The NFC West division might have the majority of the attention entering the 2013 NFL season, but the NFC South has the potential to rival it.
The Atlanta Falcons are a team that has been very consistent in winning over the course of the last several season, while the New Orleans Saints should bounce back from the disappointment of 2012 when they had to endure plenty of off-the-field distractions, not to mention the fact that their head coach Sean Payton was suspended for the entire season. Things are back to normal in the Saints locker room, which is good news for New Orleans fans.
As for the Carolina Panthers and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, they are the wild card here but have the potential to make moves up the ladder in the division to contend for a postseason spot.
The Bucs upgraded big time on the defensive end by bringing in Darelle Revis from the New York Jets and Dashon Goldson from the San Francisco 49ers. This is no doubt a move to try and defend against the stout passing attacks by both the Falcons and the Saints. Atlanta has arguably the best receiving duo in the league in Roddy White and Julio Jones. And we all know that Drew Brees can sling the ball around to a ton of different receivers.
The Panthers enter their third season with quarterback Cam Newton, and are hoping that he has made improvements from his second year. Newton is arguably the most gifted athlete at the quarterback position in the league, it’s simply a matter of harnessing that into production on the field in the passing game, while using his legs as other means to attack a defense.
Oddsmakers see this division going the way of the Falcons. Atlanta is is set at +125 on the moneyline at Bovada Sportsbook to win the division for a third-straight season. And while that is an obvious goal for the team, they are really focused on taking that next step towards a Super Bowl after losing in the NFC title game last season.
New Orleans isn’t far behind the Falcons here, set at +160 on the payout from Bovada. But there is big separation between the top-two teams in the division and the bottom two. Tampa Bay comes in third, but back at +500, which is 5/1 on the payout. Carolina is just above that at +550. So it’s pretty clear that the division will come down to New Orleans and Atlanta.
NFLSeasonSchedules.com 2013 NFC South Division Pick
We aren’t going to stray from the favorite on the odds here, and are going to go with the Falcons. Atlanta made moves to upgrade in the run game and brought in Steven Jackson from the Rams. Jackson should be a big asset to this offense, and force defenses to play the run which can free up coverage on the outside for Jones, White, and tight end Tony Gonzalez.
How far Atlanta goes in the playoffs is yet to be determined, but we think that they will get another shot with a division title.