Monday, September 29, 2014

NFC South: Worst division in football?

A Panther fan understandably is looking for a silver lining today, with Carolina having been blown out 37-19 and 38-10 in its last two games.

So here it is: The Panthers remain tied for first place in the NFC South, which in my opinion has become the worst division in the NFL.

The Panthers (2-2) allowed 38 points to Baltimore Sunday and get this -- that was tied for second-best among the NFC South's four teams! Atlanta (2-2) lost 41-28 to Minnesota, which was starting a rookie quarterback and didn't have Adrian Peterson. New Orleans got hammered 38-17 by Dallas -- the Saints trailed 24-0 at halftime and are now 1-3 and reeling. Only Tampa Bay (1-3) salvaged some respect for the NFC South, pulling off an unlikely upset in Pittsburgh. That was the Bucs' first win of the season, and despite that they are only a game out of first place in the NFC South.

Of the NFL's eight divisions, the NFC South is now the only one that doesn't boast a single team with a winning record after Week 4. This has the look already of one of those divisions that could be won with an 8-8 record, or at least 9-7.

The problem in a word: Defense. Atlanta coach Mike Smith said after the Vikings rolled up 351 yards by halftime Sunday: "They did basically whatever they wanted to in terms of controlling the line of scrimmage. That is very alarming."

Carolina coach Ron Rivera and New Orleans coach Sean Payton could say exactly the same thing. And Tampa's Lovie Smith, although he won Sunday, is less than two weeks removed by giving up 56 points to the Falcons.

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

Heck, UNC-CH could win this Division...

Oh, they already did according to Fedora-

Anonymous said...

Don't know about that. UNC is giving up an average of 60 points over its last two games. Tough even to compete with Tampa Bay:)

Anonymous said...

As a Saints fan living in Charlotte, this is terrible. The Saints D sucks!

S. Rytvú said...

WANTED - PLEASE SPREAD
Defensive squad of the Carolina Panthers is boldly looking the same was seen for the last time on September 14, in the BOA St. around 3:30 PM (ET USA). They were dressed in white uniforms with bright turquoise and black tones. Suspected to be led by the "alias" Cap. Luke. Any informanción regard are requested to be communicated immediately by inbox to this page or directly to Mr. Riviera Ron, Sean Mc.Dermott, and / or Curtis Fuller. Attached photo of the day he disappeared for a facial recognition as we consider highly likely that they are no longer wearing the uniform described before. IMPORTANT: no reward is offered since we are a little tight with the salary cap. Thank you for spreading.

Anonymous said...

Jump to conclusions a little early don't you Scott.

Anonymous said...

Thank goodness hockey season is just around the corner.

Anonymous said...

The Panthers and Saints had top five defenses last year so don't count them out just yet. Frank Alexander returns this week to the d-line rotation and he is poised for a break out season. I think there is some "fog" around the team right now as they try to get the offensive line going and overcome the loss of Hardy. Also the RB situation is crazy - and Poole fumbling his first carry had to wreck his confidence. Hopefully he can get it back this week because we really need him!

Truth said...

Cam is not a leader. He is not an NFL QB on day to day basis. He can have tons of ability, but he has none of what makes a QB great, leadership. In Cam's world, the team is second to his self promotion act. As long as he sees the world this way, we need to sit him out and give the team to Anderson as he gives us the best chance at winning.

Anonymous said...

The problem with the Panthers having poor defense showings is that they rely on their D because their offense is not good enough to score a ton of points. ATL and NO have high powered offenses that can score, despite how bad their defenses are. The Panthers without their D are pretty much in big trouble.

Anonymous said...

Anyone ever heard of Lamichael James? he is available as running back and punt returner