A Look Around the NFC South on SB Nation

A weekly look at the top stories being discussed on the other three NFC South blogs on SB Nation.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers (via Bucs Nation)

• To the victor go the spoils. The defending Super Bowl champions Buccaneers are favored to end the Saints’ 4-year domination of the NFC South. The prediction is understandable, with Tampa having just won the Lombardi, and beaten the Saints in the Superdome on their way to doing so. The Saints also have that major question mark at the most important position in football, with Drew Brees widely expected to retire.

• Shaq Barrett wants to break the bank. As is always the case, Super Bowl-winning teams face a mass exodus of players trying to maximize their value by getting huge contracts with other teams eager to bring on a Super Bowl champion. Buccaneers top pass rusher Shaquil Barrett wants a big payday. Will it be in Tampa? The offseason will tell.

• Adrian Peterson wants to play with the Bucs. As do a plethora of older players trying to earn a ring before hanging up their cleats. This is quite a compliment to Tom Brady, as if he needed another one. Many see Brady as a ring-maker, so it is no surprise that players like the former Saints running back are eager to join him.

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Atlanta Falcons (via The Falcoholic)

• Can the Falcons be the next NFC South team to turn things around? Over the past couple of years, an NFC South team has almost always made a deep playoff run. Think about the Falcons in 2016, the Saints in 2017 and 2018, now the Bucs in 2020. Cory Woodroof hopes his Falcons are the next team in the division to turn their fortunes around.

• You can win with an old quarterback. Tom Brady’s success in Tampa might inspire the Falcons to build around Matt Ryan, rather than replace him. While that is not a crazy thought, Tom Brady is one of a kind, and what he did in Tampa will be hard to duplicate.

• The big gamble of first round quarterbacks. An interesting and informative look at the quarterbacks selected in the first round of the NFL draft since 2008, when the Falcons chose Matt Ryan with the third overall pick. Hint: as you can expect, there are a lot more misses than hits.

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Carolina Panthers (via Cat Scratch Reader)

• Do the Panthers select a quarterback in round one? With the number 8th overall selection in the upcoming NFL draft, the Carolina Panthers have the opportunity to take that big gamble we were just talking about above: pick a quarterback in the first round. After only one season at the helm of the offense, Carolina does not appear to be enamored with quarterback Teddy “Two Gloves” Bridgewater. Just how not enamored? That remains to be seen.

• Free-agency hits and misses Although not always as costly as a first-round draft mistake, signing free agents can lead to disastrous results when things do not work out. Despite bringing a few high-profile free agents on board last offseason, the Panthers had a very poor season. Which of those signings panned out and which ones bombed?

• Lessons from Tampa Bay’s Super Bowl win. Yes, it is nauseating that everyone in the division is now looking at the Bucs’ model and trying to emulate it. But this is what the NFL is: success is often imitated, sometimes to a T, spurred by the imitator’s hopes to produce the same results. Here is what the Panthers could take from how Tampa Bay built its second Super Bowl-winning team.

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Have a beautiful weekend, Who Dats!

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