Summer Scramble 2010: NFC South Players to Watch

It's July, the slowest month of the year for the NFL. So what better time to start breaking down the upcoming season? From July 6-27, FanHouse will take an in-depth look at each division to help prepare you for training camp. We're calling it our Summer Scramble.

Coming July 21: NFC South Burning Questions, Bold Predictions

ATLANTA FALCONS -- Dunta Robinson

The franchise quarterback is in place and the featured running back is healthy. The Falcons' offense checks out fine. Attention during the offseason was on upgrading a pass defense that was 28th in the league last season. Enter Robinson, the cornerback given a six-year, $57 million contract -- with a whopping $25.5 million guaranteed -- to jump from Houston. Robinson, a top-10 draft pick by the Texans, has never been one of the elite shutdown corners in the league, but he was the best corner on the free agent market during the offseason, and the Falcons plucked him up quickly to man their left side. His presence, coaches hope, will be key for a defensive line that had just 28 sacks (only four teams had fewer). Assuming veteran Brian Williams, penciled in on the right side, returns from a knee injury that limited him to just five games in '09, Atlanta should have its best corner tandem since Ray Buchanan and Ronnie Bradford in the late-90s.

CAROLINA PANTHERS -- Jonathan Stewart and DeAngelo Williams



Share Stewart (above left) and Williams (above right) put up nearly identical numbers in '09. Stewart: 221 carries, 1,133 yards (5.1 per attempt) and 10 touchdowns. Williams: 216 carries, 1,117 yards (5.2 per attempt) and 7 TDs. The Panthers duo became the first teammates in league history to reach 1,100 yards rushing in the same season. Amazing. Now, go do it again. Under Coach John Fox, the Panthers have always done things conservatively -- ball control and defense, baby -- and with the club having jettisoned high-priced franchise icons like Jake Delhomme and Julius Peppers as part of its rebuilding, the two-headed Stewart/Williams monster needs to repeat its beastly ways. Besides, a productive running game should make it easier to make the move to rookie QB Jimmy Clausen, the former Notre Dame star and second-round pick who the fans no doubt want to see.


NEW ORLEANS SAINTS -- Drew Brees

Summer Scramble

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• AFC East Players to Watch
• AFC East Questions, Predictions
• NFC East Players to Watch
• NFC East Questions, Predictions
• AFC North Players to Watch
• AFC North Questions, Predictions
• NFC North Players to Watch
• NFC North Questions, Predictions
• AFC South Players to Watch
• AFC South Questions, Predictions This is easy. Granted, the quarterback could be pegged as the "Player to Watch" on any team, but is there another QB outside of the one in Indianapolis who means more to his squad than Brees? All he did was complete nearly 71 percent of his passes for 4,388 yards, 34 TDs and just 11 interceptions in leading the Saints to the NFC's best record in the regular season -- and then got better in the postseason. Brees, after guiding the Saints to the conference title, hit 29 of his final 32 throws in the Super Bowl showdown against Peyton Manning and was MVP of the franchise's first world championship game. He is so good, so in control, so respected and so ideal a fit for his team. Yeah, the Saints have very good backs and wideouts, plus a solid tight end and line. They won with a defense that ranked 25th overall in the league, but created turnovers and gave the offense most opportunities. That offense was lethal. One guy makes it go. Imagine the Saints without him. On second thought, don't.

TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS -- Gerald McCoy

The Buccaneers turned the team over to rookie quarterback Josh Freeman, the club's first-round draft choice in 2009 and new face of the franchise, after seven games last season. It won't take them that long to anoint McCoy, the Oklahoma All-American and third overall pick in the draft, as the Freeman of the defense. Already, McCoy is being billed as the next Warren Sapp. That would be a lot to live up to in any NFL city. In Tampa, it likely is impossible. Bucs brass, however, believe McCoy is the perfect player and personality to plug in at the crucial under tackle spot on the defensive line -- and instantly impact a unit that gave up a league-worst 158.2 rushing yards per game -- and bring a tradition of excellence back to that side of the ball. McCoy is the highest draft choice by the team since the Bucs selected Vinny Testaverde No. 1 overall in 1987. There's already a 10-story image of him decorating a corner of Raymond James Stadium. He'll need to play that big in his first season.