Division which may come down to two battles, top spot between Buccs & Saints plus 3rd place between Carolina & Atlanta.
1). Tampa Bay Buccaneers - I’m taking the Todd Bowles led Buccs to sneak the division despite Bruce Arians retirement. Key factor is the re-signing of 45 years young Tom Brady & the follow on from that. Godwin resigned, Julio Jones arrived, Kyle Rudolph arrived, Keane Neal & Logan Ryan too. They have a tough schedule & the loss of centre Ryan Jensen to a long term knee injury isn’t good, neither is Leonard Fournette turning up 30lbs above his playing weight! All that said they should win double digit games at least under Brady & with it the division.
2). New Orleans Saints - no more Sean Payton in New Orleans, he’s replaced by Dennis Allen. Saints have a good defence & have added the honey badger too. Talented offensive roster but questions remain. How will Jameis Winston be after injury in terms of durability & consistency? How will Michael Thomas go health wise too? How do they cope with the loss of Terron Armstead? How will Jarvis Landry, Alvin Kamara & top pick Chris Olave settle in? With their tendency to sweep the Buccs the division crown can’t fully be dismissed but it’s a wildcard at best for me.
3). Carolina - until recently I figured a dogfight with the falcons for 3rd spot but the signing of baker Mayfield could change that. Their O-Line should improve with Austin Corbett, Bradley Bozeman & rookie Ikem Ekwonu. Christian McCaffrey is crucial to any playoff aspirations as he’s missed almost half the games in the last two years, if he plays every game & Mayfield settles then the wildcard spot is possible.
4). Atlanta - lost Matt Ryan & stuck in salary cap purgatory. It’s a rebuild under Arthur Smith & he’s reunited with Marcos Mariota who isn’t without a skill set despite not starting in 3 years. Kyle Pitts should improve on his decent rookie season & rookie QB Desmond Ridder may get the reigns at some stage. Should be competitive & win some games.
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