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ESPN NFL Insider John Clayton covers Drew Brees' contract situation , the Vikings' future in Minnesota, the release of the 2012 schedule, and more.

ESPN NFL Insider John Clayton shares his thoughts on the expected punishment of players who were involved in the Saints' illegal bounty system, whether the Colts will select Andrew Luck or Robert Griffin III with the No. 1 pick in the draft, and more.

TAMPA, Fla. – I’m about to begin the trip to New Orleans to cover Sunday’s game between the Buccaneers and Saints.

Keep an eye on the headlines section of our main NFL page for any breaking news while I’m out of pocket. Saturday’s are generally pretty quiet in the NFL, but I’ll weigh in on any developments once I get into New Orleans or perhaps during my layover in Atlanta. Speaking of arriving in New Orleans, I’ll be landing this evening and rushing straight to my hotel to catch the game between LSU and Alabama. Due to some poor travel planning on my part, I won’t land until after the game has started, but I’m pretty optimistic I should be able to catch at least the second half.

On Sunday morning, colleague John Clayton and I will be at the Mercedez-Benz Superdome to bring you all the pregame news and notes. Then, we’ll be writing about whatever happens in the game between the Saints and Buccaneers.

The great John Clayton has his annual ranking of quarterbacks, which is always a topic for debate.

In this year’s version, Clayton lists includes 13 “elite’’ quarterbacks. What exactly is an “elite’’ quarterback? Well, I think you could debate that for weeks on end. But for the sake of simplicity, let’s go with Clayton’s definition. That’s only fair because I talk to Clayton on a daily basis and know he puts an enormous amount of time and thought into this.

“Elite quarterbacks are the ones who usually make the playoffs, so I categorize the elites as the ones who give their franchises the best chance,’’ Clayton wrote. “The league has 12 playoff spots, and usually 10 or 11 of the elite quarterbacks fill those positions. To be elite, a quarterback must have 4,000-yard potential, complete 60 percent of his passes and score more than 20 points a game.’’

The good news for the NFC South is that it has three quarterbacks in the elite category. Clayton also gives the same honor to the NFC East, but I think you could make the argument the NFC South has the strongest overall quarterback group based on where he has the guys from each division ranked.

New Orleans’ Drew Brees is No. 4 and Atlanta’s Matt Ryan is No. 7. They both come before the NFC East run of Michael Vick, Eli Manning and Tony Romo at Nos. 8 through 10.

Clayton also has Tampa Bay’s Josh Freeman at No. 13. Although that’s one spot beyond the number of playoff teams, Tampa Bay fans shouldn’t feel too badly about this one. Clayton has the arrow pointing up on Freeman, who has had only one full season as a starter. I know Clayton is very high on Freeman and believes he could move into the top 10 before long.

After the big three, there’s a huge drop to Carolina’s Cam Newton. Clayton has him at No. 32, but the good news here is that Newton’s not last on the list. Clayton ranked 33 quarterbacks and Cincinnati’s Andy Dalton is at the bottom of the list.

Just wanted to give you a little more clarification on the salary-cap implications of the New Orleans Saints releasing veteran right tackle Jon Stinchcomb on Monday.

I checked some rules and also put in a call to ESPN’s John Clayton, who knows how the salary cap works perhaps better than anyone on the planet and here’s what we came up with.

Stinchcomb’s $2.25 million base salary for this year was guaranteed, so the Saints are on the hook for that. Throw in this year’s share of prorated bonuses ($2.425 million) and the Saints are taking a $4.675 million cap hit this year. It could even be a little more. Stinchcomb also was scheduled for a $100,000 workout bonus this offseason. Clayton and I couldn’t come up with a decisive answer on if workout bonus will still count because offseason conditioning wasn’t allowed in the lockout. If they do, tack on another $100,000. That would bring the hit to $4.775 million, which was exactly what Stinchcomb’s cap figure would have been if he stayed with the Saints this season.

He had two more years on his contract and this release is treated like a June 1 cut, meaning some of the cap hit will spill over to next year. In 2012, Stinchcomb still will count $4.85 million toward New Orleans’ salary cap. That's the total of the prorated bonuses that would have been spread out over 2012 and 2013.

We don’t know all the details of the proposed rookie salary system and that’s mainly because the owners and players haven’t finalized a new labor deal yet.

But we do have enough information of what’s being talked about to at least make an educated guess at what Carolina quarterback Cam Newton, the No. 1 overall pick in this year’s draft, can expect to haul in.

The bottom line is Newton’s going to make some serious money, but it won’t be as much as Sam Bradford and Matthew Stafford, the last two No. 1 overall picks, got. Last year, Bradford got a six-year deal worth $78 million that could jump to as much as $86 million and $50 million of that was guaranteed.

In 2009, Stafford got a six-year deal worth $72 million and $41.7 million of that was guaranteed. One of the few points both the owners and the players agreed upon long ago was that it wasn’t fair for rookies to come in and immediately make more than some of the top players. That’s why the new deal is likely to include lots of changes to rookie contracts and it’s going to cost Newton some money -- at least compared to Stafford and Bradford.

Per John Clayton, the way the talks currently are heading Newton can expect about $22 million over four years. The sides are still negotiating how fifth years will be handled. There’s talk of making the fifth season an option year for first-round picks and Clayton reports there’s talk of a limit on the fifth-year salary, although that could fluctuate a bit depending on where a player was taken in the first round.

Clayton estimates the high end for Newton is probably somewhere around $34 million to $36 million over five years. The other uncertain point is what kind of signing bonus Newton can expect. The Rams structured Bradford’s contract so there wasn’t an official signing bonus, but he more than made up for it with an option bonus of just under $18 million. All the new rules remain to be seen, but Carolina sources are estimating they’ll have to pay Newton a signing bonus somewhere in the neighborhood of $12 million to $14 million.

I just got off the phone with colleague John Clayton. We were talking about some things that could happen after the lockout and I forgot to tell him something important before we hung up. I’m sure I’ll talk to John again today.

When I do, I’m going to thank him -- and I’ll do it on behalf of all of you. Here in the NFC South, a lot of fans seem to have a bit of an inferiority complex. The general feeling is the division sometimes gets overlooked on a national level. There might be some truth to that since the “NASCAR Division’’ isn’t filled with huge-market teams.

But the NFC South has had a pretty good run lately. The Saints won the Super Bowl at the end of the 2009 season. Last season, the Falcons, Saints and Buccaneers all reached double-digits in wins. I like to say the NFC South is the best division in the NFL, but I might be biased.

Clayton covers the league at large and, in his latest mailbag, he had high praise for the NFC South.

“The NFC South is turning into a marathon, not a sprint,’’ Clayton said. “It's becoming the best division in football because of (Drew) Brees, (Matt) Ryan and (Josh) Freeman. It's only going to get better once Cam Newton develops. Part of the problem for Brees and the Saints last year was that the Saints played their toughest games on the road while the Falcons' toughest games were at home. Don't be surprised if the Saints win the division this year, and Ryan and the Falcons get a wild card. We'll see where the Bucs finish, but I think you're going be seeing at least two teams make the playoffs from the NFC South.''

John Clayton has a list of five possible landing spots for running back Tiki Barber, who has said he wants to come out of retirement and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are one of them.

I never would disagree with anything Clayton says because he’s a friend, mentor and one of the best in the business. However, I think Barber ending up with the Bucs is an extreme long shot. I know people are tying his name to the Bucs, largely because his twin brother, Ronde, plays for them.

There’s no doubt Ronde Barber has some clout with coach Raheem Morris and general manager Mark Dominik. And the Bucs also could use some depth behind running back LeGarrette Blount even if they keep Cadillac Williams from leaving via free agency.

Morris has left the door open when asked about potential interest in Tiki Barber. But I think that’s more of a courtesy to both Barber brothers than an indication of any real interest in making a move. Morris has respect for both Barbers and he’s not going to come out publicly and say he’s not interested in Tiki.

But let’s look at the facts. Barber doesn’t fit one the Bucs are doing. He’s 36 and hasn’t played since the 2006 season. The Bucs were the youngest team in the league last year and they’re not going to abandon a youth movement after going 10-6 last season. Tiki Barber simply doesn’t fit Tampa Bay’s current profile.

Clayton’s list has the Bucs at No. 4. He starts the list with the Pittsburgh Steelers and I think he’s absolutely right on that one. The Steelers are more open to veterans and Ronde Barber probably has just as much clout with Pittsburgh coach Mike Tomlin (who used to be an assistant in Tampa Bay) as he does with Morris.

Nothing is done yet and nothing is guaranteed in the crazy world of the NFL lockout. But John Clayton writes that recent labor talks between owners and players mean it’s at least possible a deal could get done by the end of June.

That would be great news for everyone in the big picture. But what would it mean in the short term? The league year usually started in March and teams have missed minicamps, organized team activities and there’s been a freeze on free agency and player trades.

In Clayton’s scenario, camps would start at, or close to, the normal time in late July or early August. Clayton also speculates that free agency would start around July 15.

That’s far from ideal for anyone, but every team will be playing by the same rules, unless the new deal includes a “final eight’’ plan that limits what the top teams from last year can do in free agency.

That would keep the main free-agent signing period to about two weeks and it would make for a very busy time for general managers, front offices, coaching staffs and the free agents. But those general managers, front offices and coaching staffs have been sitting around for several months talking about what free agents they’re interested in. Teams know who they want and they might already have gotten the message across through agents before the lockout started.

If the gates open the way Clayton speculates, it will make for a hectic few weeks. But that will help make up for the silence of the last few months.

In this Hot Button debate, John Clayton and I throw out possible landing spots for potential free-agent cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha.

Clayton throws out the Houston Texans. I go with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, even though there’s been a lot of speculation Asomugha could end up in the NFC East.

Here’s part of what I wrote in making the case the Bucs could be a player for one of the best cornerbacks in the league.

Tampa Bay isn't known as a big spender, but the Bucs are in a position to change that. Assuming that there's a new labor agreement in place, and that it will have a salary cap, the Bucs are going to be looking at the salary-cap floor. They currently have only about $62 million committed toward the 2011 salary cap. That's the lowest figure of any team. We don't know what the minimum will be yet, but the Bucs are going to have to spend some money to get there.

Ownership just might be willing to do that. The Bucs have an attendance issue. Even as the team improved and finished a surprising 10-6 last season, Raymond James Stadium failed to sell out once. One reason for fan apathy is that some feel the ownership won't spend big money to put a better product on the field.

Landing Asomugha could put an end to that perception, and he also would improve the product on the field. The Bucs are in good shape on offense with quarterback Josh Freeman, receiver Mike Williams and running back LeGarrette Blount. They've invested a lot in their defensive line in the past two drafts.

But there's an issue in the secondary. Aqib Talib is talented and young, and he's the team's best cornerback. But he's also been plagued by off-field troubles and his future is uncertain. Asomugha is more talented and proven than Talib. He also comes without headaches. Throw him out there with veteran Ronde Barber on the other side and let young corners E.J. Biggers and Myron Lewis develop behind them.

And why should Asomugha want to come to Tampa Bay? The Bucs are on the rise, and he could be part of the kind of team he never had in Oakland. He could live in a place with great weather, play in a stadium with a great natural-grass field and not have to pay state income tax, because Florida doesn't have one. The Bucs have one other card up the sleeve -- coach Raheem Morris. Put him and Asomugha in a room and he may sign a contract within an hour or two. Morris is charming, charismatic and a former defensive backs coach.

This would be a perfect fit for the player and team.

Check out the entire package over on our NFL home page. We've even got a SportsNation poll on where Asomugha might land. At last check, the Bucs were a strong contender in that poll.

Time for a trip into the mailbag to see what's on the minds of readers across the NFC South.

Evan in Charlotte wrote to say he’s bothered by the fact what he thinks was the defining moment in the history of the Carolina Panthers was not on the list of choices on our Flash Point poll. He said it is was the 2003 regular-season opener when Jake Delhomme was inserted after Rodney Peete started slowly. Delhomme rallied the Panthers to victory against Jacksonville, and they rode that momentum all the way to the Super Bowl.

Pat Yasinskas: Excellent point. I was limited to four choices for that poll, and you make a strong case this one should have been included. Go ahead and vote “other’’ in that category if you agree with Evan and send me a mailbag note similar to what Evan did. I’ll be making the decision on the key moment in each franchise’s history, and it won’t necessarily be the one that wins the popular vote (that project is scheduled to run May 25). Evan’s note has opened my eyes and has me thinking that 2003 Jacksonville game has a chance to be my choice.

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Martin in Aberdeen wrote to ask if the Bucs really should be interested in cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha because they play a Cover 2 scheme and he excels in man coverage.

Pat Yasinskas: The Bucs don’t play the true Tampa 2 scheme as often as they used to. Raheem Morris has brought twists and turns to it to try to stay ahead of offenses. He’s an adaptable coach, and if you gave him one of the league’s best cornerbacks, I think he’d find ways to adjust to Asomugha’s strengths. By the way, John Clayton and I will be having a Hot Button debate Monday on the best landing spot for Asomugha. My side of the debate might be of particular interest to NFC South readers.

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Gabe in Port Orange, Fla., wrote to say I made a nice (and accurate) call by not including Carolina’s Jerry Richardson on my ballot in our Power Rankings on the owners. Gabe said Richardson was one of the best owners in the sports world a few years ago but thinks his moves in recent years have been very questionable.

Pat Yasinskas: Agreed. There was a part of me that was very conflicted on this one. Richardson is the NFC South owner I know and respect the most. He’s a brilliant and fascinating man, and I can assure you he cares deeply about his fans and all the people who work for him. He even cares about the media members who cover the team. When my father died, Richardson was one of the first people to call me, and when I got this job he gathered all the local beat writers for a luncheon to celebrate. When another writer was going through a tough personal time, Richardson called me to ask what “we’’ could do to help him. This man is a very good human being. But the Panthers have struggled in recent years, and there’s no doubt some of Richardson’s moves have been questionable. He’s heavily involved in the NFL’s labor situation, and his hard-line stance is a reason why there hasn’t been anything close to a deal. We’ll have to see how some of that plays out, and we’ll have to see if some of Richardson’s moves somehow have a positive flip side. But, right now, I think it’s very fair to say Richardson is at a career crossroads. Time will tell if he can get back to a point where he's viewed as one of the league's best owners.

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James in Shreveport wrote to thank me for not voting for New Orleans’ Tom Benson in the Power Rankings on owners. He said there are a lot of New Orleans fans who will never forgive Benson for trying to move the team in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

Pat Yasinskas: I’m well aware of those sentiments, and that’s why I didn’t vote for Benson. Those were some dicey times, and I think former NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue was a big part of the reason why the team is in New Orleans. As for Benson, let’s at least be fair and acknowledge that once things got settled with the state of Louisiana, he has helped to put the Saints on very firm ground. They’re in better shape than ever, and their fan base is incredibly dedicated. I’m glad it all worked out because I couldn’t imagine New Orleans without the Saints.

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David in Cedar Falls, Iowa, wrote to say he thinks the Flash Point for the Buccaneers came when the Glazer family bought the team. He points to the disastrous and comical reign of former owner Hugh Culverhouse and says it all stopped when the Glazers took over.

Pat Yasinskas: I agree totally, and I’m glad there is at least one fan out there who recognizes this. We’ve talked about this here before, and I can’t understand why Tampa Bay fans have so much venom for the Glazers. No, they might not be perfect, but they’re a million times better than Culverhouse and are better than a fair amount of owners currently in the league. They did bring a Super Bowl champion to Tampa, they built a stunning new One Buccaneer Place with their own money and, even though it came with taxpayer money and a lot of bickering, they helped get Raymond James Stadium built. I’ll consider the Glazers buying the franchise as a deciding moment when I roll out my NFC South Flash Points on May 25. But I’m going to have a tough time going with that one simply because -- fair or unfair -- so many fans seem to despise everything the Glazers do. I’m leaning toward going with something the Glazers did – hiring coach Tony Dungy in 1996.

We gave you an NFC South mailbag over the weekend. But John Clayton and Adam Schefter also answered some NFC South questions in their mailbags.

Clayton provides some interesting historical perspective on Atlanta’s trade up to get wide receiver Julio Jones in this year’s first round. Clayton compares it to 1995 when the San Francisco 49ers took a huge leap to get J.J. Stokes. Although Stokes had a decent career, he never became the player the 49ers envisioned. Part of that might have been because Terrell Owens came along and took away a lot of passes that could have gone toward Stokes.

I’ve been asked many times about the possibility of the Falcons pursuing Minnesota defensive end Ray Edwards when free agency opens. In this Insider post, Schefter gets the same question and says Edwards would be logical guy to go after, but also makes the point that much will depend on the rules of free agency. We don’t know yet if Edwards will be a restricted or unrestricted free agent.

Schefter is also asked about possible landing spots for cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha. He says the favorites are in the NFC East, but he also makes mention of the Buccaneers. Don’t rule this one out. If there is a salary cap, the Bucs are going to have more cap room to work with than any team in the league. Coach Raheem Morris also has thrown out a few hints that the Bucs might be more active in free agency this year than they have been in recent years.

ESPN.com’s NFL writers rank the top 10 quarterbacks in the league today.
Next week: Top 10 safeties.

Take eight football writers scattered from Seattle to Tampa and ask them to come up with a list of the top 10 quarterbacks in the National Football League.

Sounds easy enough, in theory. You take the golden gunslingers, Tom Brady and Peyton Manning, and let everyone else fall naturally into order after that. Well, it didn’t quite work out that simply in ESPN.com’s Power Rankings for quarterbacks.

Heck, we couldn’t even come up with a top 10. We’re going with a top 11 because Baltimore’s Joe Flacco and Dallas’ Tony Romo tied for No. 10 with five points each in our voting system.

Even at the top, there was more disagreement than you might expect. Brady emerged as No. 1, but it wasn’t unanimous and, although Manning finished a strong second, two ballots had a man some consider the best quarterback ever at No. 3.

But let’s start analyzing the rankings by focusing on just Brady and Manning. Six voters put Brady at No. 1, but Paul Kuharsky and Mike Sando put Manning in the top spot. Let’s hear them out.

“Brady's fantastic, let's start with that,’’ said Kuharsky, who covers the AFC South, also known as “The Division Manning Built and Owns." “But no one is asked to do more or does more as a quarterback than Peyton Manning. He almost plays a different position. And while Brady's got three rings to Manning's one and is the reigning MVP, look at their touchdown and interception numbers in their last four playoff games. Manning's are better.’’

Sando has no horse in this race, because voters unanimously agreed the NFC West is the division that forgot quarterbacks, at least until Sam Bradford gets another season under his belt.

“Brady has the better stats over the last couple seasons, but the Colts would undoubtedly be far worse off than the Patriots if both teams had backups under center,’’ Sando said. “Once that was established, Brady's recent postseason struggles became a deciding factor. These quarterbacks have, to an extent, switched roles recently. Manning has won a championship more recently than Brady has won one. Brady has seven touchdowns, seven picks and one victory in his last four playoff games. Manning has seven touchdowns, two picks and two victories in his last four.’’

For rebuttal, let’s head up to the AFC East, to the man who covers Brady and the New England Patriots.

“I'm not sure why everybody needs to consider career achievements when filling out a Power Rankings ballot,’’ Tim Graham said. “Power Rankings are a snapshot of the moment and are expected to change regularly, not encompass years of work. But if the reason for selecting Manning ahead of Brady is recent playoff performances that go back a few years, then Ben Roethlisberger should be ahead of Manning with that logic. Roethlisberger has been to a pair of Super Bowls and won his second title more recently than Manning's only championship.’’

We’ll come to Roethlisberger in just a moment, but nobody put him ahead of Manning on his ballot. Kevin Seifert and I each put a quarterback ahead of Manning.

Seifert put Green Bay’s Aaron Rodgers at No. 2.

“Mostly, I didn't think I could face NFC North blog readers if I voted any other way,’’ Seifert said. “Seriously, I think the big advantage Manning and Drew Brees have over Rodgers is time. They've been playing longer and therefore have mostly better career numbers and a bigger frame of reference for knowing how they will perform in the long term. But when you take out longevity, Rodgers is right there with them. All three have one Super Bowl victory. Rodgers has a higher career passer rating than any quarterback in the history of the NFL with qualified attempts, better than Manning and Brees and Brady for that matter. So to break the tie, I think you can look at what they did most recently. I think Rodgers had a better 2010 season than Manning or Brees, and that's how I would justify this order.’’

I put Brees at No. 2 and don’t really want to write a story in which I quote myself, so I’ll just say Brees and Manning each have one Super Bowl ring and Brees’ numbers over the last four years are just as good or better in most categories. Plus, Brees hasn’t spent most of his career surrounded by the likes of Marvin Harrison, Reggie Wayne, Dallas Clark and Edgerrin James.

In the final analysis, Brees finished third and Rodgers fourth. Roethlisberger, who has two Super Bowl rings, came in at No. 5. San Diego’s Philip Rivers, who has zero Super Bowl rings and some gaudy statistics, is No. 6. Relatively speaking, the order from Brees to Rivers, the guy who took his place with the Chargers, was pretty clear-cut.

After that, we had some close calls, strong differences of opinion and one very big coincidence. At No. 7, we’ve got a tie between Philadelphia’s Michael Vick and Atlanta’s Matt Ryan, who each finished with 26 points. For those who don’t see the irony in that, Vick was the face of Atlanta’s franchise for a long time and Ryan now holds that role.

Eli Manning of the New York Giants came in at No. 9, and Flacco and Romo tied for the final spot. Only three other quarterbacks received votes. They were Tampa Bay’s Josh Freeman, who I think could be near the top of this list in another year or two, Houston’s Matt Schaub and Kansas City’s Matt Cassel.

On to some other notes about the Power Rankings.

The Vick factor. Despite a hugely productive season last year, Vick was left off one very important ballot. John Clayton, the dean of all of us, didn’t have the Philadelphia quarterback on his ballot and was the only one of us who didn't.

“The only reason Michael Vick didn’t make my top 10 is because I, after an offseason of thinking, have Michael Vick as my No. 11 quarterback,’’ Clayton said. “That still makes him elite. I have 12 elite quarterbacks. Vick moved into the elite category with his performance last year, but it’s just one year. He can clearly move up the list this season, but he’s in the mix and knocking on the door of the top 10. A year ago, he wasn’t a consideration.’’

Fighting the Eli fight. Speaking of Clayton, let’s continue to ride that train as we discuss Eli Manning. Seifert, Sando, Graham and I didn’t even include Manning in our top 10, but he still made the list.

“I will continue to fight the argument Eli Manning is an elite quarterback,’’ Clayton said. “I moved him to No. 8 above Tony Romo, but if Romo had a full season last year, he might have been ahead of Eli. Remember that Carson Palmer, Brett Favre and Donovan McNabb dropped from my elite quarterback categories, which moved guys like Eli up in the mix. Eli has a Super Bowl ring. He’s a 4,000-yard quarterback. He wins.’’

No tiebreaking here. Speaking of Romo: Clayton and Sando each had him at No. 9. AFC North blogger James Walker had Romo at No. 10. That was good enough to get Romo five points and a tie with Flacco. One interesting note here: Flacco wasn’t on Walker’s ballot. I respect James for not doing the easy thing and being a "homer," although I’m sure some Baltimore fans might have different opinions.

"Joe Flacco is a good quarterback, but I don’t consider him an elite, top-10 quarterback just yet,’’ Walker said. “I need to see more consistency, especially in the playoffs and other big games against the Steelers. Flacco has a lot of natural ability, and I believe he’s ready to break through. But, in my book, Flacco needs to first prove it on the field in the biggest games to be elite.”

The final analysis. If you look at this list from a distance, you could say the Atlanta Falcons, San Diego Chargers and New England Patriots are the big winners. The Patriots, of course, have Brady, but they also drafted Cassel, whom they later traded to Kansas City. If you want to get really technical, the Chargers drafted Brees and Eli Manning and worked a draft-day trade with the Giants to end up with Rivers. If you count the few minutes Manning and Rivers were crossing paths, you could say the Chargers, at one time or another, had three guys on this list. You also could say the Falcons drafted Vick, Ryan and Schaub, who finished in a tie with Freeman for No. 12.

I just opened the mailbag for the first time since before the Atlanta Falcons' disappointing playoff loss to Green Bay. Lots of frustration and venom from Atlanta fans and it looks like New Orleans fans still are feeling some of that more than a week after the Saints' disappointing loss to the Seahawks. On the flip side, it seems like Tampa Bay and Carolina fans have closed the book on the 2010 season and are looking ahead.

Sean in White Plains, N.Y., asks if the Falcons are giving any thought to getting rid of defensive coordinator Brian VanGorder after Saturday night’s disastrous defensive performance.

Pat Yasinskas: I understand why you’re asking this question (Atlanta’s defense was horrible Saturday) and many others are asking the same thing. But, in his season-ending news conference Monday, Mike Smith said he was planning on keeping his staff together. You can debate whether that’s the right or wrong move. But one thing I’ve learned about Smith is he’s a very straight shooter. He’s not the type to say one thing and turn around and do another. Keep one other thing in mind: Smith comes from a defensive background and is heavily involved in what the Falcons do on defense.

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Ken in New York asks if the Panthers might re-sign quarterback Matt Moore.

Pat Yasinskas: In past years, I’d say that could happen. But I think the page has turned in Carolina -- or at least I hope the page has turned in Carolina. The Panthers fully realize they didn’t have good quarterback play last season. They’re keeping Jimmy Clausen because he’s under contract and because some people in the organization still have hope he can develop into a decent quarterback. But Moore is coming off an injury and I think the Panthers will let him go into free agency. I’m pretty sure they will go out and try to find someone they see as a significant upgrade over Moore and someone who is a very viable alternative if Clausen doesn’t step up.

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Ned in Canada asks if there is any chance the Falcons might pursue Nnamdi Asomugha in free agency.

Pat Yasinskas: My guess is it’s a long shot because there is going to be a lot of competition for Asomugha and the price tag is likely to be very high. The Falcons already spent a pile of money on Dunta Robinson last year and I don’t see them paying huge money to two cornerbacks. Obviously, the injury to Brian Williams showed a need for more depth at cornerback on Saturday. But I think the Falcons will address that through the draft or with a mid-level free agent. General manager Thomas Dimitroff has established a track record of targeting one big free agent each offseason. Yes, cornerback is a position where the Falcons have some need. But I don’t think it’s their biggest area of need. If the Falcons are going to sign one big free agent, my guess is it will be a pass-rusher or a left offensive tackle.

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J Ross in Cheyenne, Wyo., asks why John Clayton considers Matt Ryan and Joe Flacco as “elite’’ quarterbacks, but doesn’t put Josh Freeman in that same category.

Pat Yasinskas: I can’t speak for John Clayton, although I have tremendous respect for his opinion on everything related to football. Also, I don’t know how you truly define “elite." But I will say I think Freeman already is in the same general category as Ryan and Flacco and he just finished his first full season as a starter. There obviously are a lot of variables, but I think Freeman has the upside to eventually be better than Ryan or Flacco.

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Nick in London, Ontario, Canada, asks if the Buccaneers will bring back Ronde Barber for one more season.

Pat Yasinskas: Barber’s contract is up and the potential lockout could make for a strange and messy preseason. But I think the bottom line here is the choice will be up to Barber. He still was playing at a high level. If he wants to continue playing, I suspect the Bucs will give him that opportunity. At the same time, I think they also need to use free agency or the draft to prepare for the day that Barber is no longer playing.

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Tony in New York asks if Sean Payton made a huge mistake by playing his starters in the regular-season finale against Tampa Bay.

Pat Yasinskas: It’s been a long time since anyone’s had any reason to question any of Sean Payton’s move. Virtually everything he did in the 2009 Super Bowl season was perfect. But, yeah, I think it’s valid to at least do some second guessing on him playing the starters in the regular-season finale when it was pretty obvious Atlanta was going to have an easy time beating Carolina and securing the home-field advantage. The injuries to safety Malcolm Jenkins and running back Chris Ivory certainly left the Saints short-handed in their playoff loss to Seattle.

Lots of good stuff in the NFC South mailbag this morning, so let's just jump right in.

Mike in Enon, Ohio (and a whole bunch of others) are buzzing about John Clayton’s comments about Tampa Bay’s “soft’’ schedule.

Pat Yasinskas: The mailbag was filled with questions, comments and venom toward Clayton on this one. But you know what? Clayton’s right and I think Tampa Bay fans are being a little too defensive here. Tampa Bay’s schedule has been favorable and Clayton has the numbers to support that. He’s not slapping the Bucs. He’s merely pointing out one of the reasons for their successful season. And, no matter what happens the rest of the way, this has been a successful season for the Bucs. There weren’t many people out there in the preseason saying they’d win eight games. They’ve already done that and they have a very good chance to end up with double-digit wins. That will be a huge accomplishment for a young team that’s been hit hard by injuries recently. But new guys have continued to step up after those injuries and that creates even more hope for Tampa Bay’s future.

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Sterling in Sumter, S.C. wonders why it appears the Panthers are keeping general manager Marty Hurney as they’re showing coach John Fox the door.

Pat Yasinskas: There certainly is room to question many of Hurney’s personnel moves over the last few years and that might be enough to get him fired by some owners. But a lot of Hurney’s moves were made to comply with what owner Jerry Richardson wanted. Hurney remains in the good graces of the owner and every indication I get is that Hurney will be staying and that he will be the primary guy in choosing the new coach, although team president Danny Morrison is going to be very involved in that process and Richardson ultimately will have to sign off on the move.

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Patrick in Palmer, Texas inquires about the Saints playing up or down to their level of competition.

Pat Yasinskas: I think it’s fair to say that’s been a trend for New Orleans this season. They can go out and look great against a team like Pittsburgh and, then, struggle to beat a Dallas or a Cincinnati. Is that going to be a fatal flaw? I doubt it. I’m thinking the Saints are healthier right now than they’ve been much of the season and they’re turning it on at the right time of year.

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Rob in Norfolk, Va., asked about what he views as a tendency by Atlanta cornerback Brent Grimes to make big plays, but also to give them up.

Pat Yasinskas: Kind of comes with the territory. I know Atlanta general manager Thomas Dimitroff doesn’t believe there is such a thing as a true shutdown cornerback and he’s won me over on that one. The logic is simple. All cornerbacks are going to give up some plays, but the good ones limit those and also will make some plays. Grimes’ height always is going to make him a target and big receivers exploit him at times. But, overall, Grimes has been having a very nice season.

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Chris in Dayton, Ohio, asked if I think I’ve been a little hard on the Panthers.

Pat Yasinskas: It is what it is. Where I have heard that before? The Panthers are 1-12. There aren’t a lot of positive things that can be said about them right now. If I were going out and singing their praises, I’d probably be out of a job and having my sanity evaluated. They are a horrible football team. I don’t take joy in having to point that out on a regular basis. I covered the Panthers as a newspaper beat writer for nine seasons. There are many wonderful people in that organization. I talk to them regularly and I feel their pain because I don’t like to see people I like and respect suffer. Those people don’t have any problem with the things I’ve written because they know it is what it is. They know that, if the Panthers turn it around next year like the Bucs have done this year, I’ll be singing their praises. Hey, one other thing. There will be a little bit of positive news about the Panthers this afternoon. Keep an eye on the blog about 3 p.m. ET. It’s not a personnel move or anything major, but it is a recognition of one of the few positives of this season.

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Darryl in Texas wonders if Raheem Morris is the leader for Coach of the Year and Mark Dominik for Executive of the Year.

Pat Yasinskas: I don’t know if they’ll sweep, but the “Young Bucs’’ who run the Bucs each have to be considered strongly. They’ve turned this franchise around and things should only continue to get better going forward. One other thing I’d like to bring up here. I live in Tampa (at least when I’m not out chasing the rest of the NFC South teams) and I’m kind of stunned at how a lot of people are pointing the finger at Morris for the team’s recent run of off-field trouble. True, the Bucs have had some trouble, but they are not the first or last team to run into this kind of thing. Heck, the Bucs even had some guys get in trouble when Tony Dungy was the coach. There’s a perception that this team is running amok because Morris is a young guy and a players’ coach. Look, the last thing he wants is for his players to be getting into trouble and it’s not like he’s out there hanging out with them at 2 in the morning. Morris is dealing with this situation and let’s just say that the talk about “handling things in-house’’ isn’t just lip service. You’re hearing about the Bucs fining some of these players, but there is a lot more going on behind the scenes on this. It might be wise to stay quiet and wait to see how some things play out going forward.