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As we get ready for the start of free agency, let’s have some fun with numbers. Let’s turn to ESPN Stats & Information for some interesting nuggets on players that could be joining or leaving the NFC South.

• Houston defensive end Mario Williams is a player many are speculating could be a target of the Atlanta Falcons. Over the past five seasons, Williams has averaged 0.73 sacks per game. Only Dallas’ DeMarcus Ware (1.0) and Minnesota’s Jared Allen (0.99) have had better averages. Williams, who missed 11 games with an injury last season, has 13.5 sacks over the past two seasons. Ten of those have come when the Texans used four or fewer pass rushers.

• Williams’ ability to make things happen when a defense isn’t blitzing could fill a big hole in Atlanta. The Falcons likely will let veteran defensive end John Abraham depart as a free agent. Abraham’s been Atlanta’s only consistent pass rusher in recent years. Over the last two seasons, all 22.5 of Abraham’s sacks have come when the Falcons have sent four or fewer pass rushers. Only Allen (26 sacks) and Jason Babin (23.5) are ahead of Abraham in that category.

• New Orleans receiver Marques Colston can become a free agent. The Saints would like him back, but might not be able to afford him because they have limited salary-cap room. If Colston leaves, the Saints will be losing a lot. Last season, Colston came up with receptions on a league-high 76.9 percent of his targets. Since entering the NFL in 2006, Colston ranks ninth in receptions (449), eighth in receiving yards (6,240) and seventh in touchdowns (48). Colston has had five 1,000 yard seasons in his six years. Only Randy Moss has had 1,000 yards in each of his first six seasons.

• Tennessee cornerback Cortland Finnegan, who has been mentioned as a possible target for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, played all 1,142 defensive snaps the Titans had last year. Finnegan has started 42 consecutive games, the fourth-longest active streak by a cornerback. His 13 interceptions since 2008 tie him for No. 15 in the league.

• Oakland running back Michael Bush, who also has brought speculation he could be pursued by the Buccaneers, had career highs in rushes (256) and rushing yards (977) last season. But Bush’s 3.82 yard-per-carry average was the lowest in the NFL among running backs with at least 200 carries. Bush, however, was effective in short-yardage situations. When needing three or fewer yards for a first down, Bush rushed for 34 first downs. Only LeSean McCoy (47) had more.

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FALLING

1. Greg Olson, Buccaneers offensive coordinator. Coming into the season, Olson was getting some mention as one of the “hot’’ coordinators and could have ended up with a shot at a job as a head coach with another good season. That hasn’t come anywhere close to happening. Like everything else with the Bucs, Olson’s offense has taken a step back. Heck, even if the Bucs wanted to fire coach Raheem Morris right now, they probably would be very hesitant to do it because Olson would be the likely candidate to take over on an interim basis and his season has been just as bad as Morris’.

2. Olindo Mare, Panthers kicker. Carolina made a controversial move in the offseason, letting go of kicker John Kasay, the last remaining member of the 1995 expansion team. They brought in Mare with a contract worth $12 million over four years. The thinking was the team could save a roster spot because Kasay hadn’t kicked off in years and the team had carried a kickoff specialist. Mare has been as good as any kicker in the league in recent years and the team believed he could be at least as accurate as Kasay on field goals and might be able to make some longer kicks. Well, Mare missed a 36-yard attempt in Sunday’s loss to Atlanta. He also missed a 31-yard attempt that would have sent an earlier game against Minnesota to overtime. Coach Ron Rivera said Monday the Panthers may take a look at some other kickers.

3. Donald Penn, Buccaneers left tackle. For most of the season, Penn has been the least of Tampa Bay’s troubles. But that changed in Jacksonville. Penn allowed a sack that led to a Josh Freeman fumble and didn’t have a good game all the way around. That comes at a bad time because Dallas’ DeMarcus Ware, who has 15 sacks, is coming to town Saturday night.

RISING

1. Mike Smith, Falcons coach. He was back at practice Monday night after having to check into a Charlotte hospital following Sunday’s victory against the Panthers. Smith declined to go into any specifics about his health, but said a series of tests showed no major problems. Smith said it will be business as usual as the Falcons prepare for Thursday night’s game against Jacksonville. But maybe somewhere in all of this, there is a lesson for Smith and every other coach in the NFL. They’re in a very competitive business and work ridiculous hours with almost no time off once training camp starts. But even in those circumstances, coaches need a little balance. An extra hour of rest or exercise here and there might do just as much overall good as an extra hour in the film room.

2. Gregg Williams, Saints defensive coordinator. His defense came up with two big stops late in the victory against Tennessee and has looked better overall in recent weeks. Williams needs to keep building on this positive momentum. Although Drew Brees and the offense generally have carried the Saints, they’re going to need some good outings from the defense if they want to get by San Francisco and Green Bay in the NFC playoffs.

3. Julio Jones, Falcons receiver. It sure looks like Jones is maturing right in front of our eyes. He came off a bad game against Houston and got off to a rough start Sunday against Carolina. But the coaching staff and quarterback Matt Ryan kept faith in Jones. That was rewarded in the second half as Jones had two touchdown catches to help the Falcons rally to a victory.

Time for a run through the Monday afternoon headlines from around the NFC South.

Falcons coach Mike Smith returned to Atlanta early this morning after being admitted to a Charlotte hospital following Sunday’s victory against Carolina. Smith was expected to take part in Monday afternoon meetings and the Falcons will have a walkthrough practice Monday night as they prepare for Thursday night’s game with Jacksonville.

New Orleans tight end Jimmy Graham said he played through back spasms in Sunday’s victory against Tennessee.

New Orleans strong safety Roman Harper wasn’t available to comment on claims by the Titans that he’s a dirty player. But free safety Malcolm Jenkins said being labeled as a dirty player is a sign of respect.

Carolina kicker Olindo Mare missed a short field-goal attempt when Sunday’s game was on the line against Atlanta. Coach Ron Rivera said he’ll meet with general manager Marty Hurney to discuss the possibility of working out other kickers. Mare got big money when the Panthers signed him as a free agent. Where have you gone John Kasay? Oh, that’s right. Kasay is in New Orleans, where he’s kicking very well.

Tampa Bay left tackle Donald Penn didn’t have a great game at Jacksonville. Next, he has to face DeMarcus Ware, who is second in the league with 15 sacks, when the Buccaneers host the Cowboys on Saturday night.

Our Power Rankings for the linebackers are out and Carolina’s Jon Beason is the only NFC South representative.

He finished in a tie for ninth place with Kansas City’s Tamba Hali. This was an especially tough vote because we had to factor in 3-4 linebackers like Hali, DeMarcus Ware and other pass-rushers with guys who play the middle in the 4-3, like Beason.

I put Beason No. 6 on my ballot and NFC West colleague Mike Sando had him at No 5. But three panelists left Beason completely off their ballots. I think Beason has been forgotten a bit around the league because of what’s happened in Carolina, but he’s still the best linebacker in the NFC South.

Beason was the only linebacker from the division on my ballot and was the only NFC South linebacker to receive any votes from any of the panelists. For the record, I gave strong consideration to New Orleans’ Jonathan Vilma. He would have made my ballot if so many pass-rushers didn’t get in the way and those guys do make a big impact.

Atlanta’s Curtis Lofton and Tampa Bay’s Barrett Ruud? Both are very solid middle linebackers, but they don’t make many game-changing plays. I also would have given Carolina outside linebacker Thomas Davis a vote if he hadn’t missed last season with an injury. When healthy, Davis is on par with Beason.

We’ll continue our Power Rankings series Tuesday with the linebackers.

I filled out my ballot last night and can tell you Carolina’s Jon Beason, New Orleans’ Jonathan Vilma and Atlanta’s Curtis Lofton all got strong consideration. I even gave some thought to Tampa Bay’s Barrett Ruud, but I’ll go ahead and reveal now that he didn’t make my final ballot.

This might have been the toughest vote of the Power Rankings series so far. That’s because linebacker is such a broad position in the NFL these days. I think of guys like Beason, Vilma and Lofton as traditional linebackers because they all play in the middle of 4-3 defenses.

But look around the league and you see guys like DeMarcus Ware, Tamba Hali and Terrell Suggs. They’re pass-rushers. But they’re also linebackers, so those three and some others were very much in the mix on my ballot.

I talked to several of the other voters and we’re in agreement that we have to be creative with the parameters on this vote. It’s hard to compare someone like Beason to someone like Ware because they don’t really play the same position.

In the end, my ballot included apples and oranges. I kept that in mind and just tried to look at how all the different types of linebackers impact their teams. Should be interesting to see the results once all the ballots are in.

The Colts and Saints arrive in Miami on Monday, when the hype for Super Bowl XLIV will kick into high gear.

Eager to do our part, we locked NFC South blogger Pat Yasinskas, who analyzes the Saints for ESPN.com, and AFC South blogger Paul Kuharsky, who tracks the Colts, in a room and asked them to talk through several of the top issues.

We’re sure to revisit many of them in the week to come, so consider this a tasty platter or appetizers. Tuck a napkin in your collar and dive in.

How much of a factor is it that the Colts have a recent Super Bowl championship on their resume, while this is the first Super Bowl appearance in a not-so-glorious franchise history for the Saints?

Pat Yasinskas: I’m not going to even try to bluff my way through this one or downplay this aspect. This is a huge factor and the Saints are clearly at a disadvantage here. By my count, they’ve only got four players who have even appeared in a Super Bowl (with other teams, of course). That’s safety Darren Sharper, cornerback Randall Gay, fullback Kyle Eckel and long-snapper Jason Kyle. Gay is the only one of those guys with a Super Bowl ring.

If you really want to pad the list, I suppose we could throw in tight ends Jeremy Shockey and David Thomas, who were on the injured-reserve list when their teams went to Super Bowls, and fullback Heath Evans, who went to a Super Bowl with New England. But Evans won’t play in this one because he’s on injured reserve. That’s it. Not a long list of guys who have been there and done that.

The Saints haven’t been here before, but they have to act as if they have. They’ve got strong veteran leadership in players such as Sharper, Drew Brees and Jonathan Vilma. They’ll have to follow their lead. Just as important, the coaching staff has to set the tone that the Saints shouldn’t stroll into Miami with their eyes wide open. They need all eyes focused only on winning the game.

Paul Kuharsky: I’m not expecting the Saints to be overwhelmed or unfocused by the hype or events of Super Bowl week. They were smart to get their game plan drawn up and installed during the week after winning their conference, same as the Colts did.

It’s Super Bowl Sunday itself that can prove to be the big difference. It’s great to have people tell you about the unnatural start time, the long delay between warm-ups and pregame festivities and the extended halftime to make room for The Who. It’s another thing to go through it yourself. Edge: Colts. Not only have they done it, they’ve done it in this very venue.

I also think the adrenaline that shoots through guys when kickoff finally arrives can make it hard for them to settle down. Indianapolis will be better prepared for that, and if the Colts settle down more quickly than the Saints, New Orleans has to hope by the time its feet hit the ground it’s not facing a two-score deficit.

Understandably, the first thing people talk about with these two teams is the passing game. But both the Colts and the Saints can run the ball a little bit. Which team has the better running game?

PY: I’m going with the Saints. People tend to overlook their running game, but it’s a big reason why they’re in the Super Bowl. One of the best things Sean Payton did in the offseason was realize his running game was inconsistent and just plain bad last year. He made a conscious commitment to make the running game better this year and the most impressive thing might be that he and general manager Mickey Loomis were able to avoid the temptation to go out and sign Edgerrin James or draft Beanie Wells.

They realized they already had some good backs in the building with Pierre Thomas, Reggie Bush and Mike Bell and they added Lynell Hamilton for a bit of depth. They had a good offensive line already in place, and Payton altered his play calling to have a more balanced offense that allowed the Saints to protect leads and run out the clock.

New Orleans doesn’t have one dominant back. Thomas can do a bit of everything, Bush provides speed and a receiver out of the backfield and Bell and Hamilton give the Saints some power. This makes for a very solid combination.

PK: I like the Saints' running game better as well, but as we’ve discussed thoroughly in the AFC South blog this season, the Colts aren’t looking for conventional production in this department. They need their runners to pick up blitzes, put together some efficient runs, work well in play-action, and not put the team in bad spots with runs for losses. The home run plays are far more likely to come out of the passing game.

It’s important to note that the Colts, the NFL’s lowest-rated running team in the regular season, just out-rushed the Jets, the league’s top ground game, in the AFC title game. Indy has survived a lot of quality running backs too, including the Titans' explosive 2,000-yard runner Chris Johnson. While he torched the rest of the league, averaging 5.8 yards a carry, he managed 4.1 and 147 total rushing yards against the Colts in two Tennessee losses.

The Colts may give up some yards, but overall they are more than capable of containing Thomas, Bush, Bell and Hamilton well enough to win.

The quarterbacks are obviously the marquee names in this game and they will be dissected all week.

PK: I have a great deal of appreciation for Drew Brees, but even if he wins this game, we’re not going to be calling him Peyton Manning’s equal. Both quarterbacks are excellent leaders. Both are supremely accurate. Both have a quality stable of weapons.

But things begin to stray from there. Manning has four MVPs, including this season’s, and he won it over Brees, who finished second. Manning has a lot more big-game experience and a title on his resume. And while he wasn’t always at his best on the playoff stage, he’s playing at a level right now where a lot of people feel, reasonably it seems, that he may just be unstoppable.

In the AFC Championship Game, against the Jets and the NFL’s top-rated defense, he needed some time to figure out what New York was trying to do. Once he did, he shredded the Jets with 377 yards and three touchdowns. His in-game adjustments, with help from coordinator Tom Moore, are unparalleled. And like a lot of defensive coaches before him, Gregg Williams is talking about sending people at Manning and hitting him. These days, it very rarely works out the way against Manning and the Colts, as it did against Brett Favre and the Vikings.

PY: Paul, let me start by saying I respect the heck out of Manning and all he has achieved. He is a first-ballot Hall of Famer and, quite possibly, the best quarterback ever. And I’ll gladly agree that he probably is playing at his highest level ever right now.

That said, why can’t we call Brees his equal if the Saints win this game? Seriously, I believe the only thing really separating Brees and Manning right now is a Super Bowl ring. Look at Brees’ numbers the past few years. He’s right there with Manning. I honestly remember watching him in training camp last year and thinking, “This guy is the closest thing to Peyton Manning I’ve ever seen’’ and Brees has only continued to improve since then. He has carried a franchise on his shoulders and that franchise is the New Orleans Saints -- enough said about that.

As for the MVPs, that’s a wonderful thing. But I think some of that is overrated and the Manning name carries a lot of weight in elections. I’m not trying to tear down Manning at all. But I think you have to at least let Brees in the same sentence if he can win this game. I’ll offer a compromise here. If the Saints win this game, can we at least say the two best quarterbacks in the league are from teams in the South?

PK: Well, beyond four MVPs to none, if the Colts win Manning will be up two Super Bowls to none, and while he’s only three NFL seasons ahead of Brees he has led his team to the postseason 10 times to Brees’ three. Lots of cushion there in my eyes. But I’ll go with you on the South divisions ranking one and two if Brees gets his hands on that Lombardi Trophy.

We talked quarterbacks, of course we have to talk pass rushes. How much will the guys chasing Manning and Brees influence this game?

PK: For a long time the Colts' defense was at its best when the offense got a lead and made the opponent one-dimensional. That did a lot to get the run game out of the mix against a defense keyed around speed, not size, and put Dwight Freeney and Robert Mathis in those maximal pass-rushing situations.

It doesn’t have to be that way now. This version of the Colts is still fast, but the defense is a bit bigger with Antonio Johnson and Daniel Muir manning the middle of the line. It has a second big-hitting linebacker in Clint Session to go with Gary Brackett and boasts defensive backs who can come up and hit as well as run and cover.

Jon Stinchcomb (against Mathis) and Jermon Bushrod (against Freeney) will be dealing with some serious speed. If Freeney's ankle injury holds him out or limits him, that will hurt. Raheem Brock is a quality third end, but he won't necessarily prompt the Saints to help Bushrod with a tight end or back, so the vaunted Saints passing attack may not have to sacrifice a weapon in protection. If the Colts bring a fifth rusher to help, as they have much more often in Larry Coyer’s first season as their defensive coordinator, the timing up front can get all out of whack no matter who's at end.

If either defense can prompt some happy feet, it could be an edge.

PY: Absolutely. The pass rush is going to be a deciding factor in this game for both teams. No doubt Indianapolis has a great pass rush and that’s a challenge for the entire New Orleans offense, particularly Bushrod. He is a backup who has been forced to play all season because of an injury to Jammal Brown.

Bushrod has his limitations. But he has held up all right against players such as Julius Peppers and John Abraham. DeMarcus Ware has been the only guy to really tear him apart. Admittedly, a lot of that has to do with the rest of this offense more than it does with Bushrod’s skills. The Saints account for him on every play and they’ve been able to cover him because the rest of their offensive line is so good. They’ve given him help from tight ends, fullbacks and running backs and the offense is designed so that Brees rarely takes deep drops and he gets rid of the ball very quickly. Plus, it’s tough to fluster Brees.

Sure, it’s tough to fluster Manning too, but that’s not going to stop the Saints from trying, and their pass rush is better than a lot of people think. Defensive end Will Smith is one of the most underrated players in this game and Bobby McCray’s a pretty good pass-rusher too. With Sedrick Ellis and Anthony Hargrove, the Saints are capable of getting a push in the middle and Gregg Williams is not afraid to bring the blitz -- although I don’t see him doing it a lot in this game. The Saints beat up Favre and Kurt Warner in their two playoff games. I know Manning is seen as sacred by a lot of people, but I don’t think Williams and the New Orleans defense view him that way.

PK: However it unfolds, I root for a classic. We should have good seats, I want the good storylines too.

PY: I’m with you my friend. Nothing better than the Super Bowl -- good football, good weather and good entertainment. Remember how great Bruce Springsteen’s show was at halftime last year? Oh, that’s right, you didn’t make it. Hope The Who helps make up for that.

PK: Could be another tricky day for you and the team you’re following. But it’ll be fun to join together to see how it unfolds.

NEW ORLEANS -- Now we know for certain the New Orleans Saints are not a perfect team.

But come on, stop acting so surprised that the Dallas Cowboys came into the Superdome on Saturday night, dominated the Saints for three quarters, and were able to hold off a furious fourth-quarter rally on their way to a 24-17 victory.

This time, there was no miracle on Poydras Street, just Drew Brees getting crushed (again) and fumbling the ball -- and his shot at the MVP trophy to Peyton Manning -- as the clock ticked down. So much for 16-0.

But isn’t this kind of appropriate anyway? Reach deep down and tell the truth -- have the Saints really been anything close to a perfect team for the last month or so?

If you had visions of them going through the regular season undefeated and strolling on to win the Super Bowl (read 19-0), you were hallucinating or too caught up in the hype. Fact is, the Saints have showed their flaws every week (except for that New England game) since a Nov. 15 trip to St. Louis.

Maybe you should have seen rookies and old guys getting thrown into the secondary and getting thrown on. Maybe you shouldn’t have been nominating replacement left tackle Jermon Bushrod for the Pro Bowl and realized that, translated into Cajun, Bushrod means "smoke, mirrors and, in the end, duck."

And maybe you haven’t noticed, but no matter who’s in the secondary, this defense just isn’t all that good when defensive tackle Sedrick Ellis isn’t on the field. Oh, and there also was that myth, although it sure looked true for a long time, that the Saints could spot anybody any lead and still find a way to win it in the fourth quarter.

Soon-to-be-former Cowboys kicker Nick Folk did open the door for the miracle of all miracles when he sent a short field-goal attempt on a collision course with the upright with two minutes, 16 seconds remaining. But 2:04 later, Dallas defensive end DeMarcus Ware blew past Bushrod and decked Brees and any shot at perfection.

"All of our goals are still out there,"’ New Orleans receiver Marques Colston said.

Several other Saints uttered similar words and they are absolutely right. The Saints are 13-1, they should win their final two games against Tampa Bay at home and Carolina on the road, and they should end up with home-field advantage throughout the NFC playoffs.

And, yes, it is still entirely possible this could be a special season. A Super Bowl victory remains somewhere on the horizon.

But let’s not talk Super Bowl or even playoffs right now.

"If you’re playing a playoff game and you go out and play like that, you’re going to have the same result as tonight," New Orleans safety Darren Sharper said.

Sharper is exactly right. Picture the Saints playing the way they did against the Cowboys against … oh, let’s say Philadelphia or Arizona or Minnesota or Dallas, again, in the playoffs. It would be ugly.

But this isn’t about bashing the Saints, so let’s look on the bright side. All the attention and pressure that comes with being undefeated is now gone. And all those questions about whether the Saints should rest their starters or shoot for perfection will stop.

"There is no type of relief,’" New Orleans coach Sean Payton said. "It’s disappointing. It’s disappointing when you lose."

Disappointing, but not really all that disastrous.

The Saints are still in a spot where everyone else in the NFC would love to be sitting. And, this might be the best news of all, there’s plenty of room to make it all better.

Now, the Saints can focus entirely on fixing their problems. They got banged-up cornerback Tracy Porter and linebacker Scott Fujita back on the field against the Cowboys. The Saints are always very tight-lipped with information on injuries and Payton wasn’t providing any postgame updates on running back Reggie Bush, linebacker Jonathan Vilma, center Jonathan Goodwin or cornerback Randall Gay, each of whom had to leave the field, for at least some time, with injuries.

All indications are cornerback Jabari Greer, who has sat out the past six games with a groin injury, Ellis and tight end Jeremy Shockey, who was a bit of a surprise scratch Saturday with a turf-toe injury, will be back. Maybe before the regular season ends, and almost certainly for the playoffs.

Plug Greer and Porter back in as the starting cornerbacks and you don’t have to keep throwing rookie Malcolm Jenkins and veteran Mike McKenzie, who was on the street a month ago, out there. Plug Greer and Porter back in and Sharper no longer has to play mostly Cover 2 to bail out McKenzie and Jenkins. Sharper can roam free as he did early in the season when he was an interception machine.

Remember how good the New Orleans defense was early in the season? There’s really no reason it can’t be like that again. Get Ellis and Greer healthy and all the parts should be in place.

And get Shockey back healthy so the Saints can go with their two-tight end sets, with Shockey and David Thomas, instead of having to use only Thomas and leaving Bushrod without much help against the Dallas pass rush.

Picture all that and you still can see a bright ending for the Saints. It can’t be perfect now, but if the Saints can fix all that’s ailed them for the last month in time for the playoffs, a Super Bowl win would be better than perfect.

Posted by ESPN.com’s Pat Yasinskas

Five nuggets of knowledge about this weekend's games:

New Orleans’ defense will look like the Steelers of the 1970s. There’s been a lot of hype about new coordinator Gregg Williams and all the new defensive personnel. We’ve seen glimpses of a new aggressive attitude in the preseason. But we really haven’t seen anything yet. This unit will be spectacular Sunday and that’s naturally going to raise hopes. But keep this one in perspective. The Saints are playing the Detroit Lions and rookie quarterback Matthew Stafford. Williams will go after him and you’re going to see sacks and turnovers -- things that were rare for this defense in the past -- and that’s great. But the Saints have to build from this game and show that this defense can dominate against teams that have won a game sometime in recent memory.

	J. Meric/Getty Images
	Josh Freeman is No. 2 on the depth chart behind the injury-prone Byron Leftwich.

Josh Freeman’s only an injury away. The Bucs made a lot of offseason noise about how they don’t want rookie quarterback Josh Freeman playing right away. Probably not a bad concept when you look at the Lions and realize the Saints could turn Stafford into the next Joey Harrington. But the Bucs, who’ve done a lot of things that defy logic recently, kind of contradicted themselves when they traded Luke McCown to Jacksonville. Sure, they’ve got veteran Byron Leftwich as the starter and they want him to lead this team through a brutal early schedule. But Leftwich doesn’t have a track record for durability and he’s the only insulation between Freeman and the playing field. With DeMarcus Ware lining up across the way, Bucs fans could be seeing Freeman long before they want to.

If I’m Andy Reid, I’m turning into Joe Paterno: Yeah, I know the Eagles aren’t what anybody would call a power-running team. Brian Westbrook does most of his damage on the fringes and that’s been working nicely for almost a generation. But, if Reid takes a look at the middle of Carolina’s defensive line, he’s got to consider scrapping all that for a day. With Maake Kemoeatu lost for the season, the Panthers likely will start Damione Lewis, who isn’t a run stuffer, and Nick Hayden, who shouldn’t be an NFL starter. They’ll be backed up by two guys who just joined the roster this week. John Fox and Kris Jenkins despised one another when they were together in Carolina. But I’m thinking Fox would gladly swallow his pride and welcome back Jenkins, and all his antics, right about now.

Is Atlanta’s defense really that bad? There was panic in the preseason because the Falcons looked horrible on defense. Yes, there are reasons to be concerned, but don’t freak out about what you see in the preseason because it doesn’t show you the whole picture. The Falcons were cautious with veteran defensive end John Abraham, but they won’t hold him back in the regular season. Yes, they’ve got five new starters on defense and there may be some growing pains. But did you really think the aging Keith Brooking, Lawyer Milloy and Grady Jackson were that vital to a defense that wasn’t exactly great last season? There was a reason the Falcons let them go.

Fantasy advice: We’ve got other people on our site who specialize in this and take their word before mine. But I’ve got some random thoughts this week. If you’ve got a Saint -- any Saint -- start him. If you’ve got Drew Brees or Marques Colston, you’ve already won. Be careful if you’ve got a Tampa Bay running back -- Cadillac Williams, Derrick Ward and Earnest Graham are going to be splitting carries. With the possible exception of Brees, DeAngelo Williams is going to be the most solid fantasy player in the NFC South each week. Don’t let all the Tony Gonzalez and Jerious Norwood hype steer you away from Michael Turner.