Written by Rohit Ghosh
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NFC South: 2015 Division Previews
Just how bad was the NFC South in 2014? A Carolina Panthers team with a losing record won the division. Carolina would go on to defeat an injured Arizona Cardinals team in the wild-card round before being run off the field the Seattle Seahawks in the divisional round.
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2015 expects to be much different, however, for the NFC South.
Atlanta improved thanks to some upgrades on the sidelines. New Orleans may have lost Jimmy Graham, but added depth elsewhere. The Buccaneers are hoping Jameis Winston can help shape their future, and Carolina looks to build off a fortunate, yet legitimate playoff run.
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What’s on the horizon for the Falcons?
2014 was an absolute struggle for Atlanta. The offensive live gave up 31 sacks in 2014, ranked amongst the worst in both pass and run blocking according to Pro Football Focus. With a bigger role in sight for offensive tackle Ryan Schraeder and a general strategic change to a zone blocking based scheme, the Falcons have much higher expectations in 2015.
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Dan Quinn enters his first season as head coach after a successful run as the defensive coordinator for the Seattle Seahawks. With Quinn now leading the way on the sideline, the Falcons will without a doubt take strides on the defensive end. His track record speaks for itself, proving his "4-3 Under" schemes get the best out of defensive linemen.
How will Jimmy Graham‘s departure affect New Orleans?
In an attempt to address an overall depth issue, the New Orleans Saints traded away Pro Bowl tight end Jimmy Graham for center Max Unger and a first round pick in the 2015 Draft (LB Stephone Anthony). Graham's absence, however, points to a potential gap on the offense.
In the past four seasons, Graham notched 4,296 yards, 355 receptions and 46 TDs. Regardless of the opponent, Graham was and continues to be a matchup nightmare. How do the Saints replace that sort of production?
With Drew Brees at the QB spot, though, any lost production can be replaced by committee. The Saints still have Marques Colston, Brandin Cooks and Mark Ingram. Brees has put up league-leading numbers with and without Graham; 2015 will prove Brees' pedigree as an all-time great QB.
