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http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/columns/s ... 2438&num=0

I've been saying this all off-season, but I really think the Panthers are the team to beat in the NFC South, not us Falcons. I know it's hard for many of my fellow Falcon fans to swallow, but the Panthers showed that they could be a strong team even without 3 of their best players last year (Smith, Davis, and Jenkins). THey are getting most of those pieces back this year. They've improved their 2 weakspots from a year ago: OL and DBs. The main concern is just how durable DeShaun Foster can be as the feature back. He didn't live up to expectations last year, but even if he's not 100%, they showed they can have a functional running game headed by Nick Goings, and now they've added Eric Shelton to the mix.

But Clayton does a good job of breaking down the division. As I think it mentions, it will basically come down to the team that runs the ball the best and stops the run the best which wins the division. The Falcons prided themselves on just those 2 aspects of the game last year, but I think we will need to show better versatility this year if we want similar results.

I think the Saints and Bucs can challenge, but I really think the Falcons and Panthers have the division to lose. I expect both the Bucs and Saints will both be around 7-9 or 8-8 this year, but both teams still have a ways to go. But the Bucs could be the wildcard, basically because of a man they call the Cadillac. If he has a big rookie campaign, then he could potentially springboard a "lacking" Bucs team to the top of the division. But I think it will basically rest on him. If Cadillac is not amazing, then the Bucs will maintain the status quo and hover around .500.

Having a healthy panther team that can pass,run and play defense should worry the falcon's.We lose site the fact that the panthers had alot of injuries and while the falcon's play good defense until the falcon's prove they can throw the ball it will be hard to beat a well balanced panther team.Stephen Davis and Steve Smith will be back and Delhomme can throw the ball.The Falcon's have a one dimensional offense team and win they play a quality defense will have a tough time scoring.

The Falcons have been, and remain to be, my main concern in the NFC South. I know there has been a lot of talk about the Panthers being without a win with MV playing, but it's true. Like it or not, MV seems to add something to the Falcons team that pulls them through the tough spots, and he has a way of making other teams (especially us) look ridiculous in the process.

As far as the Panthers go, I believe (I like to believe..lol) that Deshaun Foster will be back in form this season and that he will be our feature back. I'm not convinced Stephen Davis will even make the return due to his injuries. Team reports thus far have given us only baited information about him (answers from a can, "He's doing well....", "He's making progress..."), but what all that means is still a huge question mark.

There has a lot of talk about our draftee RB Eric Shelton, and I think he'll do great, but one of our undrafted free agent aquisitions, WR Stubblefield, has been causing quite a stir in training. He's been compared to a young Jerry Rice. Jake Delhomme talked about him and said, "He catches everything that's thrown to him. The ball sticks to him like glue". That might makeup a little for the loss of Muhammad, even though second year man Keary Colbert is coming off a fairly good rookie season.

Another untested player is Drew Carter. He is back from his injury that caused him to miss his rookie season last year, and last week he burned Steve Smith in several 100 yard dashes.

Team reports show that "Big Kid", Chris Jenkins is back to form, and Julius Peppers is still running 40's with the speed of a fast WR, as incredible as that sounds.

All in all, I feel good about this season, better than this time last year, and look forward to playing the Falcons twice this season. Here's to a great year for both teams, and some fantastic football in the coming months! The NFC South is the Division to beat, mark my word.