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Time to take a run through the top headlines from around the NFC South.

• Interim New Orleans coach Joe Vitt said he’s been pleased with what he’s seen from the Saints so far in their offseason program. We’ll hear more from Vitt and players this afternoon, because the Saints have media availability after their workout.

• New Orleans rookie defensive tackle Aikem Hicks talked about adjusting to defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo.

• Tom Jones runs through the positives and negatives of Tampa Bay coach Greg Schiano’s disciplined style. We’ll see how the Bucs take to Schiano in the long run. But I like what I’ve seen out of Schiano so far. He has brought structure to a team that didn’t have any last year, and that’s what led to the 10-game losing streak to end last season and cost predecessor Raheem Morris his job.

• Carolina defensive end Thomas Keiser has been commuting between California and Charlotte each week. He’s working to finish his degree at Stanford, but also has been taking part in the team’s offseason program.

• Falcons guard Justin Blalock will serve as a spokesman for the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra.

• Atlanta tight end Tony Gonzalez came in at No. 53 on the NFL Network’s list of the top 100 players for 2012. Not bad for a guy who is 36.

• New Orleans linebacker Jonathan Vilma came in at No. 58 on that same list. That one is more than surprising. Vilma had an off year in 2011, when he was slowed by a knee injury. He also is scheduled to be suspended this season, unless he wins an appeal.

Did the Falcons do enough to get tough enough up front?

The Falcons went hard after offensive linemen in the draft. They took Wisconsin guard/center Peter Konz in the second round and Southern Mississippi tackle Lamar Holmes in the third. They also added guard Vince Manuwai in free agency.

The plan seems to be to throw Konz and Manuwai out there with guard Justin Blalock, center Todd McClure, guard Garrett Reynolds and guard/center Joe Hawley. The Falcons will let them all compete in training camp and and then decide which combination gives them the best interior. Konz probably will emerge as a starter, and either he or Hawley could replace McClure, who is aging fast. That should improve the interior of the offensive line, but what about the outside? Left tackle Sam Baker struggled last season, and the fact that Holmes was sitting there in the third round is a pretty good indicator that he’s not ready to step in and be a stud left tackle.

If the Falcons really are serious about throwing downfield more, they have to give quarterback Matt Ryan more time. The Falcons still may have to add a left tackle (Marcus McNeill) to compete with Baker if they really want to solidify their offensive line.

Speaking of solidifying lines, the Falcons haven’t done much on the defensive side, and that also was a problem area last year. They brought back veteran defensive end John Abraham, but they don’t have any other especially strong pass-rushers. I wouldn’t count on an immediate impact from fifth-round pick Jonathan Massaquoi. Guys like Ray Edwards, Kroy Biermann and Lawrence Sidbury have to step up, or the Falcons have to go try to find a pass-rusher in what remains of free agency.

The Atlanta Falcons have had the quietest offseason of any NFC South team. But that doesn't mean they won't have some changes in their starting lineup.

Now that the NFL draft is over, let's take a look at my best guess at what Atlanta's starting lineup will look like in September.

OFFENSE

• QB Matt Ryan

• RB Michael Turner

• FB Ovie Mughelli

• WR Roddy White

• WR Julio Jones

• TE Tony Gonzalez

• LT Sam Baker (or someone not yet on the roster)

• LG Justin Blalock

• C Joe Hawley (I’m guessing he starts ahead of Todd McClure)

• RG Peter Konz (unless he ends up playing center)

• RT Tyson Clabo

DEFENSE

• DE John Abraham

• DT Corey Peters

• DT Jonathan Babineaux

• DE Ray Edwards

• OLB Sean Weatherspoon

• MLB Akeem Dent (Falcons would like him to beat out veteran Lofa Tatupu)

• OLB Stephen Nicholas

• CB Brent Grimes

• CB Dunta Robinson (Asante Samuel will play as much as Grimes and Robinson)

• SS William Moore

• FS Thomas DeCoud

SPECIALISTS

• K Matt Bryant

• P Matt Bosher

• PR Dominique Franks

• KR Jacquizz Rodgers

The new contract Asante Samuel signed soon after he was traded by the Philadelphia Eagles is even more cap friendly for the Atlanta Falcons than originally thought.

Now that all the accounting has been done, Samuel is showing up with a $2.875 cap figure for Atlanta this year. Initially, his figure had shown up as $3.875 million, but the updated breakdown has Philadelphia taking a $1 million hit for pro-rated money this year.

Samuel will earn $1.25 million in guaranteed base salary this season. He also has a roster bonus that will pay him $62,500 for each game he is active this season. That means he can earn an extra $1 million, but only $875,000 of that currently is counting against the cap. The other $125,000 does not count against this year’s cap, because it’s listed as a not-likely-to be-earned incentive.

With Samuel’s contract and a restructured deal for guard Justin Blalock factored in, the Falcons now are $687,000 under the salary cap.

As it turns out, the Atlanta Falcons aren’t planning to jump over that playoff hurdle that’s been talked so much about.

They simply plan to plow right through it. The latest evidence came Friday night when the Falcons used their second-round draft pick (No. 55 overall) on Wisconsin center (more on that in a moment) Peter Konz.

It would have been very easy for the Falcons to overreact and do something crazy after an embarrassing January playoff loss to the New York Giants. Yeah, they could have made a leap in free agency for defensive end Mario Williams, which seemed to be the preferred rout by 99 of every 100 Falcons fans.

But the fact is, if the Falcons had landed Williams back in March, they wouldn’t be as good a team as they are today. Seriously.

Yeah, I know it sounds a little ridiculous to say the Falcons are better off without a guy who could have brought them double-digit sacks. But it’s the truth. Had the Falcons signed Williams, they would have had to gut their existing roster.

The salary-cap space Williams would have taken up would have prevented the Falcons from keeping guys like receiver Harry Douglas, safety Thomas DeCoud, defensive end John Abraham, center Todd McClure and running back Jason Snelling. They might not have been able to fit cornerback Brent Grimes under the salary cap with the franchise tag. Even if they did, they would have had to have made some dramatic moves -- like releasing receiver Roddy White, running back Michael Turner or fullback Ovie Mughelli.

Any or all of those moves seemed possible in the immediate aftermath of the loss in New York. But owner Arthur Blank, who earlier in his tenure may have been prone to overreacting, sat down with coach Mike Smith and general manager Thomas Dimitroff and coolly came up with a plan on how the Falcons can take the next step.

Smith and Dimitroff have had four straight winning seasons, but have yet to win a playoff game. When you’ve had four straight winning seasons, you don’t blow a team up. You keep it together and fix the things that are wrong.

Without flash, that’s precisely what the Falcons have done and Friday night was just another step.

“We were really honed in on the offensive line as you can imagine,’’ Dimitroff said, moments after selecting Konz. “We need to get more stout on this offensive line.’’

There’s no doubt about that. Let’s consider this item from ESPN Stats & Information: The Falcons were one of 10 teams to average less than 4.0 yards per rush between the tackles last season. That came despite the fact they have a bruising runner in Turner.

The Falcons also didn’t do a great job of protecting quarterback Matt Ryan. That failure was the major reason why all the downfield passing we heard about after the Falcons traded up to draft Julio Jones didn’t fully materialize last year. The Falcons were soft up front and it cost offensive line coach Paul Boudreau his job.

Other than left tackle Sam Baker, a first-round pick in 2008, the Falcons really haven’t made huge investments in their offensive line. The arrival of Konz changes that.

Although he played center at Wisconsin, Dimitroff said “we’re listing him as a guard/center right now’’.

It’s no big secret McClure is at the end of his career. He’s 35 and it shows. The Falcons brought him back as insurance, but that doesn’t mean he’ll be their starting center on opening day. Guard Joe Hawley also can play center. Hawley also could factor into the situation at guard, where he played last season along with Justin Blalock and Garrett Reynolds. Add Konz to that mix and it’s pretty clear the Falcons are going to throw all their guards and centers onto the field in training camp and the preseason and see which of the three emerge as the best trio.

“Let’s come in here and have some great competition and see who can protect Matt Ryan the best,’’ Dimitroff said. “We want production and we want guys who can finish. In Peter, we have a guy who can do both of those.’’

Look, I’m not saying a guard/center from Wisconsin is going to come in the second round and push right through that hurdle all by himself. Konz is just a part of the puzzle and maybe fans can finally see that picture coming together now.

There’s a reason why Atlanta didn’t have a first-round pick this year. Jones was the first-round pick for last year and this year and he’s better than any receiver in this year’s draft. There was a reason why the Falcons didn’t make to splurge in free agency. They didn’t have the salary-cap room to do it without ripping a good team apart.

Little by little, they’ve made moves that have them gaining speed as they head for that hurdle. Just this week, they traded a late-round draft pick for four-time Pro Bowl cornerback Asante Samuel and quickly signed him to a cap-friendly deal.

In theory, Samuel should team with Grimes and Dunta Robinson to give the Falcons one of the league’s best cornerback tandems. In theory, Konz should team with all those other offensive linemen to make the Falcons tougher up front.

Yeah, there still are a few needs -- the pass rush, depth at tight end and maybe some more help on the outside of the offensive line. The Falcons are well aware of all that. They’ll address those needs in the rest of the draft and after it when the time and the price are right. But, now, you can see their offseason plan taking shape.

If the Falcons had gone out and paid a fortune for Williams, they wouldn’t be making solid, safe picks like Konz because they’d be desperately trying to repair all the other damage they did to their team.

We’ve got some second-round developments in the NFC South.

The Atlanta Falcons just used their second-round pick (No. 55 overall) on Wisconsin offensive lineman Peter Konz and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers continued to be aggressive by trading back into the second round to take Nebraska outside linebacker Lavonte David.

Konz played center in college, but also projects as a guard in the NFL. The Falcons might have a bigger need at left tackle, but Konz will give them lots of flexibility in the interior of the line. In the long term, he’s the likely replacement for veteran center Todd McClure. In the short term, he could play guard and provide some competition for Joe Hawley, Justin Blalock and Garrett Reynolds.

Tampa Bay, which already had traded up to get a second first-round pick, got great value with David. He was projected as a first-round pick by some experts. He also fits a major need.

Linebacker was a problem spot last year and the Bucs need someone who can make plays. David can do that on the outside and may allow the Bucs to keep second-year pro Mason Foster in the middle.

I’ll be back with a more in a bit.

I just got the details on the three-year contract cornerback Asante Samuel signed with the Atlanta Falcons as part of his trade from the Philadelphia Eagles.

It’s a very cap-friendly deal for Atlanta in the first year. Samuel will count $3.875 million against this year’s cap. He’ll receive a base salary of $1.25 million (his previous scheduled base salary for this year was $9.9 million). Samuel also will get an $875,000 roster bonus this year. The deal also includes a $2.25 million option bonus.

In 2013, Samuel’s base salary is scheduled to be $3 million, but that could rise if an escalator clause is met. Samuel also is scheduled for a $1.675 million roster bonus next season. His cap figure for 2013 is $6.425 million.

In 2014, Samuel’s scheduled base salary is $3.5 million and he is scheduled for a $1.675 million roster bonus. Samuel’s 2014 base salary could rise if he meets an escalator clause.

To help fit Samuel under the cap, the Falcons did a very simple restructuring of the contract for offensive lineman Justin Blalock. His base salary was lowered from $2.5 million to $700,000, but he was given a $1.8 million signing bonus.

PALM BEACH, Fla. -- The Falcons let veteran center Todd McClure test free agency, but he’s staying in Atlanta.

General manager Thomas Dimitroff just said McClure, 35, has agreed to terms on a deal that will keep him with the only team he's played for.

“We’re very excited as an organization to have a player and person like Todd McClure to come back to us and play his 13^th season with us,’’ Dimitroff said. “He’s the consummate leader. He’s what we’re looking for in an offensive lineman in terms of the toughness and the grit and, most importantly, the leadership.’’

McClure started 13 games last season. His return gives the Falcons some depth in the middle of the line. Joe Hawley also plays center, but McClure’s return could allow Hawley to compete for a starting job at guard, where Justin Blalock and Garrett Reynolds were last year’s starters.

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.

The Atlanta Falcons began the process of overhauling their offensive line even before the start of free agency.

The team announced Friday night that it has signed guard Vince Manuwai. He becomes an instant candidate to start. The Falcons have Justin Blalock at one guard spot, but there was uncertainty on the right side last year as the Falcons experimented with Garrett Reynolds and Joe Hawley, but neither exceled.

Manuwai could have a big edge over Reynolds and Hawley because he has a history with new Atlanta offensive coordinator Dirk Koetter.

Manuwai was drafted by Jacksonville in 2003 and started 105 of 111 games between his rookie season and the end of the 2010 season. Manuwai was cut by the Jaguars last summer and spent the year away from football.

Jonathan Bales has his list of the 20 best guards in the NFL in 2011. It’s based on mathematics that involve run blocking and pass pressures allowed.

As you might expect, two NFC South guards rank high on the list. But there’s a third division player on the list who might surprise you.

First, let’s start with what’s not a surprise. New Orleans’ Carl Nicks is No. 2 on the list. He’s behind only Baltimore’s Marshal Yanda. Bales cites Nicks’ pressure rate of 0.68 percent as a big reason he’s ranked near the top. If I were Nicks and his agent, I’d print out these ratings and show them to the Saints as they get ready for contract negotiations. Nicks is on the verge of becoming an unrestricted free agent.

It’s also not surprising that Nicks’ teammate Jahri Evans is on the list. What is mildly surprising is that Evans is No. 11. In most conversations on the topic, Nicks and Evans are in the top five. In fact, there’s often debate about which New Orleans guard is better. But Bales says Evans’ ranking was low because he allowed 26 pressures on quarterback Drew Brees and that dropped his value even though he’s one of the league’s top run-blockers.

Now, here’s the big surprise. Tampa Bay’s Jeremy Zuttah is on the list at No. 13. There weren’t many bright spots for the Bucs in 2011, but Zuttah’s play was one. Like Nicks, Zuttah also is a potential free agent. The Bucs are well aware that Zuttah played well last season and they want to keep him. They’re also aware that he’s versatile and also can play center. His value to the Bucs is only helped by the fact that he played in college at Rutgers under new Tampa Bay coach Greg Schiano.

There also are two NFC South guards with reasonably big names that didn’t make the list and Bales addresses both of them. Tampa Bay’s Davin Joseph went to the Pro Bowl and allowed only two sacks while doing a good job as a run-blocker, but Bales points to his 21 pressures allowed as the reason he’s not on the list.

Atlanta’s Justin Blalock also was left off the list. Bales points to the fact that the Falcons averaged just 3.5 yards per carry when running behind Blalock as the reason he didn’t make the top 20.

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.

Seven NFC South players were in a pretty exclusive club in 2010. Carolina’s Ryan Kalil and Geoff Schwartz, Atlanta’s Justin Blalock, Sam Baker and Harvey Dahl and New Orleans’ Jahri Evans and Carl Nick played every one of their team’s offensive snaps.

According to league-wide play counts from last year that are used for calculating incentives in contracts and performance-pool pay, those players were among a group of 37 around the league to play 100 percent of their team’s offensive or defensive plays.

Safety Eric Berry was the only defensive player to take part in all of his team’s plays. Quarterbacks Peyton Manning, Sam Bradford and Joe Flacco also were on the field for all their team’s plays. Aside from those four, the other 33 to play 100 percent of the plays were all offensive linemen.

Carolina tackle Jordan Gross just missed joining the club. He came in at 99.99 percent. He sat out one of Carolina’s 989 offensive plays. Same for former Tampa Bay linebacker Barrett Ruud who took part in 1,024 of 1,025 defensive snaps.

Here’s a look at some other NFC South players who were among league leaders at their positions in 2010:

• Atlanta center Todd McClure -- 98.44 percent
• Atlanta cornerback Brent Grimes -- 98.77 percent
• Tampa Bay cornerback Ronde Barber -- 96.29 percent
• Carolina defensive end Charles Johnson -- 79.6 percent
• New Orleans defensive end Will Smith -- 79.31 percent
• Atlanta defensive tackle Jonathan Babineaux -- 75.95 percent
• New Orleans defensive tackle Sedrick Ellis -- 77.08 percent
• Carolina linebacker Jon Beason -- 99.73 percent
• Atlanta linebacker Curtis Lofton -- 95.5 percent
• New Orleans linebacker Jonathan Vilma -- 96.86 percent
• Carolina linebacker James Anderson -- 96.57 percent
• Atlanta quarterback Matt Ryan -- 98.44 percent
• New Orleans quarterback Drew Brees -- 98.73 percent
• Tampa Bay quarterback Josh Freeman -- 96.77 percent
• Carolina safety Charles Godfrey -- 99.46 percent
• New Orleans tackle Jermon Bushrod -- 99.37 percent
• Tampa Bay tackle Donald Penn -- 99.39 percent
• Tampa Bay wide receiver Mike Williams -- 99.55

Atlanta coach Mike Smith just told the media that veteran center Todd McClure, who recently had knee surgery, will not be available to play in the Sept. 11 regular-season opener at Chicago.

Unless the Falcons go out and find a veteran, that almost certainly means second-year pro Joe Hawley will start in McClure’s place. A fourth-round pick out of UNLV last year, Hawley never has started an NFL game. But he’s worked behind McClure since last year and appeared in 15 games, mostly as a special-teams player, last year.

The news also means McClure’s franchise-record 144 straight starts will come to an end. Smith wouldn’t speculate about McClure’s availability beyond the Chicago game, but it’s possible he could miss more time. He’s 34 and has played through lots of other injuries through the years.

The Falcons drafted Hawley as an eventual replacement for McClure. Atlanta’s offensive line already will have one new starter at right guard with either Garrett Reynolds or Mike Johnson taking over after Harvey Dahl left via free agency.

Right tackle Tyson Clabo and left guard Justin Blalock were also free agents, but the team re-signed them in large part because the front office and coaching staff wanted to keep as much continuity as possible on the offensive line. Now, the Falcons will have to play at least one game with two new starters on the line.