of note, none of the analysts questioned selected the Carolina Panthers.