The South in general have not been great divisions. Yes in the past 8 years, the Bucs did win a Super Bowl but that was with Tom Brady and seems like a long time ago. Other than that, the most consistent team has been the Texans who lose in the divisional round the last 3 years. The good news about the NFC south is you never know who is going to win it. The Bad news about the NFC South is that you know who ever wins it, still isn’t going to be very good. In the AFC south, there have been some pretty good teams but none of them can move past the divisional round of the playoffs. Will this be the year? Maybe. Let’s dive in.

AFC South

First Place: Houston Texans

They say defense wins championships but it turns out defense and average quarterback play to win championships. The Texans D was exceptional and should be just good as last year. The quarterback was not exceptional, unless you want to say he was exceptionally bad in the playoffs. But they tried to get him help by fixing their offensive line for the 3rd time in 3 years. They also added David Montgomery to help the run game. They have two young receivers that will have that first year out of the way. And they are even getting Tank Dell back. So in theory, they should be better on offense which could be all it takes for the Texans to make a deep playoff run.

Final Record 12-5

Second Place: Jacksonville Jaguars

The Jags are a much more balanced team than the Texans. The offense is much better and their defense, although not as good as the Texans, but still very solid. Their coach is coming off a very successful first year and trying to repeat. Trevor Lawrence played well most of the season and they have a lot of good role players. While there is nothing bad about the Jags, there also isn’t necessarily great about them either. Also, every time I trust or believe in the Jags, they let me down. So I’m getting ahead of it by putting them in second. I think this is a playoff contending team and I won’t be shocked if these two teams switch places.

Final Record 11-6

Third Place: Indianapolis Colts

The Colts will be fine. Not great. Not bad. Just fine. They have a solid and but not great defense. They do have a really good running back. Daniel Jones was decent last year but is coming off an Achilles injury. They traded Michael Pittman Jr. so they could keep and sign Alec Pierce who only had 70 catches and is currently on the PUP list. And when I say PUP, I don’t mean the small cute version of dogs. I think they do have solid coaching and they are going to need it. They will be fine and competitive but I doubt will be watching them play after the regular season.

Final record: 8-9

Fourth Place: Tennessee Titans

The Titans were the worst team in the league two years ago. Last year they were one of the worst teams in the league. They fired their coach mid season and brought in a head coach and an offensive coordinator who also have been fired recently. That’s the bad news. What’s the good news? They got no where to go but up! Cam Ward might be good on a somewhat functional team. They drafted some good players and brought in some good players in free agency. I think Robert Salah could be a successful head coach outside of the mess that is the Jets. So I expect a much more competitive team than last year from the beginning of the season to the end. The future might be bright in Nashville, but I’m less confident in the immediate future. They just don’t have enough good players to realistically compete for a playoff spot.

Final Record: 6-11

NFC South

First Place: New Orleans Saints

Why am I picking the Saints? My answer…why not? No one really knows who is going to win this crap division. These teams all are pretty equal and could finish in any order possible. They could also all finish 9-8. Or they could all finish 8-9 like they almost did last year. In fact the Saints were the only team that didn’t finish 8-9. But their last place finish is also why I’m picking them this year. They have the easiest schedule. They get Arizona, Las Vegas and the Giants as opposed to the rest of the division that plays mostly tougher teams. I like Kellen Moore even though he looks younger than my 17 year old son. I think Tyler Shough will be good. They got Travis Ettiene from the Jags and drafted Jordan Tyson who is very good when healthy. The defense is pretty good most years and I think all of that will be enough to win this silly division.

Final Record: 10-7

Second Place: Tampa Bay Bucs

I in general do not like the Bucs and never really have. But I love Baker. I’m not really sure why, but I’ve always had a soft spot for the Bake show. So it’s a mixed bag of me not wanting the Bucs to be good and then my desire for Bake show and those pewter colored jerseys to have success on my screen. Apparently, the Bucs are not as a big fan of Baker. They could not work out a deal. Apparently they were very far apart. Baker feels disrespected but he’s still out there every day at practice because that’s what his job is. You know what I love even more than Baker. Disrespected Baker! I expect the Bucs have a good year and be very competitive. But I’m concerned about two things. First, Baker’s health. Because without a healthy Baker, the Bucs are not very good. The second is the schedule where they pull Dallas and both LA teams as their extra games. I think that will be the difference between first and second place.

Final Record: 9-8

Third Place: Carolina Panthers

Why am I picking the Panthers for third place when they won the division last year? Because they won 8 games last year! They could be repeat champs or finish at the bottom of the division. Either way, they will probably win 8 games again. Look this team is fine. The defense is pretty good. Their coach isn’t bad. But I’m not a believer in Bryce Young. Their running backs aren’t super exciting. The back that everyone is most excited about has torn his ACL twice. The receivers are fine but not great. I’m just not sure what this team is great at. But I’m sure they will win 8 games and that might win the division.

Final Record: 8-9

Fourth Place: Atlanta Falcons

Why am I picking the Falcons last? Well someone has to finish last. Also, although they have spent a ton of money on their weapons and TE Kyle Pitts, WR Drake London and RB B’jan Robinson all got paid. So that makes for an exciting an offense right? Right? Who’s getting them the ball? Tua? Really? We are going with Tua? Well hopefully no one turns the air conditioning below freezing. Tua is enough for me to put the Falcons last. But they will also probably win 8 games.

Final Record: 7-10

Next week we head up North…stay tuned.