Bruno Boys Fantasy Football

Each NFL season can only have one champion, and in 2009, the New Orleans Saints claimed that title. The good news, though, is that right now for the 2010 season, every team is sitting even. With that in mind, the Bruno Boys got to thinking about what each NFL team needs to do in order to hoist the Lombardi Trophy next year. Thus, was born the Bruno Boys latest series which will examine the key needs that need to be addressed by all 32 NFL teams. Bruno Boys Kyle takes a look at the NFC South in Part 3 of this 8-part series.

NFC SOUTH

Once the laughing stock of the NFC, the NFC South has developed into a formidable division. Sure, just one team from the division played post-season football, but three (New Orleans Saints, Atlanta Falcons, and Carolina Panthers) out of the four teams in the division finished with a .500 record or better, and that one team that entered post-season play, the Saints, well they didn’t do too bad for themselves. Heck, even the Tampa Bay Buccaneers finished 2009 strong, winning two of their last three contests, though the 1-12 record prior wasn’t too pretty. Despite the division’s recent success, football is a game in which you can’t rest on your laurels. If the NFC South wants to continue their upward trend, then they’re going to have address the needs laid out below.

New Orleans Saints

What is there to really say about the team that just won the Super Bowl? New Orleans will go into this off-season really needing only to add solid depth, while also adding a few key components to its defense.

Team Strengths:

- Passing Attack (If there was any doubt about Drew Brees’ status as one of the premier passers in the NFL going into 2009, that’s over and done with. The QB has now thrown for at least 4,300 yards and 26 TDs in each of the last four seasons)
- Stable of Wide Receivers (Brees’ biggest strength may be his ability to spread the love; a strength that is aided greatly by the depth the Saints showcase at wide receiver with Marques Colston, Robert Meachem, Devery Henderson, and Lance Moore)
- Running Backs (The Saints look likely to retain the services of restricted free agent, Pierre Thomas, and will bring Reggie Bush back. Those two should be able to keep the ground game rolling and defenses honest)

Team Needs:

1. Defensive Line - The Saints were 21st in the league against the run, and allowed the fourth-most rushing scores in all of football. They need a defensive tackle to complement former first-round pick Sedrick Ellis, as well as depth at defensive end.

2. Linebacker - Scott Fujita is an unrestricted free agent, and they’ll likely try and re-sign him, but they simply need better overall players at the position. Jonathan Vilma is very good, so they’re set in the middle, but even if they do re-sign Fujita, they have to get better at linebacker if they wish to hoist the Lombardi Trophy yet again.

3. Safety - The Saints were not good against the pass, coming in 26th in the league in that statistical category. They got by because they created so many turnovers, but that’s not something you can count on every year. Darren Sharper is a free agent, and the Saints want to re-sign him, but he’s 34 years old, so they’ll need to add youth no matter what.

Atlanta Falcons

The Falcons finished the 2009 season with a 9-7 record, but that was only after winning their final three games of the season. They’ve already addressed their biggest off-season need via free agency, having reportedly signed cornerback Dunta Robinson for six-years for $57 million. Robinson’s acquisition should go a long way in helping to shore up a secondary that ranked 28th against the pass in 2008, but the team still has more to accomplish if they want to join the Saints in the playoffs.

Team Strengths:

- Matt Ryan (In drafting Ryan, the Falcons definitely landed the franchise QB they needed after the Michael Vick debacle. In two seasons, Ryan has led the Falcons to a 20-10 record in games he hast started)
- Michael Turner (Perhaps their is such a thing as the 370+ curse, as Turner’s 2009 season was riddled by injury; however, when on the field, he was still one of the best RBs out there)
- Top of the Line Pass Catchers (Roddy White continued his development into one of the premier receivers in the league in 2008, while veteran tight end Tony Gonzalez proved he still has something left in the tank. Ryan couldn’t ask for better targets.)

Team Needs:

1. Linebacker - Curtis Lofton is a good player at middle linebacker, and Stephen Nicholas was solid as well, but Mike Peterson is 33 years old, and they simply need more playmakers at the linebacker position.

2. Offensive Line -  Atlanta may have given up just 27 sacks on the year in 2009, but don’t be fooled, much of that was due to the quick thinking and release of Ryan. There are needs up and down the O-Line for the Falcons, notably at the center position, and there doesn’t seem to be an in-house option to cover that, so look for Atlanta to go after an interior lineman or two in the draft.

3. Defensive End: John Abraham is still solid at age 31, but he accumulated just 5.5 sacks last season after getting 16.5 in 2008. The bigger problem, though, is Jamaal Anderson. The former seventh overall pick has been an epic bust, and had just half of a sack last season, and has only 2.5 in his three-year career.