LogFAQs > #926852964

NFC South

1. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
2. Anaheim Lightning
3. Carolina Panthers
4. Atlanta Falcons

The Bucs have some glaring holes on their team as they are losing more players to retirement and UFA than they are taking in. Yet, it doesn't seem to hold them back too much as they have enough star power to give them a winning team. Those players are quickly retiring though, so they need to see players develop quickly. That is why it was so head-scratching why they would trade for WR Matt Caddell. In 8 seasons across four franchises, Caddell has appeared in 117 games, started 43 games, and recorded 1892 rec yards with 7 TDs to his name. The Bucs have a young QB in Teddy Brigewater, and with the roster having high turnover every season, continuity is critical. WR Nate Burleson is the elite and reliable #1, Marqise Lee had a promising rookie season starting opposite of Nate to further cement himself as the #2 in the present and possibly #1 in the future, and Willie Sullivan is one of the league's best slot receivers.

The trade was on a collision course to screw up everything. Caddell would take a starting job away from Lee whose development would stall posthaste, Sullivan would then have a decent chance of being demoted to the #4 spot all the while Nate Burleson's successor would be a 32-year old Caddell. That is unacceptable. When Landry fell onto my lap at 21, I knew what had to be done and prayed he would win the #2 job out of the preseason knowing Chris would just roll with what the AI laid out for him. Lee did just that. Disaster has been averted, and this might be one of the key reasons if the Bucs win the division.

The Lightning's main issues these past few seasons have been an underwhelming OL. They started 4-0 start just two seasons ago and missed the playoffs when their OL just couldn't perform. Now they aren't solely to blame for the team's woes, but when it is always the offense that holds them back, you have to begin with the trenches. Oh boy did they fix things in a huge way. They went out and signed one of the best LTs in the game in RFA in Lane Johnson. Then in free agency, they signed G Quinton Harris. Now he's had issues in pass protection, but when you factor in the player he is replacing, Claude Terrell, it is automatically a win for the team. The defense is holding steady, even if the development is almost exclusively coming at the LB spots, so if the offense takes a sizable leap forward thanks to the revamped OL, we could see the Lightning compete for the division or at least the wild card.

The Panthers have a low ceiling, but they might have the highest floor in the division. They are perennially one of the healthiest teams in the league, and there aren't many teams that have a fearsome trio up in the middle like they do in MLB Jonathan Vilma, DT Callahan Bright, and DT Claude Wroten. They have helped make sure the defense stays around league average at worst. However, you typically need other areas to do better than average if you want to see the playoffs. The offense and special teams are not going to help. They were a playoff team last season, but their rankings and Pythagorean expectation placed them as being more of a 7-9 team and out of the playoffs They shook things up a little this season personnel-wise, but I don't think it is close to being enough.
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KCF can't actually be a real person but he is - greengravy
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