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While seven New Orleans Saints won’t be able to play in Sunday’s Pro Bowl, one other NFC South player has been added to the roster.

Carolina center Ryan Kalil will take the roster spot of New Orleans center Jonathan Goodwin who, like teammates Drew Brees, Jonathan Vilma, Darren Sharper, Jahri Evans, Jon Stinchcomb and Roman Harper, won’t be able to play because they’ll be preparing for the Super Bowl the following week. League officials have said members of the Super Bowl teams who were selected to the Pro Bowl will be invited to make guest appearances at the all-star game. They also will be eligible for their Pro Bowl shares if they show up in Miami for the game.

Kalil blossomed in his third season in the NFL and anchors a Carolina offensive line that should be a strength in 2010 with starting tackles Jordan Gross and Jeff Otah returning from injuries.

It's time to name our second annual All-NFC South offense.

Quarterback: Drew Brees, Saints. Best player in the division, period. If Brees wasn’t already on a level with Peyton Manning and Tom Brady, leading the Saints to 13 wins (including some big games) put him there.

Running back: DeAngelo Williams, Panthers. He gets the nod in a close one over teammate Jonathan Stewart. Williams missed some time late in the season because of an injury. But he still showed enough to get selected to the Pro Bowl. Stewart, Michael Turner, Cadillac Williams and Pierre Thomas all get honorable mention.

Fullback: Brad Hoover, Panthers. Very quietly, this guy just goes out and does his job every week and he’s been doing it for a long time. Some scouts and coaches will tell you that Hoover plays at a Pro Bowl level. He’s also a big part of the reason why Stewart and Williams became the first pair of teammates in NFL history to rush for 1,100 yards.

Tight end: Tony Gonzalez, Falcons. He somehow got snubbed in the Pro Bowl selection. But Gonzalez isn’t going to be overlooked here. Gonzalez came in and did exactly what the Falcons wanted and showed no signs that age is catching up to him. Tampa Bay’s Kellen Winslow gets an honorable mention for having a productive and peaceful season.

Wide receiver: Marques Colston, Saints. He showed what he can do when healthy. He’s Brees’ favorite target and a mismatch for most defensive backs.

Wide receiver: Roddy White, Falcons. Some people say White let up a bit after signing a big contract. That’s not true. His reception and yardage totals weren’t far off what he did last year and he also scored four touchdowns more than he did a year ago.

Tackle: Jordan Gross, Panthers. Yeah, I know he missed the final seven games, but he’s still the best offensive tackle in the division.

Tackle: Jon Stinchcomb, Saints. He’s steady and he got his first Pro Bowl berth this year. He’s got to be doing something right.

Guard: Jahri Evans, Saints. Nature of his position means he often goes unnoticed, but this guy had the best season of any offensive lineman in the division.

Guard: Davin Joseph, Buccaneers. New Orleans’ Carl Nicks got heavy consideration, but I’m going with Joseph, in part to give the Bucs some representation on this squad. But also because Joseph is a solid player.

Center: Jonathan Goodwin, Saints. He’s another guy you don’t hear much about. But he anchored an offensive line that protected Brees very well and cleared the way for the Saints to have an effective running game.

Offensive lines generally don’t get the attention they deserve. But, this week, Carolina’s offensive line is getting some well-earned credit.

The Panthers have been named the NFC’s winners of the weekly Madden Most Valuable Protectors Award. A yearly winner of the award for best offensive line will be announced during Super Bowl week.

The performance of Carolina’s offensive line in Sunday’s victory against the New York Giants certainly deserves high praise. The Panthers helped Jonathan Stewart rush for a franchise-record 206 yards and the team finished with 247 rushing yards.

More importantly, the Panthers did it without their two best offensive linemen. Starting tackles Jordan Gross and Jeff Otah are out for the season with injuries. The Panthers went with Travelle Wharton at left tackle, Geofff Schwartz at right tackle, guards Keydrick Vincent and Mackenzy Bernadeau and center Ryan Kalil and were able to dominate against the Giants.

The Pro Bowl rosters will come out Tuesday and it should be interesting to see how the NFC South fares.

New Orleans quarterback Drew Brees, Atlanta tight end Tony Gonzalez and New Orleans safety Darren Sharper were the only division players to finish first in the fan voting at their positions. But I think some other NFC South players will get in with strong support from the votes from coaches and players.

Here are my thoughts on NFC South players who could make the Pro Bowl:

New Orleans Saints: Brees, Sharper, linebacker Jonathan Vilma, receiver Marques Colston, guard Jahri Evans, guard Carl Nicks and punter Thomas Morstead. Brees and Sharper are automatic. Vilma’s been coming up with big plays. Evans and Nicks are probably the best guard tandem in the league. Morstead’s probably a long shot because he’s only a rookie, but he’s had a great year.

Atlanta Falcons: Gonzalez, linebacker Curtis Lofton, linebacker Mike Peterson, running back Michael Turner, receiver Roddy White and fullback Ovie Mughelli. Gonzalez is automatic, but the rest of these guys are borderline. Lofton’s put up big numbers, but may not have a big enough name. Turner’s been injured and his numbers are down from last season, but he did have some big games before the injury.

Carolina Panthers: Defensive end Julius Peppers, linebacker Jon Beason, running back DeAngelo Williams, running back Jonathan Stewart and wide receiver Steve Smith. Peppers and Beason should have no problem getting in. Injured guys like linebacker Thomas Davis and tackle Jordan Gross would have made it if they didn’t go down for the season. Williams and Stewart have shared carries, but they still both have been very good. Smith suffered a broken arm Sunday and that may mean he wouldn’t be ready to play, even if he is selected.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Tight end Kellen Winslow. He’s about the only Buc that has a chance.

Think back to night of Nov. 2. The Atlanta Falcons went into the Superdome and pretty much played the New Orleans Saints evenly.

The Falcons ended up losing, but, everywhere you looked that night, there was reason to believe Atlanta could at least contend in the NFC South. Michael Turner ran wild, Roddy White had a big night, Matt Ryan looked like he did last year and even the defense made some plays.

Just build on that, hope the Saints could get knocked off once or twice and there were lots of indications that, when the teams met again in Atlanta in December, the Falcons could win and take the division race right down to the wire.

Well, it’s December now and the Saints come to the Georgia Dome on Sunday and both teams will be carrying flags. The undefeated Saints already have earned an NFC South banner. The Falcons have thrown up a white flag.

“We’re not in the NFC South anymore,’’ Atlanta coach Mike Smith said in a conference call with the New Orleans media. “We’re in the Wild-Card Division.’’

Yes, the Falcons have pulled out of a union that traditionally had all four teams on the map until late in the season. But this season’s dramatically different.

Tampa Bay really never was in the picture. Carolina was pretty much out after an 0-3 start and any hope the Panthers had after winning their next two games disappeared forever with that pathetic home loss to Buffalo.

So what’s happened to a division that fans were calling the “NFC Stout’’ at the start of the season?

Well, let’s first give the Saints a ton of credit for putting so much distance between themselves and everyone else. But let’s also remember the Saints finished last in the division last season. They got dramatically better.

But let’s not forget the Falcons, Panthers and Buccaneers did a pretty fine job of pulling themselves out of a division that now should be called the NFC New Orleans and Nothing Else.

Let’s take a look, team-by-team, at how it came to this:

FALCONS: The Falcons still were in it after that loss in New Orleans. They were 4-3 and they went to 5-3 a week later with a blowout win against Washington. Then, the Falcons self destructed. Ryan struggled and Turner got hurt. Then, Ryan got hurt, Turner got hurt and almost the entire offensive line got hurt. And the defense, which already was shaky at best, got really shaky.

“We haven’t made plays when they’ve been presented to us and you have to make those big plays and those game-changing plays in this league if you’re going to get the outcome you want,’’ Smith said.

The outcome the Falcons wanted for this year was to get back-to-back winning seasons for the first time in franchise history, make the playoffs again and maybe even win the NFC South championship.

None of that’s going to happen. The Falcons are 6-6 and mathematically still in the playoff hunt. But let’s be realistic. With that defense and with Ryan and Turner looking like they each will miss one more game, there’s no reason why the Saints should lose this one to the Falcons. If Ryan and Turner stay out longer than this game, there’s no reason to believe the Falcons win anything until they’re back and, even then, the defense is capable of keeping any opponent in the game.

I still like Atlanta’s nucleus, but I like it for next year when it’s healthy again and there’s been time to fix that defense. For right now, though, seeing backup quarterback Chris Redman starting is like watching the Falcons wave a surrender flag.

PANTHERS: Call it overconfidence, complacency or a comedy of errors. Whatever you want to call it the Panthers have gone from 12-4 to one of the league’s most disappointing teams, and that’s probably going to cost coach John Fox his job.

He has no one to blame but himself and possibly general manager Marty Hurney, although I think Hurney still could have a job when Fox is gone. Yeah, Hurney’s the one who does the deals, but Fox is the one who told him what deals he wanted done. And the decision to bring back Jake Delhomme, as well as sign him to a contract extension, ranks as one of the biggest gaffes of the past offseason. A lot of coaches would have handed Delhomme his release after his five-interception game against Arizona in last season’s playoffs and a couple of horrible games late last season.

At the very least, it might have been wise to bring in an alternative to Delhomme. As much as the Panthers were proud of the fact that they were returning 21 of 22 starters, the downside to that was they paid a fortune to offensive tackle Jordan Gross and moody defensive end Julius Peppers. That left them with no salary-cap room to sign any depth and it has cost them dearly when injuries happened, and when some of those 21 starters turned out to be less than the coaching staff thought.

Fox brought stability to this franchise, but he might have brought too much for too long. His message no longer carries the same weight in some corners of the locker room, and there’s a feeling among some players that rules aren’t the same for everybody and some guys get, or have demanded and received, star treatment. It might be the quarterback, it might be the coach or it might be both of them plus a whole bunch of others, but someone’s going to have to take the fall for this mess.

BUCCANEERS: Let’s be real honest here. The Bucs took themselves out of this year’s NFC South race in February. That’s when they cut ties with Derrick Brooks, Jeff Garcia, Warrick Dunn, Ike Hilliard, Joey Galloway, Kevin Carter and several other older players who had just enough left to keep them close to making the playoffs last year. There was some logic in all that because the Bucs weren’t going to get any better if they kept the same crew around.

Instead, they got worse. Much of that was to be expected. But if this rebuilding plan had been carried out better, the Bucs would have been respectable early on and should be showing substantial progress by now. They’re not. Rookie quarterback Josh Freeman has brought some hope since taking over at midseason, but free-agent pickups Derrick Ward and Angelo Crowell haven’t brought anything to the table.

Coach Raheem Morris fired offensive coordinator Jeff Jagodzinski before the season started and took the reins away from defensive coordinator Jim Bates after 10 games. Morris may get another year because ownership knew from the start this was going to be a project. But Morris and general manager Mark Dominik have a lot of work to do in the coming months.

So do Smith and Atlanta general manager Thomas Dimitroff. Same for Fox and Hurney, if they’re still there, or for a new regime.

Long story short and we’ll borrow from Smith’s first quote: The Falcons, Buccaneers and Panthers have a lot of ground to make up just to get back into the NFC South.

There’s an age-old theory in the NFL when it comes to left tackles. It’s pretty simple, really and it goes something like this: Every decade or so, you use a first-round draft pick on a left tackle. You throw him out and there and he anchors your offensive line for 10 or 12 years.

Think Anthony Munoz or Jonathan Ogden. You get a guy like that and, chances are, he’s going to be around through at least a couple of coaching regimes and you’ve got one position you don’t need to worry about.

It’s a philosophy that’s been so rock solid through the years, that every team subscribes. But what happens when the subscription runs out or someone steals the magazine out of the mailbox?

Well, that’s sort of what’s happening right now in the NFC South -- the division without a stud left tackle.

It wasn’t planned this way at all. But the Carolina Panthers were starting Travelle Wharton, who truly is a guard, at left tackle when they lost to the Dolphins on Thursday night. Come Sunday, there’s a very good chance Wharton, who was a third-round draft pick, might have the best pedigree of any starting left tackle in the division.

There’s a very real chance that the other three NFC South teams will be starting left tackles who were not drafted, drafted late or born in the Czech Republic. Yes, this is what it has come to as we head for the playoff stretch.

Where have you gone Willie Roaf and Paul Gruber?

It’s been this way through parts of the division for much of the season, but the trend suddenly has grown because of injuries. The amazing thing is that the lack of blue-chip left tackles hasn’t caused a disaster for any of the NFC South teams --at least not yet.

Here’s a look at each NFC South team’s situation at left tackle:

Atlanta. The Falcons are the only team in the division that could end up with a first-round draft pick playing left tackle any time the rest of this season. That would be Sam Baker, whom the Falcons drafted out of Southern California last year. They used their second of two first-round picks to get Baker to protect the blindside of top pick Matt Ryan.

Baker’s been fine -- when he’s been on the field. But the problem is he’s already had a disturbing assortment of injuries. He missed last Sunday’s game against Carolina and the Falcons were forced to throw Will Svitek out there at left tackle and ask him to block Julius Peppers.

Svitek got through that game without much problem, but that was mainly because Peppers was playing with a broken hand and played only part of the game. Svitek’s the kind of guy who can get you through a game, but he’s not someone you want to hang out there for the rest of the season. The Falcons are 5-4 and have problems all over the place. To have any shot at the playoffs, they need to get Baker healthy and back into the lineup.

Carolina. Entering the season, the Panthers had the best left tackle in the division -- maybe in the NFL -- in Jordan Gross. They drafted him early in the first round back in 2003 and gave him a massive new contract after last season.

But disaster struck last week when Gross broke his ankle and went down for the season. That forced Carolina to drastically overhaul its offensive line because the Panthers don’t have another true left tackle on the roster. They’ve shifted Wharton to left tackle and inserted Mackenzy Bernadeau, who made his first NFL start Thursday night, at left guard.

Wharton’s been a starter at left tackle before and he’s serviceable there. But he’s not nearly as good at left tackle as he is at guard and he’s not nearly as good as Gross. There’s also a big drop-off from Wharton to Bernadeau at left guard and the 4-6 Panthers will have to pull off miracles on their offensive line if they have any hopes of making the playoffs.

New Orleans. The Saints thought they got their left tackle for a generation when they used the 13th overall pick in 2005 to take Jammal Brown out of Oklahoma. That move was working out just fine as Brown made the Pro Bowl in the 2006 and ’08 seasons.

But trouble surfaced in the preseason when Brown had to have surgeries for a hip injury and a sports hernia. Initially, the Saints thought he could return around midseason, but his recovery was slow and New Orleans decided to place Brown on injured reserve.

Brown’s injuries have given rise to one of the NFL’s biggest surprises. That’s Jermon Bushrod, who was thrust into the starting lineup after spending his first two seasons on the bench. A fourth-round pick out of Towson State, Bushrod suddenly was placed in charge of protecting Drew Brees’ back.

The amazing thing is Bushrod has done just fine. Give him lots of credit for that, but don’t go thinking he’s a Pro Bowler and the Saints should try to trade Brown in the offseason. Bushrod is not Brown. He has limitations and the Saints know it. If you watch their offense, they’ve done a lot to help Bushrod. They give him blocking help with their tight ends, fullback and running backs and it also helps that Brees has a quick release and doesn’t take many deep drops.

Tampa Bay. Part of the reason Jon Gruden was fired after last season was because he never instituted a long-term plan and this was especially true at left tackle. He was bringing in washed-up veterans like Luke Petitgout, but that might end up being a blessing for Raheem Morris and the current regime. Totally by accident (and injuries to Petitgout), the Bucs discovered Donald Penn.

He wasn’t even drafted out of Utah State, but he’s turned out to be a solid starting left tackle. He may never be dominant, but Penn has played well enough that the Bucs are likely to try to sign him to a big contract before the start of free agency in February.

Penn and Bushrod have shown that you don’t always have to find a left tackle in the first round of the draft. But they’re the exceptions. It’s nice when you can find gems like them and surround them with a good offensive line. But it’s even nicer when you draft a blue-chip tackle in the first round and build your offensive line around him.

You can’t blame Jake Delhomme for this one. Yes, he did throw one interception to end his streak of three games without an interception, but that one didn’t crush the Panthers. Overall, Delhomme was fairly efficient and Carolina also had a good night from the running game in Thursday's 24-17 loss.

Also, who thought it would be a good idea to have Delhomme throwing the ball 42 times? Hasn’t it been well established that Delhomme is a game manager and not the kind of guy you want slinging it 42 times? When you’re a team that’s supposedly built on the running game, you should stick with the running game.

You can put the blame for this loss on a couple of other things. Let’s start with the offensive line. With left tackle Jordan Gross out for the season with a broken ankle, the offensive line struggled to protect Delhomme. He was sacked four times and several of those killed drives.

You can also blame the defense and I say that was the biggest culprit of all. A John Fox defense is supposed to be dominant and the Panthers weren’t even close. Veteran running back Ricky Williams looked like a young Ricky Williams as he ran for 119 yards and two touchdowns. The Dolphins got a very efficient performance from quarterback Chad Henne.

Speaking of Henne and the Carolina defense, the Panthers didn’t have a single sack. Julius Peppers, playing with a broken bone in his hand, was pretty much a non-factor.

I just got back home from my trip to Charlotte and wanted to do a roundup on the injury situation around the NFC South.

We don’t usually do this on Mondays, but this week is different because there are a bunch of significant injuries.

Let’s start in New Orleans, with cornerback Tracy Porter, who suffered a knee injury at Miami on Sunday. The good news is he doesn’t have a torn ACL, but he does have a sprained MCL. Porter’s going to miss some time, but coach Sean Payton said Porter will be able to return this season.

“He does not need surgery,’’ Payton said. “I don’t have a timeframe on it, but it’s an MCL and that’s great news.’’

Jabari Greer, the other starting cornerback missed Sunday’s game with an injury, but the Saints are hoping he can return soon. If Greer comes back this week, the Saints likely will use some combination of veteran Randall Gay and rookie Malcolm Jenkins to fill Porter’s spot.

In Atlanta, coach Mike Smith wouldn’t go into detail about the ankle injury to running back Michael Turner. Smith said he’ll give an update Wednesday. But a team source said Turner has a mild high-ankle sprain. He likely will miss some time, but it’s believed he won’t be out for a lengthy period like most players who have more serious sprains.

In Carolina, the Panthers said left tackle Jordan Gross had surgery Monday on his broken right ankle. The Panthers haven’t placed Gross on injured reserve yet, but that’s coming. The team worked out several offensive linemen Monday and is expected to sign one of them before Tuesday’s practice.

In Tampa Bay, defensive end Stylez G. White, who missed Sunday’s game with a shoulder injury, said he expects to play in the next game – Sunday at home against the Saints.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Carolina left tackle Jordan Gross has a broken ankle, coach John Fox said.

But that was all Fox would say about the injury. Even though it seems almost a certainty that Gross’ season is over, Fox wouldn’t say it, and repeatedly said the situation would be evaluated in the coming days.

Look for Gross to be put on injured reserve at some point this week. After his injury, left guard Travelle Wharton slid to left tackle and Mackenzy Bernadeau took over at left guard. Look for the Panthers to stick with that alignment. Although Wharton’s at his best as a guard, he previously was a serviceable starter at left tackle.

The only other alternative would be moving right tackle Jeff Otah and inserting Geoff Schwartz at right tackle.

Posted by ESPN.com's Pat Yasinskas

Time for the All-NFC South midseason team. Here’s the offense:

Quarterback: Drew Brees, Saints. Do I even need to explain?

Running back: DeAngelo Williams, Panthers. Atlanta’s Michael Turner has come on the last couple of weeks and New Orleans’ Pierre Thomas is having a nice season. But Williams has the best numbers.

Fullback: Ovie Mughelli, Falcons. New Orleans’ Heath Evans would have been very much in the mix if he didn’t suffer a season-ending injury.

Receiver: Marques Colston, Saints. This guy is just scary now that he’s healthy.

Receiver: Roddy White, Falcons. It would be nice if White were a bit more consistent. Still, he’s having another solid season.

Tight end: Tony Gonzalez, Falcons. Part of me wanted to go with Kellen Winslow, just to get someone from Tampa Bay on the team. But I couldn’t. Gonzalez is better than him. Jeremy Shockey might be, too.

Tackle: Jordan Gross, Panthers. Easily, the best offensive lineman in the division, but he hasn’t been as dominant as I expected.

Tackle: Jermon Bushrod, Saints. Part of me wanted to go with Atlanta’s Sam Baker, who is the most talented tackle in the division besides Gross. But I can’t say Baker has played at a high level all season. Bushrod has and he was thrown into the job after Jammal Brown went down for the season.

Guard: Jahri Evans, Saints. If Gross is the division’s most talented lineman, Evans is the most productive. This guy’s setting himself up for a huge second contract.

Guard: Carl Nicks, Saints. He’s not quite on the same level as Evans, but he’s pretty darn good.

Center: Jonathan Goodwin, Saints. I’m giving him the nod over Tampa Bay’s Jeff Faine and Atlanta’s Todd McClure, mainly because Faine’s been hurt and Atlanta’s offensive line hasn’t been all that consistent. Bottom line: The Saints have produced on the offensive line and, anytime that happens, the center has to be playing very well.

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

Posted by ESPN.com’s Pat Yasinskas

Power Rankings: Preseason: 14. This week: 21.

2009 Schedule/Results

	AP Photo/Donna McWilliam
	Losing linebacker Thomas Davis was a huge blow to the Carolina defense.

Where they stand: You’d have a tough time finding a more disappointing team than the Panthers. There was preseason talk about a Super Bowl run and bragging about the fact they were returning 21 of 22 starters. Problem is they didn’t do anything to get better (like maybe adding depth?) after a 12-4 season. It’s pretty amazing that an injury to a very average player like defensive tackle Maake Kemoeatu could take such a toll on this defense, but that’s what happens when you tie up all of your cap room by giving Jordan Gross a massive contract, giving Julius Peppers an $18 million franchise tag and signing quarterback Jake Delhomme to a contract extension. Yes, the Panthers still aren’t out of the playoff race -- yet. But the picture isn’t very pretty, especially now that linebacker Thomas Davis, who had been the team’s best player for the first half of the season, is done because of a knee injury.

Disappointments: You have to start with Delhomme, but don’t put the blame entirely on him. He gave off warning signs late last season and in a disastrous playoff loss to Arizona. Carolina fans saw there was a need to do something at quarterback. But the coaching staff and the front office didn’t and they’re paying for it now. Delhomme’s been a turnover machine, but some of the blame should go to the coaching staff for asking him to go out and win games on his own after he’s been nothing more than a game-manager his entire career. Delhomme’s struggles have taken a massive toll on wide receiver Steve Smith. I still say Smith is more talented than any receiver in the NFC South, but his numbers don’t show it because the Panthers haven’t been able to get him the ball consistently. Then there’s fellow receiver Dwayne Jarrett. This was supposed to be the year he finally emerged as the second coming of Muhsin Muhammad. Instead, he’s proved he’s the second coming of Keary Colbert. Oh, and that offensive line, which was supposed to be a strong point, hasn’t been.

Surprises: Safety/return man Captain Munnerlyn has shown much more than a seventh-round draft pick should. After going through about 35 defensive tackles after Kemoeatu’s injury, the Panthers finally found a suitable replacement when they picked up veteran Hollis Thomas a few weeks back. Carolina’s pass defense has carried a top-10 ranking all season. That’s great. But I can’t help but wonder if that has more to do with other teams getting ahead and running on them than it does with anything the secondary has done.

Outlook: There’s still time to climb back into this race, and the Panthers have a lot of individual talent. Also, you should never count out a team coached by John Fox. But an improvement is unlikely if there aren’t some dramatic changes in the second half. They haven’t shown many signs they’re improving and the schedule isn’t easy. Unless the running game can get back to being dominant, Delhomme can get back to being competent, Smith can get back to being one of the league’s most explosive players and the defense gets back to looking like a Fox-coached defense, this team might not be coached by Fox anymore. This season began with playoff expectations. Anything less probably won’t be good enough.

Posted by ESPN.com’s Pat Yasinskas

I was listening to Steve Duemig on WDAE in Tampa while driving Friday afternoon and he brought up an excellent point.

He said part of the problem with Tampa Bay right now is that the Bucs have no true leaders in their locker room. I’d have to agree with that totally. That’s the price you pay when you cut someone like Derrick Brooks and don’t have any heir apparent.

Sure, the Bucs knew the leadership aspect would have to be addressed when they made the decision to part ways with Brooks and they were hoping some new leaders would emerge. But, from what I’ve seen and heard, that hasn’t happened so far.

Veteran cornerback Ronde Barber is a good player, but it’s never been part of his personality to be a leader. Tight end Kellen Winslow probably has been Tampa Bay’s best player so far, but he’s a loner and not the type of guy you’d want leading your team anyway.

You don’t just proclaim a leader. You have to have a guy with the personality and the credentials to establish himself in that role. The one guy I see with potential here for the Bucs is middle linebacker Barrett Ruud. He’s been a good player for a couple of years and he can be a bit feisty.

But Ruud hasn’t really taken over this team yet. Maybe that’s one of the reasons the Bucs haven’t extended his contract yet. They know he can play, but maybe they want to see if he can be a leader before locking him up.

All this talk of leadership got me thinking about who the other leaders are around the NFC South and I can honestly say I don’t think any other team is lacking in leaders like the Bucs. Here’s my synopsis on the leadership situations with the other teams:

New Orleans. The Saints probably have the best leadership situation in the division right now, and it’s no coincidence they’re undefeated. They’ve got clearly-defined and very strong leaders. Quarterback Drew Brees is a natural leader and about as good as you’ll find in this category. It’s been that way since Brees arrived in New Orleans. But now he’s got complements on the defensive side. Middle linebacker Jonathan Vilma and safety Darren Sharper have emerged as very strong leaders.

Carolina. Despite their problems in other areas, the Panthers have strong leadership. Middle linebacker Jon Beason is still young, but he’s pretty much been the leader of this defense since the first day he walked in the door. He’s got the natural personality of a leader and the skills to back him up. He also gets some help in this area from safety Chris Harris. Say what you want about the way quarterback Jake Delhomme has played this season, but he’s still the leader of this offense. He’s still got tons of respect in the locker room and that’s become even more apparent as teammates haven’t given up on him even though he’s throwing a bunch of interceptions. Offensive tackle Jordan Gross also fills a leadership role. Receiver Steve Smith and defensive end Julius Peppers might be Carolina’s best players, but they’re both unique personalities. They’re loners and go their own way in the locker room.

Atlanta. Perhaps the best move the Falcons made this offseason was signing linebacker Mike Peterson. He’s a good player, but an even better leader. Peterson took over as a leader on the first day of minicamp and he’s also grooming second-year middle linebacker Curtis Lofton to take on that role in the future. Offensively, the Falcons get their leadership from several directions. Although he’s only a second-year player, quarterback Matt Ryan is immensely popular and respected in the locker room. He gets some help from veteran tight end Tony Gonzalez and center Todd McClure.

Posted by ESPN.com’s Pat Yasinskas

The NFL announced this afternoon that Pro Bowl balloting has begun.

You can vote here. You can cast ballots through Dec. 21.

If you’d like to hear my suggestions on who deserves the honor, here they are:

New Orleans: Basically, you wouldn’t be wrong in voting for any of the Saints on the ballot. But start with quarterback Drew Brees, receiver Marques Colston, tight end Jeremy Shockey, guards Jahri Evans and Carl Nicks, defensive tackle Sedrick Ellis, safety Darren Sharper, linebacker Jonathan Vilma and punter Thomas Morstead.

Atlanta: Quarterback Matt Ryan, tight end Tony Gonzalez, center Todd McClure, receiver Roddy White, linebacker Curtis Lofton and punter Michael Koenen. If defensive end John Abraham picks it up in the coming weeks at all, he becomes a candidate.

Carolina: The only guy I feel real strong in recommending is linebacker Thomas Davis. Linebacker Jon Beason and tackle Jordan Gross went last year and I wouldn’t rule them out, but only if their play picks up in the coming weeks.

Tampa Bay: Remember, this isn’t like baseball. There doesn’t have to be a player from every team. But if you feel compelled to vote for a Tampa Bay player, tight end Kellen Winslow is probably the most deserving at the moment. Linebacker Barrett Ruud also could be a possibility.

Posted by ESPN.com's Pat Yasinskas

I'm still working on transcribing tapes from the interviews I did on my tour of NFC South training camps. With our Camp Confidential series completed, I'm realizing I have a lot of leftovers.

That's why I'm starting a new occasional feature called "Five Minutes With ..." For the first installment, we'll use Jordan Gross, who isn't just one of the best left tackles in the league. He's also one of the best quotes and has a great sense of humor.

Gross

When talking with Gross, who is coming off his first Pro Bowl and first time as an All-Pro selection at Carolina's camp in Spartanburg, S.C., a couple weeks ago, he provided both a light-hearted and serious scouting report on what he calls the best offensive line he's ever played on. He gave the standard speech about how right tackle Jeff Otah has a big future and right guard Keydrick Vincent is very solid. Then, he had a little more fun with center Ryan Kalil and Travelle Wharton, while also complimenting them.

Here's what Gross had to say:

"Kalil's an interesting guy. He was born to play center, as far as his athletic ability, because he really doesn't have that much in general terms. Yes, he's quick and strong and powerful, but you get him on the baseball field or the basketball court and he's not the greatest athlete by any means. But he can play center like you're supposed to.

"We play basketball at Travelle Wharton's house sometimes. Kalil's got this absolutely terrible hook shot and he yells "Shaq" when he shoots it and he misses the whole backboard about half the time.

"He can't dribble very well and he sure can't catch or throw, but he can play center very well. That's his one calling in life.

"Travelle's a good guard. I mean he's a really good guard and people don't realize it because he's so quiet. I always tell him he's messing up because he could be governor someday because he's a local guy and a great player.

"Overall, this is a great group of guys and a great group of players. I think this is probably the best O-line I've been on. Hopefully, we can play together for a long time."

	G. Newman Lowrance/Getty Images
	After recording 14.5 sacks last season, Julius Peppers said he wanted out of Carolina. The defensive end eventually agreed to play for the franchise tender.

Posted by ESPN.com's Pat Yasinskas

SPARTANBURG, S.C. -- The good news is the Carolina Panthers were 12-4 last year and return 20 of 22 starters.

"We don't have any reason to be bad," All-Pro offensive tackle Jordan Gross said.

The bad news is coming off a winning season has never led to good things for the Panthers. In their short existence (the franchise began play in 1995), the Panthers never have been able to put together back-to-back winning seasons. That's a fact that weighs heavily on the minds of owner Jerry Richardson, head coach John Fox and general manager Marty Hurney.

Camp Confidential: NFC South • Panthers: Thurs., Aug. 6 • Saints: Mon., Aug. 10 • Falcons: Sat., Aug. 15 • Buccaneers: Tues., Aug. 18 • Training camp index

The Panthers have won big at times -- making the Super Bowl in the 2003 season and the NFC Championship Game in the 2005 season -- but they've also followed up with some massive flops. Take the 2006 season, when they were the trendy pick to win the Super Bowl after adding the supposed missing link (Keyshawn Johnson). Instead, with injuries and locker-room dysfunction playing big roles, they were one of the NFL's most disappointing teams.

Preventing that kind of downturn this year is a big theme in Carolina's camp. Like Gross said, there really is no reason for the Panthers to be bad. The only starters they're missing from last year are cornerback Ken Lucas, who was getting older and was released in a salary-cap move, and defensive tackle Maake Kemoeatu, who went out for the season with a torn Achilles tendon on the first day of camp.

Other than that, the Panthers look a lot like the NFC South champions of last year.

"There's no doubt that back-to-back winning seasons is on the front burner for us this year," Hurney said. "We've always said we wanted to be consistently competitive and we have been. But the next step is to win in back-to-back years. We started this in '02 by saying we wanted to draft well, develop young players and keep your core players. That philosophy is probably more evident now than at any time since we started this in 2002. We were able to keep the core players we identified over the past year and, now, as a result, I think we need our young players to step up and fill those holes as far as backups and depth."

The Panthers have kept the nucleus of last year's team together, re-signing Gross to a huge new contract, extending the contract for quarterback Jake Delhomme and forcing defensive end Julius Peppers to play for the franchise tender. But those moves have come at a high cost.

With almost no salary-cap room, the Panthers didn't sign a single player in free agency and they watched as some key backups walked away. Depth is a question mark almost everywhere. Carolina has a very good starting lineup. But is that enough to give the Panthers back-to-back winning seasons?

"It starts with having enough depth to sustain," Hurney said. "Different things happened in different seasons in the past. But drafting well and having a young base is really important as far as staying ahead of the game and not having to go out in free agency and bring in guys a lot. If you draft well and bring those guys up, you have a continuity in there that should keep you competitive. Continuity is a result of bringing in the right guys from the start."

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