@mic---Good post. I couldn't agree with you more about the need for protection up the middle. Although it's been said the center position is less important for the draft than the RB position, I'm hoping against hope we can get JPJ.
I feel that the Bucs offense left a lot of points on the field last year because they played a reserved ground and pound style. This is why I see Coen will be more aggressive pushing the ball downfield with the pass to open up run lanes. And in turn will allow the Bucs to score points earlier in the game allowing the Bucs defense to tee off by playing with a lead.
Too much uncertainty with Atlanta for them to go head to head with the Bucs for the division. They have London, Pitts, and Hodge but the rest of their WRs are slot guys. The Falcons have invested a lot into the OL but they haven't really gelled and I feel like their talented RBs did most of the heavy lifting. Defensively we will see if they can absorb Raheem's scheme and if Lake can put it together quickly.
Now, the Saints on the other hand they had some fatal flaws on their roster that kept them from doing more (eg OT) but they have an opportunity to crush it with a good draft. All they have to do is address OT then work on depth for defense and offense in the late rounds.
falcons are clear favorite in the south, but let's play some football first
About as clear to me, as New Orleans was with their shiny new FA/QB, back in 2023.falcons are clear favorite in the south, but let's play some football first
unfortunately, not even close.
saints made a competitive suicide continuing their cap manipulations after brees retired, they won't be back for another five years. falcons are unfortunately smarter than that.
but as I said, let's draft and play some football first, you never know how it turns out
I agree. I just think the 2024 schedule is much kinder to ATL, they have as many red flags as NO did, heading into this season.unfortunately, not even close.
saints made a competitive suicide continuing their cap manipulations after brees retired, they won't be back for another five years. falcons are unfortunately smarter than that.but as I said, let's draft and play some football first, you never know how it turns out
I also agree to let it play out. I’m just confident the timeline will be a longer than one season.
Bucs defense as it currently stands with the players they have matches up better with Atlanta's offense. Bucs can shut down the run and then suffocate their boundary WRs. So it comes down to Pitts making the Bucs pay. Plus, Cousins heavily relies on play action and without that he tends to be a sitting duck.
Now the Saints on the other hand their offense is a mismatch for the Bucs. Kamara out of the backfield and their three speedy WRs along with J. Johnson is tough for any defense.
That is why I think the Bucs will have to draft a DB or two in the upcoming draft. And a cover ILB along with an edge rusher to match up better against the Saints for 2024 and beyond.
The Falcons are taking quite a few hits for drafting Penix. Check out the Barstool Sports article and read the comments. LOL! I didn't realize Penix has had 4 season ending injuries.
I liked the selections for the Panthers and Saints. The Panthers went with Xavier Legette who is a big physical WR. Between Legette, Mingo and Marshall Jr somebody has to emerge as the true #3 WR on their depth chart.
The Saints did what I expected them to do and that was to shore up OT. That was the key fatal flaw in their offense and really hindered what they were doing on offense. For round 2 I think they go defense. After that they have a slew of fifth and sixth round picks where they can either trade back into the third round or just stand pat to built depth on both sides of the ball.
For day 2 the Falcons recovered with better selections to help their defensive front as they need younger players to develop and contribute. Trice is a good fit for Lake's scheme and Orohorhoro is a needed player for Atlanta's front. The Panthers draft strategy was to really take high potential players to develop almost as if looking toward the future more so than this upcoming season. Brooks is a good RB but I do wonder why such a high pick was spent on a RB given that Hubbard and Sanders are more than capable with a proper OL unit up front. Wallace is a LB with high potential but he is very raw so I do not think they will have him play early on in Evero's scheme. The Saints nabbing Kool-aid makes sense given how they play defense and he too is probably not going to be asked to do a lot as a rookie.
Surprisingly all NFCS teams on day 2 approached the draft with a mindset looking beyond 2024 or it seems that way.
raheem and fontenot went nuts with their first pick …. “you liked that?“ 😀 😎
I did, any distraction in cocacolatown is very welcome 👍
I know everyone likes and respects rah, but for me he is everything but HC
Already placed my bet on Bucs to win the south.
I feel good
Two of our best games last year was against GB and Jaguars . The line gave Baker time and opened some holes on the line for the RB'S . The 3RD WR stepped up and made plays when ME13 and Godwin were taken away. I feel like with a whole off-season and weight room Cody Mauch will be much improved I also think Barton is probably already the Buc's best option at Center or LG. The Buc's are hoping Braswell is kinda like Shaq, Braswell put up good numbers in a limited roll at Bama . With a bigger role and better coaching they betting he can turn into a game changer. I also think Tykee Smith , Whitehead and Winfield allow our Coach to get creative and bring back a lot of the stuff he did during the SB run. Also YaYa and Kancey have to improve from last year. Think Kancey at DT is a cheat mode for us , hopefully he proves me right.
So looking over the drafts of the NFCS I would say I was impressed by what the Saints accomplished the most compared to other divisional foes.
With their three first picks they picked up an OT, CB and QB to develop. Fuaga figures to be in the mix to start given how much uncertainty is with the Saints OL. McKinstry adds a young talent to a DB room that needed a talent injection. Rattler will sit and develop but sooner or later the value of starting Rattler may exceed the logic of keeping Carr around to start by taking up so much cap space.
They added WR Means who can fly and their top three are already one of the fastest trio in the NFL.
Then they finished the rest of their draft by picking the versatile Ford at LB and then Boyd as an interior DL depth. Ezierim figures to be a project that they work on because they are desperate for some depth along the OL.
I agree with this. I think the Saints got marginally better, but still have a limit switch on their progress in Carr. As you’ve said, if they can successfully make him a game manager, something not a lot of people have had success doing, they would be concerning. They are THE concern.So looking over the drafts of the NFCS I would say I was impressed by what the Saints accomplished the most compared to other divisional foes.
With their three first picks they picked up an OT, CB and QB to develop. Fuaga figures to be in the mix to start given how much uncertainty is with the Saints OL. McKinstry adds a young talent to a DB room that needed a talent injection. Rattler will sit and develop but sooner or later the value of starting Rattler may exceed the logic of keeping Carr around to start by taking up so much cap space.
They added WR Means who can fly and their top three are already one of the fastest trio in the NFL.
Then they finished the rest of their draft by picking the versatile Ford at LB and then Boyd as an interior DL depth. Ezierim figures to be a project that they work on because they are desperate for some depth along the OL.
