2005 NFC SOUTH PREVIEW

CAROLINA PANTHERS
· Injuries are the only thing that kept the Panthers from theplay-offs last year. They started the season at 1-7, but went6-2 the second half, when the injured player started coming back.

· DeShaun Foster is too fragile to be a “go to”running back. Number 2 pick Eric Shelton will be starting “WHEN”Foster goes down.

· The panthers forced 29 turnovers in the final8 games last year, and with the addition of Ken Lucas and ThomasDavis, that number could improve.

· Steve Smith is expected to fill the shoes leftby Muhsin Muhammad’s. He has the speed, but not the size.

The Panthers surprised everyone two years ago,and this year they’ll do the same. John Fox is a brilliant coach,and there is no possible way that they will be hit with the sameinjury bug. Expect to see the Panthers “D” against the Vikings“O” in the NFC Championship game.

ATLANTA FALCONS
· The Falcons have never had back to back winning seasons.

· In the 13 games Rod Coleman played, Atlantaput up 47 sacks. They had only one sack in the three games hemissed.

· Atlanta’s schedule is considered the easiestin the League .434 winning percentage.

· Roddy White will cause everyone to forget PeerlessPrice.

· Return Specialist Allen Rossum has returnedeither a punt or a kick-off for a touchdown for 6 years in a row.

Who am I? In 19 pass plays inside the 5 lastyear, I throw two picks and was sacked 5 times (the rest of theteams combined were sacked 17 times). I rushed for 902 yards andfumbled the ball 16 times. I threw 14 TD’s in 15 games and onlyhad 12 picks. I threw at an astounding 55% completion rate…2ndworse for all QB’s attempting more than 400 passes. My name isMichael Vick, and I am not a quarterback….I am an athlete. TheFalcons “D” will get them back in the playoffs, but until Vickis more disciplined, that will be it. The Falcons have won 65.3percent of the games that Vick has started. Imagine how good theywould be if he was a quarterback!

NEW ORLEANS SAINTS
· Jim Haslett wants to go with a “Play Action Attack” to giveAaron Brooks more time to make bad decisions.

· The Saints drafted Jammal Brown in the firstround to help shore up the offensive line…again to give Brooksmore time to make bad decisions.

· Inside the 5 in the last two years, Brookshas only turned 7 of 23 pass plays to touchdowns…primarily dueto, you guessed it, bad decisions.

· Deuce McAllister would be a franchise performerif the Saints would put a halt to a few of Brooks’ bad decisionsand give him the ball more.

· John Carney shaving his head….BAD DECISION.

Two things need to happen for the Saints to bea play-off team. Their defense has to improve against the run.It was 30th a year ago and little was done to improve it, andnew offensive coordinator Mike Sheppard has to simplify the passoffense for Brooks and he believes that his quarterback’s accuracywill improve if the decisions that he has to make are reduced.This might just be the end for both Haslett and Brooks if theSaints don’t make the play-offs, and they won’t.

TAMPA BAY BUCS
· Cadillac Williams will be a good one.

· Michael Clayton is already a good one.

· Jon Gruden is a great coach.

· Brian Griese is no superstar. He has belowaverage arm strength, he’s a bad running quarterback, he has thrownmore interceptions per game in the last 3 years than any otherquarterback. His Quarterback Rating for the first three quartersis 102.5 and it’s 82.6 in the forth quarter, where most gamesare won and lost.

· The Bucs defense has been in the top 5 for8 straight years and suddenly, they’re very old.

It’s going to be tough to get the 5 wins thatthe Bucs had last year. On the bright side, they do play the 49ersand the Dolphins, so 2 win’s is a possibility!