Tag: NFC South

Where do Falcons sit in NFC South standings after Week 3?

Where do the Falcons sit in the updated NFC South standings after Week 3?

The Falcons had one of their biggest games since moving to their new stadium in 2017. While it was a star-studded event, Atlanta came up a few inches short and the Chiefs left town with a 22-17 prime-time victory.

As for the Falcons, this loss drops them to 1-2 after three games. The record doesn’t look great but Atlanta has played two undefeated teams in the Chiefs and Steelers. The Falcons’ lone win came on the road against the 2-1 Philadelphia Eagles in Week 2.

Fortunately, the top two teams in the NFC South also lost on Sunday. So, where do the Falcons sit in the division entering Week 4? Check out the updated NFC South standings below.

W L PF PA
New Orleans Saints 2 1 103 44
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 2 1 64 62
Atlanta Falcons 1 2 49 61
Carolina Panthers 1 2 49 95

Atlanta may be tied with the Panthers for third, the team’s next three games are all against divisional opponents, with two of those games coming at home (Saints and Buccaneers). The Saints suffered a 15-12 loss at the hands of the Eagles.

Meanwhile, the Buccaneers were dismantled by the Denver Broncos Sunday, losing by a final score of 26-7. By the end of October, the Falcons will have played four of six divisional games, giving us a better idea of what kind of team this is and whether or not the playoffs are a real possibility.

In Week 4, the Falcons will host the Saints at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.

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NFC South Standings: Saints stun Cowboys, Bucs upset Lions

NFC South standings: Saints stun Cowboys, Bucs upset Lions, Falcons await prime-time matchup vs. Eagles

The Atlanta Falcons may have entered the season as the NFC South favorites but through the first two weeks, they’ve been a distant third at best. On Sunday, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and New Orleans Saints pulled off huge upsets to remain undefeated atop the division.

The Buccaneers held on during a wild fourth quarter for a 20-16 road win over the favored Detroit Lions. The Saints stunned the entire league by going into Dallas and hammering the Cowboys in a 44-19 victory. However, that’s where Sunday’s feel-good story would end for the NFC South.

The Carolina Panthers were handed a 26-3 loss at home by Jim Harbaugh and the Los Angeles Chargers. Second-year quarterback Bryce Young continues to struggle and the 0-2 Panthers have shown few signs of life this season.

The Falcons will play the Philadelphia Eagles in the final game of Week 2 on ESPN’s Monday Night Football. Atlanta is a six-point underdog but the Eagles have ruled out star wide receiver A.J. Brown. Check out the updated NFC South standings below:

Win Loss Pct PF PA
Saints 2 0 1.000 91 29
Bucs 2 0 1.000 57 36
Falcons 0 1 .000 10 18
Panthers 0 2 .000 13 73

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B/R’s biggest takeaway is the changing landscape of the NFC South

A strong Week 1 has Bleacher Report changing their tune on the Saints’ standing within the NFC South. The division’s landscape appears to be changing:

The New Orleans Saints haven’t been treated as a contender in the NFC South. Instead, they’ve been viewed as afterthoughts in the division behind the Atlanta Falcons and Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Tyrann Mathieu acknowledged this during the offseason.

After Week 1, Bleacher Report is ready to change their tune. Their biggest takeaway from the Saints season opener versus the Carolina Panthers is “Klint Kubiak’s Offense Will Make Saints a Serious Threat in NFC South.” Here’s why they’re coming around on Klint Kubiak and Derek Carr:

“The hope was that Kubiak would find creative ways to get more out of quarterback Derek Carr, who was largely average in his first season as the Saints starter. If Sunday’s game was an accurate indication, Carr and the new-look New Orleans offense is going to be a lot of fun in 2024.”

You can make an argument about the quality of opponent, but there was a clear shift schematically. The touchdown to Juwan Johnson was a good example of this. Taysom Hill and Rashid Shaheed joined Carr in the backfield with Alvin Kamara at wide receiver. You wouldn’t see that in 2023.

Offense has been the missing key to success for the last few years. If they can unlock that this year, they will be contenders. The defense still has the pieces to be top flight. Being a threat in the division would be the floor with a good offense.

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Bucs predicted to have a successful season, win NFC South, from ESPN

We got rid of the BCS, and since then, we have seen so many different projection methods and forms of analysis pop up in its place.

Nothing spurs a conversation into overdrive like a computer’s season prediction. We got rid of the BCS in college football, and since then, we have seen so many different projection methods and forms of analysis pop up in its place.

The latest is ESPN’s FPI.

The football power index predicts an NFL team’s winning percentage of games on its schedule. Seth Walder of ESPN published the results this week, the results gave a result that Bucs fans are used to seeing at this rate.

Walder’s projection model has the Buccaneers going 10-7 in 2024 and winning the NFC South. The next closest team to them in the division is actually the Saints, not the Falcons, as many would expect.

Their season is also projected to go as far as the divisional round of the playoffs before losing to the San Francisco 49ers on the road in the playoffs.

Obviously this is just what a computer is telling the sports world but the projection of 10-7 may not be far off. Don’t count out this team though to pull off some extra wins. The coaching staff and front office have built something special here and 2024 is the year they maximize it.

Bucs not a popular pick to win NFC South in 2024 among PFF analysts

They missed out on a division title due to the Saints in 2020, now many people have much faith in the Bucs to win in 2024.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have won the NFC South for three straight seasons going back to 2021. They missed out on a fourth in 2020 when they were one game behind the Saints.

Now, in 2024, not many people have much faith in the Buccaneers to win again.

Pro Football Focus asked all of their analysts who they expected to win the NFC South, and three out of four picked the Atlanta Falcons and their new quarterback. The arrival of Kirk Cousins and the new coaching staff led by Raheem Morris has people excited for them. What is quickly being dismissed, though, is that most of the Buccaneers’ roster returns, and they have a new draft class that can make an impact.

Outside of Cousins for the Falcons, there isn’t much else to be excited about with the roster and its changes.

The rest of the NFC South is trying to play catchup with Atlanta and Tampa Bay, but there is no indication they will close the gap soon. It seems it will be a two-horse race within the division in the foreseeable future.

The NFC South has fallen a long way from its old self

Nick Shook described the NFC South as, “a division that was once known for its parity and is now stuck in a lower-grade version of it.”

Around the NFL writer Nick Shook ranked the NFC South as the worst division in football. The New Orleans Saints have spent the last few years performing below their standards, and the same can be said about the entire division over the same time period.

Shook described the NFC South as, “a division that was once known for its parity and is now stuck in a lower-grade version of it.” That’s a perfect description of the divisional transformation.

In 2017, the NFC South put three teams into the playoffs. This was before the addition of an extra wild card team when a division could only have three playoff teams. Those days have long passed.

There haven’t been even two NFC South representatives in the playoffs since 2020. The Buccaneers only made the playoffs the past two years because they won the division. Even the top of the division has been poor.

One thing other divisions have over the NFC South is a team that feels like a bonafide contender. The Falcons could be that with the addition of Kirk Cousins, but it’s hard to see that raising the division much higher in rankings. Right above the NFC South is the AFC West. As a reminder, the repeat Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs reside in this division.

In other words, it’ll take more than one team to change the division’s current reputation.

Saints shut out in NFC South champion predictions

Pro Football Focus has no belief the New Orleans Saints can reclaim their NFC South crown

https://twitter.com/PFF/status/1829519451080860132

The Pro Football Focus team voted on who would win the NFC South. None of the analysts believe the New Orleans Saints will gain their crown back as divisional champions.

The Atlanta Falcons and Tampa Bay Buccaneers are the favorites entering the season and the analysts’ prediction reflect what has been a common belief.

Trevor Sikkema was the only one to pick the Buccaneers. The majority opinion is the Atlanta Falcons will win their first title since 2016. With Kirk Cousins at the helm, the Falcons have rejuvenated expectations.

Cousins joins an offense with Bijan Robinson at running back. There’s also a belief Kyle Pitts and Drake London were held back by below average quarterback play.

The Saints are behind the top two in terms of expectations. The Saints disappointed last year and haven’t added much new talent. Klint Kubiak is a big addition, but it’s not enough to create a spark outside of local media.

Expectations are low for New Orleans, so the Saints occupy an under-the-radar role for the first time in half a decade.

The Athletic’s QB rankings put Derek Carr at the bottom of Tier 3

The Athletic ranks Saints quarterback Derek Carr at the bottom of Tier 3 among the NFL’s starting quarterbacks, and second-worst in the NFC South:

The New Orleans Saints quarterback situation has been the subject of controversy pretty much ever since Derek Carr signed with the team  last offseason. Some fans swear up and down he is going to return to form and be a top 10-to-15 quarterback that the Saints need, others insist he is the worst player on the team and should be replaced. It’s tough to find many takes that fall in the middle ground.

Ultimately the reality is somewhere between, and that might be the case for Carr in these quarterback rankings from The Athletic’s Mike Sando. They put Carr on the lower end of their rating system. Here is their blurb about the Saints quarterback, where he ranks in Tier 3, and why:

Carr’s No. 20 ranking ties for his worst in 10 Tiers appearances. His 3.00 average is his worst since 2015, when Carr was entering his second season and on the upswing.

“He’s a 3 without (Jon) Gruden,” an offensive coach said. “Gruden could carry the mantel of all the leadership, where Carr could just snuggle up under the umbrella of Gruden. He is exposed now. He is the umbrella. It’s not comfortable. That takes away from his production.”

Carr’s statistics from last season aligned with Mayfield’s. Both led teams that finished 9-8. But voters see Carr as a declining player lacking the intangibles they think are strengths for Mayfield.

“We talk like Baker is some revitalization story,” a head coach said. “No, Baker has taken two teams to division titles. Derek Carr was in that same NFC South division with a better defense.”

The Saints ranked ninth and the Buccaneers were 18th last season in EPA per play on defense, per TruMedia.

“What holds (Carr) back is a lack of toughness in the pocket, and some of his decision making within the scheme,” another exec said.

According to their ranking system, Carr is tied for No. 20 on the list with Seattle Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith, which in my eyes is… honestly not the worst comparison of talent. However, Carr ranks second-worst in the NFC South among the starting quarterbacks. He’s behind new addition Kirk Cousins (No. 13) and Baker Mayfield (No. 19), but ahead of Bryce Young (No.28). Out of the 30 starters listed, Cousins was the only one from the NFC South to make it into their “Tier 2” category, with the remainder falling below that mark.

Ultimately, this placement for Carr is not unjustified. Even if he does take a step forward this year, he has not done it yet, and the criticisms provided are generally an accurate assessment. Hopefully better days are on the horizon for Carr, for the sake of the Saints. But if not, who knows what the outcome of the team is for the 2024 season and potentially even beyond.

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Saints DE Cameron Jordan defends Panthers QB Bryce Young

Saints DE Cameron Jordan thinks it’s far too early to judge Panthers QB Bryce Young, especially after a ridiculously rough rookie season.

NFC South rival Cameron Jordan actually had something kinda nice to say about the Carolina Panthers for a change.

The New Orleans Saints defensive lineman hopped on the latest episode of The Mina Kimes Show featuring Lenny. With the Panthers set to visit the Saints to kick off the 2024 regular season, host Mina Kimes asked Jordan about quarterback Bryce Young’s rough rookie season.

“I mean . . . what did they protect him with?” he replied. “You were going into the season knowing they had one tackle returning that they could rely on [Taylor Moton] and the rest of ’em were like . . . hmmm.”

Well, Moton and the rest of ’em combined to allow 62 sacks of Young—the second-highest mark amongst all quarterbacks in 2023. Young’s other numbers weren’t pretty either, as he threw for just 179.8 passing yards per game and 11 touchdowns over 16 starts.

Two of those starts came against Jordan and the Saints, who held the lowly Panthers offense down in Week 2 and in Week 14. Young completed just 35 of his 69 attempts against New Orleans for 290 yards and one score between the pair of outings.

But with those hefty investments into his revamped offensive line, perhaps Young puts some bigger numbers up on Jordan’s Saints in just a few weeks’ time.

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Colin Cowherd predicts Dennis Allen will be the first coach to be fired in 2024

Colin Cowherd predicts Dennis Allen will be the first coach to be fired in 2024, says Panthers are ‘undoubtedly better’ than Saints after 2-15 season:

Longtime NFL media personality Colin Cowherd shared his five bold predictions for the 2024 season, and he started out a little negatively — predicting the New Orleans Saints won’t wait long to fire head coach Dennis Allen.

“I think Dennis Allen, Saints, is the first coach to be let go,” Cowherd said. “They’ve missed the playoffs back-to-back years. The NFC South, Atlanta and Carolina are undoubtedly better teams. No question. The Falcons and the Panthers are much better teams. Four of the first six games for Denis Allen are against playoff teams from last year. I just don’t see the juice offensively. I think Dennis is the first coach to be let go.”

Saying the Panthers are “undoubtedly better” than the Saints is kind of wild. They won seven fewer games than the Saints did last year while cycling through a couple of head coaches before rebooting yet again this spring. You could argue that Dave Canales is a better coach than Allen because he’s an unknown quantity rather than known for getting poor results, but that case wouldn’t hold much water. Canales could be just as badly out of his depth as Allen has been.

Maybe Cowherd misspoke and meant the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who won the division last year, are up there with Atlanta. The Falcons finally addressed their terrible defense by trading for Matt Judon and signing Justin Simmons but they’re betting big on Kirk Cousins overhauling the league’s most disappointing offense in recent years. It’s fine to be down on the Saints given their lack of success, but the teams in this division are stacked much more closely than you might think. Look at their records over the last three years:

  1. Buccaneers: 30-21
  2. Saints: 25-26
  3. Falcons: 21-30
  4. Panthers: 14-37

We’ll see how it goes. The Saints have never fired a coach in-season since Tom Benson bought the team in 1985, and it hasn’t happened at all since Dick Nolan was let go in 1980. It would be awfully bold of Mickey Loomis, the longest-tenured general manager in the game, to decide it’s time to pull the plug on Allen even after something ugly like a 2-4 start. But if Allen’s defense folds and his handpicked quarterback and play caller don’t mesh quickly, Allen could be on the outs sooner or later.

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