hitta

I think we have a good strong roster that's capable of making noise once it hits the postseason(don't want to jinx us, but SB is definitely not out of the question). The only team that gives me any worry right now is the Panthers. I think Bryce Young is definitely the real deal, watched him way too much coming up. We should be able to handle them IMO.

AsylumGuido

While Bryce Young may indeed be a real deal he is also playing behind an offensive line that is full of question marks. I'd be more concerned with Atlanta, but their defense has it's own list of question marks.

Rugby Saint II

Ain't skeered!

BakoSaint

It's hard to evaluate the rest of the division. We are in a weak division by current standards. All 3 of our rivals have inexperienced question marks at QB who could be good but are nothing certain. We have a new QB with a more impressive resume, but honestly most teams would rather run with Bryce Young long term, and there is no definite certainty in a career 'almost' QB moving to his second team, will he be Drew Brees, Drew Blesoe, or Donovan McNabb on his second team once the real action and pressure starts? Sometimes a change of scenery is all a QB needs but other times a change of scenery is the last excuse for what they are missing and when it doesnt help the wheels fall off, either case is possible.

Being in a weak division, the national media 10,000ft picture is likely to be negative for all 4 teams but we are in the 'bubble' for our team seeing the local coverage that will be more favorable. So preseason results and news seem favorable for us but pessimistic for our rivals. Its just hard to tell if thats real or if we are in a bubble where we get the positive spin on the Saints and the negative on our rivals.

At this point I have to downgrade the Panthers on their oline troubles in preseason but I am not 100% that it is real. The first team snaps are so limited in preseason and the offenses are vanilla. Oline was not seen as a big weakness for them last year. Maybe their coaching staff wanted Young to get a taste of pressure in preseason and will focus more on protection schemes in the regular season. But also maybe its real and their offense will fall apart.

The Falcons are a running team. Ridder seems good at making the short safe throws and avoiding turnovers. The Falcons offense is built wrong, too much investment in lower value positions like TE and RB, but in the short term it may work out ok. I don't know a ton about the Falcons defense but they have a young team. I do not see the Falcons as a serious NFL contender but they could play in enough close games that they could win the division if the ball bounces their way and nobody else is great.

The Bucs are probably trash but its not certain. Mayfield has a good deep ball and they have two dangerous receivers. Maybe they will emulate their Winston offenses and ask Mayfield to throw 5000 yards and 30 interceptions and if they put up a lot of points in a week division they can win some games with that. I think they are the last place team in the division, but with the weapons for a vertical offense you never completely know. Mayfield is still young enough to hypothetically turn himself around if he is dedicated but its just not likely. He is in a position similar to where Winston was for us in 2021 except he has receivers, although aging ones.

We have some good starters but I question our oline and our depth. We are going to have some injuries, its not if but when, and then somebody is going to have to step up. I also question the combo of a coach and qb who have not been winners winning together. The preseason is easy, but when the regular season starts and leaders who have a history of losing under pressure face pressure, it can become ptsd in close games. But at least our QB started 15 games last year.

I think this may be one of the hardest divisions to predict this year. We may be favorites, but by a very narrow margin.

leilung

There's nobody in the Dirty South that feels like a strong threat to me. I'm looking at the Kit Kats and they may have an interesting Offense, but their D looks shabby. Same for the the Clowns. Tampa Bay? Meh.

AsylumGuido

K Major

iceshack149

AsylumGuido

Agree on both counts.

The Dude

I think the Panthers offensive line is gonna be their downfall and may even ruin Young. It’s not like they were one player away from being decent and Throckmartin was the missing piece. I’m much more worried about the Falcons. Injuries can be a serious problem for us this year. Our front 7 as a whole doesn’t have a ton of depth.
No way this team is ready for a Super Bowl. I can see us maybe winning a playoff game at best. I’m fine with that considering the youth and draft capital we have next year.
Also Guido sucks goat chode

"Where life had no value, death, sometimes, had its price. That is why the bounty killers appeared."