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This is the time of year when you hear a lot about offseason workouts. This is when teams can begin conditioning drills and get out onto the field to start working on football and that continues through minicamps and organized team activities.

It’s a great time to build chemistry. You’ll also hear a lot of coaches bragging about how almost all their players are participating in the workouts, which is great. But, in some cases, there’s a lot of money to be earned just for showing up and working out in the offseason.

I just got a look at all the offseason workout bonuses scheduled to be earned (if the players take part in a majority of the workouts) by NFC South players this year and there were some eye openers. Tampa Bay general manager Mark Dominik doesn’t use a lot of workout bonuses in the contracts he negotiates. But, when he does use them, they’re significant. Tight end Kellen Winslow and cornerback Eric Wright have the largest workout bonuses in the division for 2012 at $500,000 each. Offensive tackle Donald Penn is right behind them at $400,000 and defensive tackle Gerald McCoy is scheduled to collect $300,000. Linebacker Quincy Black has a $250,000 bonus and defensive tackle Amobi Okoye is slated to make $200,000. Those six are the only Buccaneers with workout bonuses this year, but they come to a total of $2.15 million.

Carolina general manager Marty Hurney and New Orleans general manager Mickey Loomis are much more liberal in their use of workout bonuses. The Saints and Panthers each have 21 players scheduled to earn workout bonuses this year.

Carolina’s scheduled workout bonuses add up to $2.055 million. I won’t list anyone under six figures. But here are the guys who can earn big money. Charles Johnson, Jon Beason, DeAngelo Williams, Ryan Kalil and Ron Edwards each are scheduled to make $250,000. Charles Godfrey, James Anderson, Olindo Mare and Garry Williams each can earn $100,000.

If all the New Orleans players take part in enough workouts, the Saints will have to pay out $2.381 million. Sedrick Ellis leads the Saints with a $250,000 workout bonus. Jahri Evans, Lance Moore and Scott Shanle each are scheduled to make $200,000 and Will Smith is slated to make $150,000. Marques Colston, Roman Harper, Jabari Greer, Jermon Bushrod, Jonathan Vilma, Malcolm Jenkins, Devery Henderson, Pierre Thomas, David Thomas, Korey Hall and Will Herring each are scheduled to make $100,000.

Apparently, Atlanta’s Thomas Dimitroff, who probably works out more (he rides a bike religiously) than any NFC South general manager, doesn’t believe in workout bonuses. Dimitroff has used them very sparingly in the past. This year, there’s not a single Atlanta player schedule to earn a workout bonus.

Now, that the NFL draft is over, let’s have some fun. Let’s start looking ahead to next season with team-by-team looks at what I project as the opening day lineups for each of the four NFC South teams.

Let’s start with the New Orleans Saints, who might not have any rookies open the season as starters because they didn’t have a draft pick until the third round. Also, let’s keep in mind that the Saints could be dealing with some suspensions from their bounty program. We won’t speculate on possible suspensions. We’ll just go with the depth chart as I see it now and I’ll throw in comments where there could be competition.

OFFENSE

• QB Drew Brees (assuming his contract situation gets straightened out)
• RB Pierre Thomas (you can also count Darren Sproles as a starter)
• FB Jed Collins
• WR Marques Colston
• WR Devery Henderson (Lance Moore will play as much as the starters)
• TE Jimmy Graham
• LT Jermon Bushrod
• LG Ben Grubbs
• C Brian de la Puente
• RG Jahri Evans
• RT Zach Strief

DEFENSE

• DE Will Smith
• DT Sedrick Ellis
• DT Brodrick Bunkley
• DE Cameron Jordan
• LB Curtis Lofton
• LB Jonathan Vilma (it remains to be seen if Vilma or Lofton will play in the middle)
• LB Scott Shanle
• CB Jabari Greer
• CB Patrick Robinson
• FS Malcolm Jenkins
• SS Roman Harper

SPECIALISTS

• K Garrett Hartley (assuming he wins training camp competition with John Kasay)
• P Thomas Morstead
• PR Darren Sproles
• KR Darren Sproles

As we get ready for the NFL draft to resume, let’s take a spin through some NFC South headlines.

— Great quote from NFL Network draft analyst Mike Mayock on Tampa Bay safety Mark Barron: “I love this kid because his floor and ceiling are the same thing. His ceiling is to be a Pro Bowl safety; his floor is to be a Pro Bowl safety. That’s how good this young man is.’’ I’m with Mayock on this one. I know a lot of Tampa Bay fans wanted cornerback Morris Claiborne and the Bucs did extensive homework on him. I don’t know what the knock against Claiborne was, but the Bucs had him rated below Barron. You’ve got to go with what all your scouting tells you.

— Barron and running back Doug Martin were introduced to the Tampa Bay media on Friday.

— D. Orlando Ledbetter throws out some names of offensive linemen that could be possibilities for the Falcons at No. 55. He mentions Cordy Glenn, Jonathan Martin, Bobby Massie, Mike Adams and Peter Konz as guys the Falcons might have to trade up to get in the second round. He lists Mitchell Schwartz and Amini Siatolu as guys who the Falcons can probably get if they stay put. I think there’s also a chance the Falcons go with a defensive lineman in the second round. By the way, even if you’re not interested in offensive or defensive linemen, click the link to check out Ledbetter’s photographic talents.

— New Orleans doesn’t have a pick until the third round, but Mike Triplett points to recent history to show the Saints still can get an impact player. They’ve landed Jimmy Graham, Jermon Bushrod, Carl Nicks and Jahri Evans after the first two rounds. All four of those players made the Pro Bowl for the Saints, although Nicks now is with Tampa Bay.

— One of the first people to call linebacker Luke Kuechly after he was selected by the Panthers on Thursday night was Carolina quarterback Cam Newton. Looks like Newton is making good on his pledge to attempt to be more of a leader.

Time for a morning look at the headlines from around the division.

• Tampa Bay running back LeGarrette Blount previously was quoted as saying he didn’t want the Bucs to draft Trent Richardson. But Blount said Wednesday he would welcome the Alabama running back if the Buccaneers draft him.

• You might want to check out this video of Atlanta running back Michael Turner, who thought he was doing some modeling for a men’s fashion magazine. Instead, the photo shoot was all a joke, set up by Turner’s friend, Pittsburgh linebacker Lamar Woodley.

• Troy offensive lineman James Brown could be a target for the Saints in the middle rounds. The Saints have a good history when taking offensive linemen from smaller schools in the middle rounds. They got guard Jahri Evans and tackle Jermon Bushrod in the fourth round.

• Defensive tackle Fletcher Cox, who appears to be a candidate to go to Carolina with the No. 9 overall pick, could be the earliest Mississippi State player drafted since safety Walt Harris went No. 13 to Chicago in 1996.

• The Bucs are experimenting by using veteran cornerback Ronde Barber at safety in their minicamp that ends Thursday. Coach Greg Schiano said he’s been impressed with what he’s seen so far. Schiano said he’s not sure if Barber will stay at the position. Although Barber doesn’t have traditional safety size, Schiano said he thinks the veteran is big enough to make an impact as a safety.

• Former New Orleans defensive coordinator Gregg Williams has been in touch with league officials to make sure he does everything possible to have a chance to be reinstated after this season. Williams, who left after last season to join the Rams, was suspended indefinitely for his role in the Saints’ bounty program.

TAMPA, Fla. -- The Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ agreement with wide receiver Vincent Jackson on Tuesday night was big. Their signing of guard Carl Nicks on Wednesday morning might be even bigger.

Yeah, I know it’s hard to imagine the arrival of a guard topping the presence of a receiver who has a history of making big plays down the field. But the Bucs just might have pulled off that trick by signing Nicks to a five-year deal that’s worth $47.5 million.

Jackson was perhaps the top receiver in free agency. But Nicks is pretty much the unquestioned best guard in the NFL.

He’s also only 26 and may be just hitting his prime. Jackson is going to give quarterback Josh Freeman a big target downfield and, in theory, should open things up for the rest of the receiving corps. But Nicks might end up being even more important.

He’s going to give Freeman plenty of time to find targets downfield. Nicks is dominating as a pass-blocker. He’s also dominant as a run-blocker. The Saints averaged more than 6 yards per carry when running to Nicks’ side last season.

With Nicks and Davin Joseph, the Bucs now have two of the NFC’s Pro Bowl guards from last season. They’ll move Jeremy Zuttah from guard to center. They’ve also got Donald Penn, who is an above-average left tackle. Right tackle Jeremy Trueblood has taken lots of criticism in the past, but his level of play should improve with those four guys around him.

We’ll see how it all shakes out in time. But, on paper, the Bucs suddenly have what could be one of the NFL’s best offensive lines. New coach Greg Schiano has pledged to make the Bucs more physical in all areas, and the arrival of Nicks certainly makes the offensive line much more physical.

But this move has implications beyond Tampa Bay. The loss of Nicks is a blow to the Saints. They wanted to keep him, but found it impossible with a tight salary-cap situation. Nicks also fell third in the pecking order after the Saints put the franchise tag on quarterback Drew Brees and re-signed receiver Marques Colston.

With Nicks and Jahri Evans, the Saints had what many said was the best guard tandem in the league. Nicks and Evans made tackles Jermon Bushrod and Zach Strief and center Brian De La Puente look better than they really are. The Saints have Baltimore's Ben Grubbs in for a visit, and he's decent.

Evans remains and he’s very good. But the Saints no longer have the best guard in the league.

The Bucs do.

Carl Nicks repeatedly has said he’d like to stay with the New Orleans Saints.

But, as we count down the hours until Tuesday’s start of free agency, Nicks said he still hasn’t received an offer from the only team he has ever played for. He also said he believes the Saints can’t afford him and don’t want to “disrespect’’ him by making him an offer that won’t make him the league’s highest-paid guard (more than $8.5 million per season).

Barring a last-minute surge in salary-cap room, the Saints probably will let Nicks hit the open market. As I’ve written before, NFC South rivals Atlanta and Tampa Bay could be in the market for Nicks. So could a lot of other teams around the league. That’s because Nicks is the league’s best guard and he’s only 26.

If the Saints lose Nicks, they’re losing a lot. According to ESPN Stats & Information, Nicks and teammate Jermon Bushrod led all offensive players in snaps played in 2011 with 1,177. In other words, Nicks and Bushrod played in every one of New Orleans’ offensive snaps. New England quarterback Tom Brady (1,149 snaps) and Atlanta Justin Blalock (1,147) and tackle Tyson Clabo (1,147) rounded out the top five.

In addition to being a dominant pass blocker, Nicks also has been stellar in the running game. The Saints averaged 6.6 yards when running to the left last season. That average ranked No. 2 in the NFL.

Nicks and Jahri Evans have formed the best guard tandem in the league in recent years. Their play probably has helped center Brian De La Puente, Bushrod and right tackle Zach Strief.

If Nicks leaves, the Saints still have an elite guard in Evans. But they’ll no longer have an elite player on both sides of the offensive line.

We’ll continue our look at which NFC South players could be on the hot seat because of salary-cap casualties with the New Orleans Saints.

At the moment, the Saints are under the cap, but that’s only temporary. They’re trying to re-sign quarterback Drew Brees to a new contract and that alone could put them over the cap. In addition to Brees, they also have key players Marques Colston and Carl Nicks that they would like to prevent from departing in free agency. They also have some lesser potential free agents in receiver Robert Meachem and cornerback Tracy Porter that, in a perfect world, they would like to keep.

But this isn’t a perfect world and the Saints are probably going to have to make some painful cap moves.

That means two prominent defensive veterans are candidates for release or restructure. Defensive end Will Smith is scheduled to count $10.15 million against the cap. Although Smith is their top pass rusher, the Saints could free up $6.15 million by releasing him. Linebacker Jonathan Vilma, the leader of the defense in recent years, is scheduled to count $7.6 million against the cap. The Saints could free up $3.6 million by releasing Vilma. The Saints might not be ready to part with Vilma and Smith, so restructuring is a possibility for each. But Vilma is coming off knee surgery and the Saints have all the medical reports. If Vilma's knee looks like it could be a lingering problem, the Saints might have to make the difficult move of releasing one of their team leaders.

Linebacker Will Herring is scheduled to count $1.7 million against the cap. He wasn’t much of a factor last season and seems to be a prime candidate for release because the Saints could free up $1.1 million by cutting him.

Wide receiver Devery Henderson would appear to be an easy release because he’s scheduled to count $3.6 million against the cap and the Saints could free up $2.8 million by releasing him. But that’s not a given. If the Saints lose Colston and Meachem, they’ll need to keep Henderson.

Two other players are long shots to be released, but they’re at least possibilities because of their high cap figures and the fact the Saints could be in crisis mode. Left tackle Jermon Bushrod is scheduled to make $6.9 million and the Saints could free up $5.2 million by releasing him. Bushrod made the Pro Bowl last season and has grown into a solid player. He’s heading into the final year of his contract and one possible solution would be to extend his contract to knock down this year’s cap figure.

Defensive tackle Sedrick Ellis is scheduled to count $7.6 million against the cap and the Saints could save over $5 million by releasing him. Ellis never has become the dominant player the Saints hoped for when they used a first-round pick on him. But, when healthy, Ellis has been decent and the solution here might be an extension for Ellis that would spread out his cap hit over a longer period of time.

Time to take a look at the NFC South players that are scheduled to have the highest 2012 salary-cap figures.

Let’s be clear, these numbers are not what the players will actually make in 2012. These numbers simply reflect what they’ll count against the salary cap. And let’s also be clear that this list isn’t quite complete. You can bet Drew Brees will be on here once the quarterback signs a new deal with the New Orleans Saints. There also are some guys that probably will be cut or have their contracts restructured before the start of the year. Tampa Bay defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth is a perfect example of that.

He’s scheduled to count $7.2 million. The Bucs can release him without any salary-cap hit. It’s a similar situation for Carolina linebacker Thomas Davis, who is scheduled to count $5.9 million. Davis is coming off his third torn ACL in two years and is due a big bonus in March. I seriously doubt he’ll get to collect that bonus.

Anyway, as it stands right now, Atlanta quarterback Matt Ryan is the easy winner for the NFC South’s highest cap figure. He’s scheduled to count $13.5 million toward the cap ($11.5 million in base salary and another $2 million in prorated bonus money). Aside from Ryan, 30 other NFC South players are scheduled to count more than $5 million toward the salary cap. Let’s take a look:

• Jordan Gross, Panthers, $11.5 million

• Charles Johnson, Panthers, $11 million

• Steve Smith, Panthers, $10.7 million

• Will Smith, Saints, $10.15 million

• Chris Gamble, Panthers, $9.75 million

• Davin Joseph, Buccaneers, $9.5 million

• Gerald McCoy, Buccaneers, $9.44 million

• DeAngelo Williams, Panthers, $8.7 million

• Josh Freeman, Buccaneers, $8.545 million

• Roddy White, Falcons, $8.03 million

• Jonathan Vilma, Saints, $7.63 million

• Travelle Wharton, Panthers, $7.6 million

• Sedrick Ellis, Saints, $7.6 million

• Albert Haynesworth, Buccaneers, $7.2 million

• Dunta Robinson, Falcons, $7 million

• Jermon Bushrod, Saints, $6.9 million

• Donald Penn, Buccaneers, $6.43 million

• Roman Harper, Saints, $6.35 million

• Jabari Greer, Saints, $6.25 million

• Jeff Faine, Buccaneers, $5.925 million

• Tony Gonzalez, Falcons, $5.92 million

• Thomas Davis, Panthers, $5.9 million

• Quincy Black, Buccaneers, $5.75 million

• Jon Beason, Panthers, $5.5 million

• Ryan Kalil, Panthers, $5.35 million

• Justin Blalock, Falcons, $5.3 million

• Jeremy Trueblood, Buccaneers, $5.25 million

• Jahri Evans, Saints, $5.2 million

• Cam Newton $5.01 million

In recent days, I’ve been sharing some details on 2011 playing time at various positions. We’ll continue to do that going forward and still have to touch on NFC South fullbacks and all the defensive positions.

But this is Iron Man Day, so we’re going to talk about offensive linemen. As a general rule, offensive linemen get a greater percentage of playing time than players at all the other positions. That’s part of the nature of the position -- teams want continuity.

In 2011, 42 NFL players took part in 100 percent of their teams offensive and defensive snaps. New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning, Cleveland linebacker D’Qwell Jackson, St. Louis linebacker James Laurinitis, Chicago linebacker Lance Briggs, Washington linebacker Ryan Kerrigan and Tennessee cornerback Cortland Finnegan all deserve special mention for taking part in 100 percent of their team’s snaps at positions where that’s pretty rare.

Aside from those six players, 36 others took part in all of their team’s offensive plays. All of them were offensive linemen and seven of them were from the NFC South.

Carolina guard Geoff Hangartner, Atlanta guard Justin Blalock, New Orleans guard Carl Nicks, Tampa Bay guard Davin Joseph, Atlanta tackle Tyson Clabo, New Orleans tackle Jermon Bushrod and Tampa Bay tackle Donald Penn each took part in every one of their team’s offensive snaps.

Several other NFC South offensive linemen also came close to achieving that honor. Here’s a look at the other NFC South linemen that played more than 90 percent of their team’s offensive snaps.

• Carolina center Ryan Kalil, 99.3.

• New Orleans guard Jahri Evans, 96.8.

• Carolina guard Travelle Wharton, 95.6.

• Carolina tackle Jordan Gross, 92.5.

• Tampa Bay tackle Jeremy Trueblood, 92.1.

• Tampa Bay center Jeff Faine, 90.5.

Time for a Sunday look at the headlines from around the NFC South.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are getting some of the same treatment they used to give others when Bruce Allen was their general manager. The Arizona Cardinals refused to give the Bucs permission to talk to wide receivers coach John McNulty, who remains under contract. Presumably, the Bucs were interested in McNulty as the offensive coordinator for new coach Greg Schiano. The two worked together at Rutgers.

D. Orlando Ledbetter reports Miami assistant Joe Danna is the leading candidate to become Atlanta’s defensive backs coach. Alvin Reynolds was fired from that spot last week.

Although he’s having fun in Hawaii, Carolina quarterback Cam Newton said he doesn’t want to be at the Pro Bowl every year. He wants to be playing in Super Bowls.

Speaking of the Pro Bowl, it will air at 7 p.m. ET on Sunday. In addition to Newton, the other NFC South representatives are all offensive players -- New Orleans’ Drew Brees, Jimmy Graham, Carl Nicks, Jahri Evans and Jermon Bushrod, Carolina’s Steve Smith and Ryan Kalil, Atlanta’s Roddy White and Tony Gonzalez and Tampa Bay’s Davin Joseph. By the way, you might want to keep an eye on White’s verified Twitter account during the game. For the first time ever, the NFL will allow players to tweet during a game. If you’ve followed White on Twitter, you know he’s more than a Pro Bowler in that area. He’s a first-team All-Pro.

Keep an eye on our main NFL page for Pro Bowl coverage. If an NFC South player does anything out of the ordinary or there are injuries, I’ll weigh in on the blog.

It was a big year for offense in the NFC South. The New Orleans Saints set all sorts of records. The Carolina Panthers lit up scoreboards and, when the Atlanta Falcons were on, they sometimes were spectacular.

That made for some difficult choices, but here’s my All-NFC South offense.

Tackle: Jordan Gross, Panthers. He’s getting along in years, but Gross is still the best tackle in the division.

Tackle: Jermon Bushrod, Saints. This was a really tough call because Tampa Bay’s Donald Penn seemed destined for this spot, but his play slipped as the Bucs collapsed and lost their last 10 games. I refuse to put any offensive lineman from Atlanta on this team, so I’m going with Bushrod almost by default. I know he made the Pro Bowl, but I’m not convinced Bushrod is anything more than an ordinary left tackle. But he’s better than any other tackle the NFC South had to offer.

Guard: Carl Nicks, Saints. He might be the best guard in the NFL.

Guard: Jahri Evans, Saints. If Nicks isn’t the best guard in the NFL, then Evans is.

Center: Ryan Kalil, Panthers. He’s becoming a Pro Bowl regular and might be the best center in the league.

Wide receiver: Steve Smith, Panthers. Rookie quarterback Cam Newton came along and revitalized Smith’s career. But I also think Smith deserves a lot of the credit for Newton’s success.

Wide receiver: Marques Colston, Saints. I went back and forth on this one between Colston and Atlanta’s Roddy White and Tampa Bay’s Mike Williams also got some consideration. I’m joking. Williams didn’t get one bit of consideration. White’s numbers were slightly better than Colston’s in terms of catches and receiving yards. But Colston missed a couple games with a broken collarbone and still had very nice numbers in an offense where there are a ton of other options. White had nice numbers, but he didn’t look like the dominant receiver he was a year ago. White led the league in drops.

Tight end: Jimmy Graham, Saints. This one was easy. Atlanta’s Tony Gonzalez had a very nice season and is the best tight end in history. But Graham had one of the most prolific seasons ever by a tight end in only his second season. Graham should only continue to get better and, if he stays healthy, he could eventually pass Gonzalez as the best tight end ever.

Fullback: Jed Collins, Saints. In his first real NFL season (Collins was with Cleveland in 2008), he emerged as a steady role player in the league’s best offense. Collins didn’t have much in the way of numbers, but his blocking was a key factor in the offenses’ success. If Atlanta’s Ovie Mughelli hadn’t gotten injured, he’d be in this spot. But Collins is a worthy replacement.

Running back: Darren Sproles, Saints. Sproles ended up with an NFL record for all-purpose yards. Out of the backfield, he contributed as a runner and receiver and created enormous matchup problems for opposing defenses.

Running back: Michael Turner. Yeah, I'm going with two running backs because it's my team, I can want and there are two guys that deserve to be on here. Turner looked slow for most of the second half of the season. But he still rushed for 1,340 yards and 11 touchdowns. That's not a bad season by any measure.

Quarterback: Drew Brees, Saints. He threw for a league-record 5,476 yards and also passed for 46 touchdowns. Brees has been great for a long time, but he took his game to another level. He’s the reason the Saints won 13 games without a defense.

Colleague Ross Tucker ranked the offensive lines of the eight teams remaining in the postseason. He has the Saints at No. 2, behind only the Houston Texans.

That’s quite a tribute to the offensive linemen and offensive line coach Aaron Kromer. Plus, you could throw in offensive coordinator Pete Carmichael and coach Sean Payton because they obviously have a lot to do with how the offensive line is used.

But I think the thing that really stands out to me about Tucker’s ranking, is that the Saints really only have two blue-chip offensive linemen. Guards Jahri Evans and Carl Nicks are All-Pros and they really carry this line, especially consider the fact the Saints went through some big changes on the line before and during the season.

They let veteran center Jonathan Goodwin go in free agency, coincidentally to the 49ers, who play the Saints on Saturday. They also released veteran right tackle Jon Stinchcomb in training camp. They signed veteran Olin Kreutz to replace Goodwin. But Kreutz got injured, came back briefly, but the left the team, saying his heart no longer was in the game.

After Kreutz left, the Saints got a very nice surprise. Brian de la Puente has stepped in and played pretty well. I’m sure he’s helped by the fact he’s sandwiched between Nicks and Evans, but de la Puente certainly deserves some of the credit.

Right tackle Zach Strief took over for Stinchcomb, but Strief missed five games around the middle of the season with injury. Strief is healthy now and like de la Puente, Strief isn’t considered a big-time talent.

You could even throw left tackle Jermon Bushrod into that category. I know Bushrod made the Pro Bowl this season, but I think that had a lot to do with how prolific the offense is. Bushrod has more talent than Strief or de la Puente and has developed into a solid player. But he’s not a great left tackle.

But I think the moral of this story is that, if you have the two best guards in the NFL, they’re going to make the guys around them look a lot better.

Three things to know about next Saturday’s New Orleans Saints-San Francisco 49ers divisional playoff game:

1. On a roll: The Saints have not lost since Oct. 30 when they inexplicably dropped a game to St. Louis. Although that loss was a big reason why the Saints now have to go on the road, it brought about some positives. The Saints made some major adjustments in their pass protection to give tackles Jermon Bushrod and Zach Strief help. Since then, the offense has been unstoppable. Everyone talks about the passing game and that’s understandable. But the running game has been almost as impressive with Darren Sproles, Pierre Thomas and Chris Ivory sharing the carries. People like to label the Saints a “dome’’ team, but that’s not necessarily true. With this running game, the Saints can also play outdoors and still be able to move the ball if the weather is an obstacle.

2. A different breed: New Orleans’ offense has had a record-setting year. But look back at the opponents. The Saints have yet to face a defense as good as San Francisco’s. Coach Sean Payton will have to be more creative than ever. San Francisco linebackers Patrick Willis and NaVorro Bowman are playing as well as any duo in the game right now. Defenses generally have no idea how to match up with New Orleans tight end and Jimmy Graham and Sproles. But the 49ers might have the personnel to do that.

3. Some help from the defense: The offense has carried the Saints throughout the regular season and there was nothing wrong with that because no defense could slow the Saints. But the 49ers have the potential to keep the Saints under some sort of control. That means Drew Brees and the offense could benefit from some help from the defense. Back in the 2009 championship season, the Saints were opportunistic on defense. They produced turnovers in bunches. This year’s defense hasn’t done much of that. But producing a turnover or two -- or at least generating a little bit of a pass rush -- could be a big help in a road playoff game.

Of the nine NFC South players selected to the Pro Bowl, only one will earn a bonus for the honor.

That’s New Orleans Saints offensive tackle Jermon Bushrod. According to contract numbers obtained by ESPN.com, Bushrod will receive a $150,000 bonus for his selection.

When the Saints signed Bushrod to a two-year contract in July, they didn’t pay him like an elite left tackle at the front end of the deal, but they were creative and gave him opportunities to get paid more like an elite left tackle.

The Pro Bowl bonus is one of those opportunities and Bushrod also can earn the same bonus if he makes the Pro Bowl next season.

When Bushrod signed his contract he got a $3.5 million signing bonus. But his base salary for this season is $1 million, which is very low for a starting left tackle. But the Pro Bowl bonus is just the tip of a potential financial bonanza for Bushrod.

The Saints clearly gave him a contract that said they wanted to see him play at a high level before giving him big money. It looks like that’s coming. As long as Bushrod remains on the roster in March, he’ll collect a $1.65 million roster bonus. His base salary will jump to $3.25 million and he can also make $100,000 by taking part in an unspecified number of offseason workouts.

» NFC Pro Bowl: East | West | North | South » AFC Pro Bowl: East | West | North | South

Perfect sense: Drew Brees’ sixth Pro Bowl selection is no surprise. He already has thrown for more yards in a season than any other player in history and has led the Saints to a 12-3 record. The only downer here is that Green Bay’s Aaron Rodgers was selected as the starter ahead of Brees. Consider that a likely precursor to what will happen with the MVP award. But, hey, I’m sure Brees would rather start the Super Bowl than the Pro Bowl. The other slam-dunk choice in the NFC South was New Orleans tight end Jimmy Graham. He’s only a second-year pro, but this former college basketball player is on his way to one of the best statistical seasons ever for a tight end. This is Graham’s first Pro Bowl selection. There probably will be a lot more in the future.

Made it on rep: When you’re playing on a great team, you sometimes can ride the coattails of your teammates. I have to think that’s what happened in the case of New Orleans left tackle Jermon Bushrod. Brees’ numbers certainly show the Saints are doing some good things on the offensive line. But those are coming mostly from guards Carl Nicks and Jahri Evans, who just happen to be the starters for the NFC. Bushrod has turned into a solid left tackle, but he’s far from elite. In fact, Carolina’s Jordan Gross, even though he missed some time with injury, would have been a much better choice. Some scouts also will tell you Tampa Bay’s Donald Penn, at least at times, is better than Bushrod.

Got robbed: Rodgers and Brees were the obvious choices as the first two quarterbacks. But I seriously thought Carolina rookie Cam Newton had a very real chance to be the third quarterback. He’s not. Eli Manning ended up on the roster. Manning is decent, but he’s not a special player. Newton is a special player. He already has thrown for more yards than any rookie quarterback in history and has run for more touchdowns than any quarterback in history. You also can make the case that New Orleans running back/return man Darren Sproles should be on the roster. Sproles was on the ballot only as a return man, and Arizona’s Patrick Peterson got the nod there. But I think there’s a good chance Sproles will be added at some point as a “need’’ player because any team could use a guy like Sproles.

Click here for the complete 2012 Pro Bowl roster.