2011 NFC SOUTH: In It To Win It

Day 6 of breaking down the divisions takes us to the ever popular NFC South, where the food is better than the teams and the teams are pretty darn good. The NFC South hosts the best combination of football that you can ask for. You have teams that line up and play smash mouth football and teams that spread you out and throw everything but the kitchen sink at you. However they all have one thing in common “defense”. Every team in this division will hit you in the mouth and hit you in the mouth hard.

Atlanta Falcons

The Atlanta Falcons are the most revamped team in the division the past few years. They went from a team that just wore you down running the ball to a wide open attack. They have a good mix of speed and toughness at about every position. The signal caller Matt Ryan is entering his third year. Year three usually tells us if they will be great or at least have the potential to be great. We know Ryan can make all the throws and he will have plenty of weapons around him to get the ball too. The backfield is headed by Michael Turner. Turner is a speedy big back who can do it all. Outside the wide receivers are headed by Roddy White. White’s career started slow but has now taken a major turn upwards as he has become one of the elite receivers in the game. White will be complimented by rookie phenom Julio Jones who should make things easy for the best pass catching tight end in the history of the game in Tony Gonzalez. The Falcons also have an offensive line that was built to be versatile.

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2011 AFC South: It's Time To Make A Change At The Top

Day 5 of breaking down the divisions brings us to the AFC South. The AFC South is a good mixture of speed and power. Quarterbacks are king in this division but the running backs in this division all fit the same build. They are all dynamic, and can go the distance at any moment. The conference also features some of the best wide receivers in the game today. Ironically the defenses in this division are all built the same, which makes sense if the teams are all so similar.

Houston Texans

The Houston Texans are finally establishing their own identity in the league. They have a marquee quarterback in Matt Shaub. Shaub has emerged as a top 10 quarterback in the league. Shaub will also have plenty of weapons to work with as the backfield is juiced up with Arian Foster holding down most of the carries. Shaubs weapons don’t stop there. He also has playmakers on the outside headed by (in my opinion the second best wide receiver in the league) Andre Johnson. The Texans also feature a solid tight end group headed by Owen Daniels. The offensive line of the Texans features some agile guys and they are built to run or throw.

Defensively the Texans have grown the most. A defensive line that features Mario Williams and Amobi Okoye is prolific in its ability to stop the run and get a pass rush. The linebacking core doesn’t take a backseat to many and is headed by Brian Cushing and DeMeco Ryans. The secondary may be the Texans only real concern. However with the pressure they get up front, the secondary should get better by default.

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2011 AFC NORTH: As Physical As It Gets

Day 3 of breaking down the divisions has led us to the AFC North. When I say AFC North all you should think of is power football. This conference is responsible for earning Super Bowl titles with one word “physicality.” If you aren’t a physical team, you have no business even trying to compete in this division.

Baltimore Ravens

The Baltimore Ravens are the benchmark of being physical. They are led by their defense and when playing the Ravens expect to have the ball pounded down your throat. The Ravens offense is led by fourth year quarterback Joe Flacco. The running game for the Ravens is solid featuring the dynamic Ray Rice. The wide receiver core is a little aged but got better last season with the recent addition of Anquon Boldin. The offensive line pretty much returns in tact and should be better with another year under their belt.

Defensively the Ravens are immense. They have a ferocious defensive line and the linebackers, led by the great Ray Lewis should be great once again. The secondary will be the biggest question as pro bowl safety Ed Reed continues to get plenty of turnovers for his team.

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2011 NFC EAST: Think Big Win Big

Day two of breaking down the NFL has led me to the NFC East. To me the NFC East is the most physical and interesting division in football. I am hoping to write this without bias since I am a noted lifelong Dallas Cowboys fan. It is my duty however to provide information without bias as I stated in my About Me requisition.

One of the great characteristics of the NFC East is there is a balance of power. At any time during the year any team in the division can be in first place. There is also almost always a chance that any team in the division would be a favorite to win the Super Bowl on an annual basis.

Dallas Cowboys

We begin our talks of the NFC East with the Dallas Cowboys. On paper, the Cowboys appear to have it all. A strong and effective quarterback, Tony Romo, who I personally think is the key to it all for the Cowboy success.  They have a trio of running backs, in Felix Jones, DeMarco Murray, and my favorite TaShard Choice who would all probably start for other teams in the NFL.

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