NFL News: The Awfully Disappointing NFC South

Image Credit: MaddenEliteEvolution.com

By: Kai Jones

If you’re reading this article, I’m sure you’re smelling something: that smell…is the NFC South. If you have been following the NFC South you know that the Panthers are in first place…with a 3-4-1 record. This conference has always been inconsistent since the realignment in 2002; no team has repeated as division champs since the division was formed. While no team has been able to repeat as champs, this division has normally been pretty solid against the rest of the league, as 7 of the 12 years a team from the division has been in the NFC Championship game. Coming into this season some highly esteemed football people had the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the Super Bowl. So what is wrong with these teams?

First off, let’s start with the defending champs and 1^st place team. The Carolina Panthers opened up the season against the Buccaneers and looked strong, even without their starting QB Cam Newton. They even played an impressive game against the Detroit Lions the next week. Then came the nosedive, since their win against the Lions, the Panthers have gone 1-4-1 (you know it’s bad when you can’t even outright win). The offense has been about on pace with their pace from last season, but what has taken a step back is their defense. The defense last year was 2^nd in the league, but this year they are only 21^st. The defense is missing Quinton Mikell, Michael Mitchell, and Captain Munnerlyn; all left in free agency. The secondary was looked at last year as the Achilles’ heel of the defense and with the lost of 3 starters they got even worse, not to mention that star defensive end Greg Hardy is inactive due to his ongoing domestic violence case. While the Panthers have been bad, their biggest threat has been just as bad.

The New Orleans Saints were thought to be a much-improved team coming into this year. The Saints brought in high-profile safety Jarius Byrd and timeworn legendary cornerback Champ Bailey. While these additions seemed great, the Saints still lost multiple players including: Will Smith, Jonathan Vilma, Jabari Greer, Darren Sproles, and Lance Moore among other important players from last year’s playoff team. So maybe inevitably they have struggled, especially their defense. The team looked better in the last game the played, routing the Packers 44-23, so maybe they’re on the upswing.

The team on the lowest downturn in the division is the Atlanta Falcons. The Falcons sit 3^rd in the division, so why are they on the worst downturn? Considering they were just in the NFC Championship game two seasons ago, their downturn is much worse than the Buccaneers who have not been good since 2010. The Falcons are on a 5 game losing streak, and have not won since the bludgeoning of the Buccaneers. The Falcons seem to lack depth, outside of the wide receiver position, and Matt Ryan has no time to get the receivers the ball behind his porous offensive line. Without the offense playing well, this defense cannot be masked. The defense hasn’t played terribly, but with a bad offense as well, the team is not going to win very many football games.

Speaking of not winning very many football games, let’s discuss the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Buccaneers since their 2010 10-win-season, have won just 16 games since. There aren’t many bright spots on this team, despite Herm Edwards picking them to go to the Super Bowl; this team has just been bad. The defense many thought would be great, has been the worst in the league. The offense has been as bad as many thought it would be, as it ranks 28^th in the league. The solution? Keep rebuilding. The Buccaneers have been rebuilding since they fired the prominent head coach, Jon Gruden. Although, their biggest problem has been firing two coaches since Gruden. In the NFL, it’s hard to rebuild and change coaches simultaneously, so hopefully the Buccaneers will keep Lovie Smith and let him rebuild their once winning culture.

The NFC South has been very bad these first 8 weeks, but hopefully one or two of the teams can get it together and make this proud division formidable before the postseason begins. While in 2010 the 7-9 Seahawks defeated the defending Champion New Orleans Saints in the playoffs, no one wants to see a below .500 team in the playoffs. The Panthers and Saints face offon Thursday Night Football tonight, so maybe we can gauge how the division will look going forward.

The NFL Is Losing Money Because Of Suspensions? Wait just ONE second...

Image Credit: NYDailyNews.com

By: Kai Jones

Since 2012, the NFL has dealt with a major scandal every season. In 2012, it was the New Orleans Saints with Bountygate. In 2013, it was the Dolphins with Bullygate. This year, it has been multiple incidents: most famously Ray Rice, Adrian Peterson, and Josh Gordon. The NFL suspension list has increased since Commissioner Roger Goodell came into office. In 2005, Ricky Williams was the only player suspended. In 2006, Goodell’s inaugural year as commissioner, it jumped to seven players suspended throughout the year. The number has seemingly increased almost every year, as Goodell tries to hold the players to a higher standard. But this year over 40 players have been suspended. That does not include Ray Rice who has been nearly erased from anything NFL related. Also does not include Peterson, who was placed on the Commissioner’s Exempt List for allegedly abusing his son; or Greg Hardy who was also placed on the Commissioner’s Exempt List for his ongoing domestic violence case.

It seems like the NFL cannot avoid bad publicity this year, as the St. Louis Rams received outrage because they cut the first openly gay player: Michael Sam. Many believed he was cut for being gay. The Dallas Cowboys picked him up as a favor to the league, so the league could avoid more bad publicity as they were dealing with the backlash of Ray Rice’s domestic violence case. Sam was cut two days ago, and the league avoided the LGBT community’s backlash that they had began to receive after the Rams cut him. Other than that incident, it seems like the league’s image has taken a hit at almost every other angle. From having to suspend Josh Brent for intoxication manslaughter (a case from 2012) to Josh Gordon for drug abuse: but does it matter?

With all these suspensions and outrage from various groups you would think the NFL would be hit where it hurts (the wallet), right? Nope, the Super Bowl rematch received a 44 percent increase in TV ratings from the Super Bowl game, and Monday Night’s matchup between the Texans and Steelers received better TV ratings than MLB’s World Series Game 1. The NFL has moral issues, but do the owners really care considering their wallets aren’t hurt? Probably not, but do the fans care? Probably not, but Commissioner Goodell doesn’t care as long as he can flex his iron fist and receive his paycheck. It seems we all turn a blind eye to the shortcomings of these athletes. Even though these athletes play a gladiator sport, but at the end of the day they are just humans and make mistakes: so grab a beer and watch football since we all have our vices, even millionaire athletes.