ESPN NFL

Trent Dilfer, Gary Horton, Mel Kiper Jr. and Matt Williamson got together and came up with an outstanding project that looks a few years down the road. Check out this Insider post in which they have NFL Future Power Rankings for all teams.

The rankings are based on what the panel projects teams will look like in the 2015 season. The panel used the following criteria -- roster, quarterback, draft, front office and coaching staff -- and weighed each in order of importance to come up with the rankings. You can see a more detailed explanation of the methodology here.

From an NFC South perspective, the rankings don’t look all that different from results in recent years or what most people are projecting in 2012.

The panel says the New Orleans Saints, who have won two of the past three division titles, will be the division’s best team in 2015. The panel notes the bounty scandal and its punishments, but the consensus seems to be that the Saints can overcome that because there’s a strong nucleus in place, as well as a good coaching staff and front office. Horton notes the Saints have to build around guys like Jimmy Graham and Mark Ingram in the future. I think it’s true that the Saints have to develop some more young stars in the next few years. But, as long as Drew Brees is the quarterback, the Saints should be a top-10 team.

After the Saints, there’s a bit of a surprise. Although the Saints and Falcons have been the class of the division in recent years, the panel doesn’t see that quite being the case in 2015. The Falcons are No. 13 and the Panthers are No. 12.

Let’s start with why the Panthers are viewed as a team on the rise. Dilfer sums it up well by saying quarterback Cam Newton has an incredibly high ceiling. In 2015, Newton will be just approaching that ceiling. There’s no doubt the future looks bright for Carolina, but the Panthers may have to replace longtime stars Jordan Gross and Steve Smith before too long.

I disagree with the panel slightly on the placement of the Falcons. I think Atlanta will be a top-10 team in 2015 and probably each year between now and then. I agree with the panel that the Falcons have some old players at several positions, but I think general manager Thomas Dimitroff gradually will address those issues. As long as Matt Ryan and Julio Jones stay healthy and linebacker Sean Weatherspoon continues to emerge as a defensive star, I think the Falcons will be an annual playoff contender.

The Buccaneers are No. 19. While that ranking is last in the division, the Bucs have been in the 20s and 30s in a lot of recent rankings. The panel sounds optimistic about the Bucs in discussing the young talent and the new coaching staff. But there are a lot of unknowns. If quarterback Josh Freeman can get his career back on track and coach Greg Schiano can make the transition from college to the NFL, I think the Bucs have a real chance to jump up in the rankings when 2015 actually rolls around.

There’s been a lot of speculation that all the offseason turmoil is going to cause the New Orleans Saints to crumble.

I’m not buying that at all. Neither are the other three NFC South teams.

Just take a look at what the Atlanta Falcons, Carolina Panthers and Tampa Bay Buccaneers have done this offseason. I think you can look at every major move they’ve made and see they all have a common root. Everything the Falcons, Panthers and Bucs have done is at least partially designed to counter the team that has won the NFC South two of the last three seasons.

Yes, you can take suspended coach Sean Payton away from the Saints for the season, but you can’t take Payton’s influence out of an offense that put up record-setting numbers and has been piling up points since his arrival in 2006. Offensive coordinator Pete Carmichael Jr. simply will pick up the remote control, hit a button, and Drew Brees will start throwing deep for Marques Colston, Devery Henderson and Lance Moore and dumping off shorter passes to Darren Sproles and Jimmy Graham and letting them do their damage in open space.

And, yes, middle linebacker Jonathan Vilma is suspended for the season and defensive end Will Smith will be suspended for the first four games. But the Saints may be better off with former Atlanta middle linebacker Curtis Lofton than they were with Vilma, who was slowed by knee problems last year. New defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo is putting together successful and consistent defenses. If he can do that in New Orleans, the Saints could be every bit as good -- or better -- than they have been in recent seasons.

The rest of the NFC South knows it and has acted accordingly.

The Panthers and Bucs are generally viewed as teams on the rise, but they still have a long way to go to catch the Saints. The Falcons have been good the last four years, but they haven’t been able to overtake the Saints as the division’s dominant team.

Everybody’s still chasing the Saints, particularly Sproles and Graham, who each present unique matchup problems. That’s because Graham isn’t the typical tight end and Sproles is unlike any other running back. Graham’s a former basketball player, who had 99 catches for 1,310 yards and 11 touchdowns last season – his first full season as a starter.

Sproles joined the Saints last season and Payton figured out more ways to use him than the Chargers ever did. Sproles had a career-best 603 rushing yards, while sharing carries with Pierre Thomas, Mark Ingram and Chris Ivory. Sproles isn’t just a running back. He sometimes lines up at wide receiver or in the slot and caught 86 passes last season for 710 yards and seven touchdowns.

It’s safe to say Sproles and Graham are a big part of the reason Carolina used its first-round draft pick on linebacker Luke Kuechly. Even with Jon Beason and Thomas Davis coming back from injuries that kept them out most of last season, the Panthers still craved another linebacker with the speed to stay with Graham for brief stretches and bring some hope of sometimes being able to bring down Sproles before he can accelerate in empty space. Carolina showed some offensive life with the arrival of Cam Newton last season and the Panthers are going to score their share of points.

But they know they have to slow the New Orleans offense to have any shot at winning the division.

It’s kind of a similar story in Tampa Bay. The Bucs used the No. 7 overall pick in the draft on Alabama strong safety Mark Barron. They then used a second-round pick on Nebraska linebacker Lavonte David. Barron’s known as a big hitter and has the size to potentially cover Graham and the speed to potentially chase Sproles. The Bucs have a similar vision for David, who is known for his quickness.

In some ways, Atlanta’s offseason also was spent on trying to counter Sproles and Graham. They let Lofton depart as a free agent, mainly because he wasn’t viewed as a three-down player in the scheme being put in by new defensive coordinator Mike Nolan. The Falcons would rather let outside linebackers Sean Weatherspoon and Stephen Nicholas stay on the field every down and try to stay with Sproles and Graham.

But Atlanta’s offseason went beyond dealing with just Sproles and Graham. When teams have had success keeping those two in check, they usually pay for it by getting burned by Brees throwing deep to Colston, Henderson and Moore.

The Falcons have had first-hand experience with that in the past. That’s why one of the first things Nolan said upon taking the job is that he believes it’s necessary to have three starting-caliber cornerbacks. That wasn’t just idle talk. The Falcons laid low through free agency, but just before the NFL draft, they went out and traded with Philadelphia for Pro Bowl cornerback Asante Samuel. Throw him on the field with Dunta Robinson and Brent Grimes and the Falcons at least have a chance against Brees and the deep game.

The gap between the Falcons and Saints isn’t as big as it is for the Panthers and Bucs. That’s a reason why the Falcons were able to go one step further and address an area where they might be able to exploit one of New Orleans’ few weaknesses. The Saints aren’t known for having a dominating defensive line. The Falcons went out and drafted Peter Konz, who they plan to use at guard, and offensive tackle Lamar Holmes. The Falcons want to get younger and more athletic on the offensive line. They want to give quarterback Matt Ryan an opportunity to throw downfield more often.

Ryan will probably never get the chance to put up Brees-like numbers, but the Falcons are looking at every way possible to pull closer to the Saints.

So is the rest of the NFC South. Despite everything that's happened with New Orleans in recent months, the Falcons, Panthers and Bucs are still looking like they're chasing the Saints.

Lots to catch up on as several NFC South teams held rookie camps over the weekend. Let's take a quick spin through some of the headlines from around the division.

• Carolina first-round draft pick Luke Kuechly went through the team’s rookie camp working at weak-side linebacker. He could end up staying there, but I don’t think anything is set in stone right now. The Panthers want to get a look at middle linebacker Jon Beason and outside linebacker Thomas Davis in training camp before making any firm decisions. Beason and Davis each are coming back from major injuries. Beason has played a little on the outside in the past and Kuechly spent most of his college career in the middle.

• Receiver Plaxico Burress caused a stir last week when he mentioned the Panthers as a team he’d be interested in playing for. I think the real question is, do the Panthers have any interest in Burress? I strongly doubt it. Burress will turn 35 in August. I just don’t see general manager Marty Hurney signing a receiver that’s about to turn 35. Besides, the Panthers have lots of young options -- Brandon LaFell, David Gettis, Kealoha Pilares and Joe Adams -- to go with Steve Smith. Also, Carolina history has shown that it’s not always a wise idea to bring in big-name receivers (see Keyshawn Johnson). There only has been one guy who has truly fit well opposite Smith and that was Muhsin Muhammad.

• Speaking of Carolina receivers that never really worked out, Dwayne Jarrett has signed to play in the Canadian Football League. Maybe Armanti Edwards can follow?

• Mike Triplett has a good overview of the contract standoff between Drew Brees and the Saints. He points out this situation isn’t all that unusual, it’s just unexpected because many fans thought the team would give Brees a blank check or the quarterback would give the Saints a hometown discount. Don’t be surprised if this one drags on until close to the July 16 deadline for Brees to sign his franchise tag.

• New Orleans fifth-round draft pick Corey White caused a bit of a stir when he said he was looking forward to intercepting passes from Brees in practice. Brees had a good-natured response, but made it clear he doesn’t expect the rookie defensive back to be picking off very many of his passes.

• With middle linebacker Curtis Lofton leaving for New Orleans as a free agent, Atlanta outside linebacker Sean Weatherspoon said he needs to become a more verbal leader. That’s a good idea. It’s pretty obvious new defensive coordinator Mike Nolan has big plans for Weatherspoon. He’s Atlanta’s most athletic linebacker and the Falcons believe he can be a playmaker. They wouldn’t have let Lofton go if they didn’t think Weatherspoon was ready for the next step.

• Defensive end Jonathan Massaquoi showed up at Atlanta’s rookie camp weighing about 260 pounds. That’s about 15 less pounds than Massaquoi carried in his final season at Detroit. The weight loss was by design. The Falcons believe Massaquoi can make more of an impact as a pass-rusher if he’s not carrying as much weight.

• After his first practice with the Falcons, rookie offensive lineman Peter Konz broke into the “Dirty Bird’’ dance that was popular when the 1998 team was on its way to the Super Bowl. Although Konz grew up in Wisconsin, he became a fan of the Falcons during their Super Bowl run.

• Keeping with the league-wide trend of getting draft picks signed much earlier than in past years, Konz and the Falcons agreed to contract terms. The Falcons also signed three other draft picks.

• Bradley Handwerger writes that the NFL should show all its evidence related to the Saints’ bounty program. Fans have been screaming for more evidence after the team was hit hard by suspensions of coaches and players. I understand the frustration and I also would like to see more evidence. But the fact is, this isn’t a court of law. The NFL isn’t required to show all its evidence. If grievances, appeals or lawsuits (or some combination of the three) can get this situation into a court of law, that’s the only way we’re going to see all of the NFL’s evidence.

• Those of you that have been reading this blog regularly through the years know that I’m forever indebted to legendary former Tampa Tribune sports editor and columnist Tom McEwen. He gave me my first job in this business. As the one-year anniversary of McEwen’s death approaches, McEwen’s family and friends are making sure his legacy of helping young journalists continues. University of Florida journalism student Emily Padgett is the first recipient of a scholarship established in McEwen’s name.

Atlanta Falcons

D. Orlando Ledbetter of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution says Sean Weatherspoon will be the focal point of Mike Nolan’s defense. Weatherspoon: “I’m not sure exactly what I’ll be doing all of the time. I’m definitely looking forward to the challenge. I think I’m ready for that, to do a little bit more and step out there and do some different things. I look forward to the challenge. I think it’s going to be fun.”

Carolina Panthers

The Panthers added more depth to their special teams by signing veteran punter Nick Harris to a one-year deal.

New Orleans Saints

Interim New Orleans coach Joe Vitt denies the allegations made by Anthony Hargrove about the bounty scandal.

John DeShazier of The Times-Picayune on Hargrove: "[I]t's impossible not to feel sympathy for the former Saints defensive lineman who was suspended for his role in the bounty program, and for lying to the league in 2010 about the program's existence."

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Former Rutgers receiver Tiquan Underwood reunites with his former coach Greg Schiano in Tampa Bay, writes Rick Stroud in the Tampa Bay Times.

Seventh-round draft picks Michael Smith and Drake Dunsmore made the roster as the Bucs signed 13 other rookies at the end of rookie camp.

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

PALM BEACH, Fla. -- With Curtis Lofton moving to the New Orleans Saints as a free agent, Atlanta coach Mike Smith isn’t ready to say who his new starting middle linebacker will be.

The candidates obviously are veteran Lofa Tatupu and second-year pro Akeem Dent. The fact is Smith doesn’t even want to pick one right now. He wants this thing to sort itself out on the field.

“I think those two guys are coming to camp and will compete for the Mike linebacker position,’’ Smith said during this week’s owners meetings. “They’ll be on even terms. It’s an open competition. We believe in open competition. We believe you get what you earn and you earn what you get.’’

Coaches often spew clichés about open competitions, but don’t mean them because they’ve already made a decision or at least are leaning strongly in another direction. But, in this case, I think Smith is being completely honest.

He wants the competition between Dent and Tatupu to play out naturally. There’s really not a bad option here. In a best-case scenario, I think the Falcons would be thrilled if Dent steps forward and shows he’s ready for the starting job. He’s the guy they want there in the long term anyway. But I don’t think the Falcons will go into a panic if Dent’s not ready to start. Tatupu is their insurance policy. He sat out last season and should be rested and healthy. He once was a very good player in Seattle and might have something left in the tank.

I also get the impression that whoever wins the job might only be a two-down player. Part of the reason the Falcons didn’t want to pay Lofton big money was because new defensive coordinator Mike Nolan didn’t want to use him on passing downs. I’m not sure they want to use Dent or Tatupu in those situations either.

The Falcons have two quick and athletic outside linebackers in Sean Weatherspoon and Stephen Nicholas. I don’t think they’d mind going with them on passing downs.

With the NFL combine kicking off, let’s take a look at several of the potential story lines involving the NFC South during the draft-preparation event:

Double dipping again? Last year, Tampa Bay general manager Mark Dominik used his first two picks on defensive ends Adrian Clayborn and Da’Quan Bowers. The year before that he used his first two picks on defensive tackles Gerald McCoy and Brian Price. In that same draft, Dominik also took two receivers almost in succession, with Arrelious Benn coming in the second round and Mike Williams in the fourth. If there’s a position where I can see Dominik doubling up this year, it’s cornerback. It’s unclear what the future holds for Ronde Barber and Aqib Talib.

Sitting it out: The Saints and Falcons don’t have first-round picks. But their scouts and coaches should be paying close attention to all the top prospects. You never know who might fall out of the first round, like Bowers did last year. More importantly, there’s no guarantee the Saints or Falcons stay out of the first round. They both have aggressive front offices and both are in a win-now mode. I can see either one trading back up into the first round.

Flip a coin: That literally is what it will come down to in deciding who gets the No. 8 pick and who gets the No. 9 pick between Carolina and Miami. The coin flip will be held Friday in Indianapolis. Carolina general manager Marty Hurney is an extremely superstitious guy and I’m guessing he’s carrying some sort of coin that he thinks is lucky. By the way, Hurney is so superstitious that he’s hoping for the No. 8 pick for another reason besides the fact it’s one spot higher than No. 9. In the 2003 draft, the Vikings failed to turn in their pick on time. The Panthers wound up jumping ahead of them and taking offensive tackle Jordan Gross. He’s had a pretty nice career, so Hurney probably is hoping for a repeat.

In need of a hit: Like coach Mike Smith and quarterback Matt Ryan, Atlanta general manager Thomas Dimitroff is under a bit of pressure if the Falcons don’t advance deep into the playoffs next season. Owner Arthur Blank has said simply making the playoffs isn’t good enough. He wants to contend for the Super Bowl. Dimitroff has had mixed success with his first-round picks. Ryan and linebacker Sean Weatherspoon have worked out pretty well and Julio Jones looks like he can be an elite player. But defensive tackle Peria Jerry and offensive tackle Sam Baker have had their careers stall. Dimitroff is going to be busy in free agency, but he needs to pull a starter somewhere out of this draft and it would be especially nice if that guy was a defensive end or a left offensive tackle.

In need of a pass rush: The problem with new defensive coordinator Steve Spagnulo’s scheme is that the Saints don’t have the personnel to run it effectively yet. Spagnuolo likes to generate almost all his pressure from the front four. Outside of veteran defensive end Will Smith, the Saints don’t have any real pass-rush threats on the line. The Saints almost certainly will address that in the draft.

Atlanta linebackers Curtis Lofton and Sean Weatherspoon almost never left the field during the 2011 season.

According to playing-time numbers obtained by ESPN.com, Lofton participated in 986 of Atlanta’s 996 defensive plays (99 percent). Weatherspoon was right behind him, taking part in 976 plays (97.9 percent). Those two and Carolina’s James Anderson (97.3 percent) easily outdistanced the rest of the NFC South linebackers in playing time.

In fact, only Cleveland’s D'Qwell Jackson, St. Louis' James Laurinaitis, Chicago’s Lance Briggs and Washington’s Ryan Kerrigan, who each played all of their team’s defensive snaps, and Minnesota’s Chad Greenway (99.3 percent) participated in a higher percentage of plays than Lofton, Weatherspoon and Anderson.

Here’s a list at the rest of the leading NFC South linebackers in percentage of playing time:

• Mason Foster, Buccaneers, 82.5
• Scott Shanle, Saints, 77
• Geno Hayes, Buccaneers, 69.1
• Jo-Lonn Dunbar, Saints, 68.7
• Quincy Black, Buccaneers, 62.9
• Jonathan Vilma, Saints, 60.2
• Jonathan Casillas, Saints, 51.4
• Dan Connor, Panthers, 46
• Jordan Senn, Panthers, 38.9

We’re more than a month away from the start of free agency. Ordinarily, I’d say it’s too early to start projecting specific free agents to land with specific teams.

That’s because a lot of potential free agents will re-sign with their own teams and new free agents will be created as teams make cuts to get in compliance with the salary cap. Also, teams can’t talk to free agents until the start of the league year in mid-March unless they want to run the risk of violating the NFL’s tampering laws.

But D. Orlando Ledbetter writes about one exceptional situation that’s worth watching. That’s linebacker Channing Crowder, who said he already has had some contact with the Falcons. Atlanta just hired defensive coordinator Mike Nolan, who previously coached Crowder with the Miami Dolphins.

The typical rules of free agency don’t apply to Crowder because he’s in a unique situation. Crowder, 28, sat out all of last season. He announced his retirement shortly after the Dolphins released him last season.

But Crowder explained that situation to Ledbetter. His wife was pregnant and Crowder didn’t want to play somewhere else and move his family. So he sat out the season and worked in radio. Now, he wants to get back into football.

Crowder said he’d love to play for the Falcons and the Nolan connection certainly adds another layer. Crowder, who has played inside and outside linebacker, also could add depth to Atlanta’s linebacker corps.

Middle linebacker Curtis Lofton is a potential free agent, although I expect the Falcons to make a strong attempt to keep him. The Falcons are in pretty good shape on the outside with Sean Weatherspoon and Stephen Nicholas as returning starters. Spencer Adkins and Akeem Dent provide some depth, but the Falcons aren’t likely to bring back veteran Mike Peterson.

He dealt with injuries last season and will be an unrestricted free agent. Peterson was valuable because he was experienced and versatile. But Crowder has those same traits and is younger.

The 2011 season was memorable across the NFC South for many reasons, both good and bad. We saw the Saints go 13-3 while setting all sorts of records and we saw Tampa Bay fall apart about as completely as any team ever has.

We saw the Atlanta Falcons, at times, look like a great team and, at other times, look very ordinary. We saw the rebirth of the Carolina Panthers, who ended the season as a team very much on the rise.

So let’s take a look back at the season with a lists of awards and “bests’’ and “worsts’’.

Most Valuable Player: This one’s as easy as it gets. New Orleans quarterback Drew Brees carried the Saints and set a new single-season record for passing yardage.

Most Valuable Player (non-quarterback): This one’s not all that difficult either. New Orleans’ Darren Sproles set a new NFL record for all-purpose yards. He also made it impossible for opposing defenses to match up with the Saints.

Defensive Player of the Year: This one’s difficult because the NFC South isn’t known for strong defense. It also didn’t help that Carolina linebacker Jon Beason, who might be the division’s best overall defensive player, missed almost the entire year with an injury, and New Orleans middle linebacker Jonathan Vilma was slowed by a knee injury most of the season. That’s why I’m going with Atlanta’s Sean Weatherspoon. Look around the division and tell me if there’s a guy who makes more big plays. I couldn’t find one.

Rookie of the Year: This is almost as easy as giving Brees the MVP. Carolina’s Cam Newton wins easily. He set a rookie record for passing yards and had more rushing touchdowns in a season than any quarterback in NFL history. His “Superman’’ celebration truly fits.

Defensive Rookie of the Year: This one’s not as obvious as Newton. But when you give it a little thought, Tampa Bay defensive end Adrian Clayborn easily was the best rookie defender in the division. Clayborn was one of only about two or three bright spots for the Bucs. He showed he’s a complete defensive end — one who can rush the passer and play the run.

Best Performance by a Second-Year Player: Weatherspoon was a candidate for this, but the nod goes to New Orleans tight end Jimmy Graham. He had one of the best seasons ever by a tight end. I know the Saints have a lot of pressing contract issues and Graham is under contract for three more seasons. But at some point this offseason, they should give Graham an extension and a huge pay raise. Graham’s only making minimum wage. If ever a player has outperformed his contract, it’s Graham.

Coach of the Year: I respect the job Ron Rivera did in Carolina, but I’ve got to go with New Orleans’ Sean Payton. He got his team to 13 wins, despite having his knee shattered in a sideline collision.

Assistant Coach of the Year: Prior to Payton’s injury, offensive coordinator Pete Carmichael had lived in the shadows of the head coach. But Carmichael started calling the plays when Payton went down. Payton let that continue the rest of the season and the Saints kept winning.

Executive of the Year: It has to be Carolina general manager Marty Hurney. In one offseason, he hit two home runs on two of the biggest challenges a general manager can face. He hired Rivera, who is well on his way to being a good head coach. More important, Hurney found a franchise quarterback in Newton. Many doubted Newton prior to the draft. Hurney did his homework and it paid off.

Best Turnaround: The Panthers might have won only six games, but that’s triple what they won last year.

Worst Collapse: The Tampa Bay Buccaneers had one of the biggest collapses in NFL history. They started 4-2, then lost their final 10 games while appearing totally out of control on and off the field.

Best Offseason Move: There’s no doubt it was the signing of Sproles. He was the best free-agent signing in the entire NFL. And for those Tampa Bay fans who like to bash their ownership and front office for not bringing in Sproles, the fact is you never had a chance. The Bucs and other teams made inquiries about Sproles, but were told it wasn’t going to happen. All along, Sproles was headed nowhere else but New Orleans, for a reunion with former San Diego teammate Brees. They continued spending their offseasons together. Brees was recruiting Sproles throughout the lockout and, in New Orleans, Brees gets whatever he wants.

Worst Offseason Move: That would be Tampa Bay not finding a running back to pair with LeGarrette Blount. It didn’t have to be Sproles and the Bucs weren’t wrong in letting Cadillac Williams go. But they should have gotten a legitimate NFL running back who could catch passes out of the backfield and pass-block. Blount can’t do either — and the Bucs made a severe miscalculation by thinking he could be an every-down back.

Best Bounce-Back Season: The winner here is Carolina receiver Steve Smith. In the offseason, he wasn’t sure he wanted to stay in Carolina. Once he caught a few passes from Newton, everything changed. Smith was back to being the dominant receiver he was a few years back.

Worst Disappearing Act: Soon after signing with the Atlanta Falcons, defensive end Ray Edwards proclaimed himself the "missing link.'' Instead of leading the Falcons to a Super Bowl, Edwards simply was missing most of the season. He played the run all right, but Atlanta’s pass rush didn’t improve and that’s why he was signed.

Best Off-Field Decision: You can accuse Tampa Bay’s ownership and management of being inept all you want. After a 4-12 season, it’s fair game. But someone very high up with the Bucs made an excellent decision when the team turned down the opportunity to appear on HBO’s “Hard Knocks.’’ Whoever that wise person was realized that it might not be such a great idea to open the organization to cameras around the clock. Those cameras could have captured things wouldn’t have looked great – things like assistant coaches trying unsuccessfully to explain the uncomplicated art of pass-blocking to Blount or a gregarious former coach taking the camera crew on a late-night tour of Tampa.

Equipment Manager of the Year: That’s Carolina’s Jackie Miles, of course. I used to say Derrick Brooks was the best player in NFC South history. Now, I’ll admit Brees has at least caught up to Brooks and maybe surpassed him. But, if I had to pick a third guy who’s the best at what he does in the history of the division, it would be Miles. To those who know him, the man’s a legend in many ways and could end up being the first equipment manager in the Hall of Fame.

Defense wasn’t a strength in the NFC South in the 2011 season. In fact, it was a big problem for the New Orleans Saints, Carolina Panthers and Tampa Bay Buccaneers and only an occasional strength for the Atlanta Falcons.

But there were some solid individual performances. With that in mind, let’s roll out the All-NFC South defense.

Defensive end: Charles Johnson, Panthers. He got his huge contract in the summer, but didn’t take the money and disappear. Johnson came through with nine sacks and also played the run fairly well.

Defensive end: Adrian Clayborn, Buccaneers. Yes, I’m taking the rookie over Atlanta veteran John Abraham. I know Abraham ended up with 9.5 sacks, but 3.5 of them came against Jacksonville and rookie quarterback Blaine Gabbert. Abraham was ordinary most of the season and was on the field for only 13 percent of Atlanta’s defensive snaps. Clayborn finished with 7.5 sacks. He also was on the field for about 80 percent of Tampa Bay’s defensive snaps, showed he can rush the passer and played the run well. Not much went right for the Bucs in the 2011 season. But they hit on their first-round draft pick.

Defensive tackle: Corey Peters, Falcons. He started in 2010, but was only a run-stuffer then. Peters emerged into a complete defensive tackle in his second season and showed signs he can generate a pass rush in the middle.

Defensive tackle: Brian Price, Buccaneers. Off the top of my head, I was preparing to go with Atlanta’s Jonathan Babineaux or New Orleans’ Sedrick Ellis. Then I looked at their statistics and I couldn’t bring myself to do it. I’m going with Price, who quietly put together a nice season. He finished with three sacks and was one of the few Bucs who played the run well. More importantly, Price made a nice comeback from surgery on his pelvis and played through the pain of an ankle injury for most of the second half of the season.

Linebacker: Curtis Lofton, Falcons. In a year in which Carolina’s Jon Beason was hurt and New Orleans’ Jonathan Vilma slowed down, Lofton emerged as the NFC South’s best middle linebacker.

Linebacker: Sean Weatherspoon, Falcons. The second-year pro might now be the division’s best all-around linebacker. Weatherspoon is a playmaker and plays with an attitude that the rest of Atlanta’s defense needs to copy.

Linebacker: James Anderson, Panthers. With Beason and Thomas Davis going down early, Anderson was the bright spot in Carolina’s linebacker corps.

Cornerback: Jabari Greer, Saints. He often gets overlooked, but this guy is the best cover corner in the division.

Cornerback: Chris Gamble, Panthers. Gamble got benched by coach John Fox at the end of the 2010 season and his career appeared to be on the downside. But Gamble got a fresh start with coach Ron Rivera and bounced back with a strong season.

Safety: Malcolm Jenkins, Saints. He didn’t make as many big plays as I think he’s capable of, but Jenkins is an enormous talent. If the Saints can add a pass rush, the big plays will flow for Jenkins.

Safety: Thomas DeCoud, Falcons. He was benched briefly early in the season, but DeCoud seemed to get the message that he needed to play better. He finished the season with four interceptions and 86 tackles.

The Atlanta Falcons have hired Mike Nolan as defensive coordinator, the team just announced.

This is a very strong hire by Atlanta coach Mike Smith. Nolan’s a former head coach of the San Francisco 49ers. He spent the last two seasons as Miami’s defensive coordinator. He also previously worked as defensive coordinator for the Redskins, Jets, Ravens, Giants and Broncos.

I think it’s fair to say Nolan is an upgrade over former defensive coordinator Brian VanGorder, who left to become defensive coordinator at Auburn. Through most of Smith’s tenure, VanGorder’s defenses weren’t great, although the Falcons improved somewhat on that side of the ball in 2011.

Nolan has some good talent to work with in linebacker Sean Weatherspoon, cornerback Dunta Robinson and defensive tackles Corey Peters and Jonathan Babineaux. The Falcons also have to make decisions on if they want to re-sign defensive end John Abraham, middle linebacker Curtis Lofton and cornerback Brent Grimes.

This also is a victory in the NFC South for the Falcons. New Orleans reportedly had some interest in Nolan and at least one of the candidates who has interviewed for the Tampa Bay job had indicated he thought he could make Nolan part of the package.

In this Insider post, Pro Football Outsiders has its All-Pro team and I like this one a lot better than the one put out by The Associated Press.

That’s mainly because the Outsiders’ team has a lot more of an NFC South presence. New Orleans guards Jahri Evans and Carl Nicks were the only NFC South representatives on the Associated Press All-Pro first team.

Evans and Nicks also made Outsiders’ first team, but they’ve got some company. Atlanta linebacker Sean Weatherspoon and New Orleans cornerback Jabari Greer also made the team and I think those are excellent calls.

In a division that’s not known for its defense, Weatherspoon and Greer are two of the league’s most underrated players. I’ve always thought Greer is way better in coverage than people give him credit for and Outsiders has some stats to back that up.

Weatherspoon just finished his second season, but I think it was obvious he emerged as the NFC South’s best linebacker.

The Atlanta Falcons just sent out their first injury report for Sunday’s playoff game with the New York Giants and it’s pretty extensive.

Veteran tight end Tony Gonzalez, center Todd McClure and defensive end John Abraham did not practice Wednesday. They are not listed with injuries and the team said the three veterans were resting.

But there were some other players who did sit out with injuries that could be reasons for concern. Cornerback Brent Grimes (knee), linebacker Sean Weatherspoon (head), running back Michael Turner (groin), linebacker Stephen Nicholas (toe), safety William Moore (groin) and receivers Kerry Meier (groin) and Harry Douglas (groin) did not participate in practice.

The results of the fan voting for the Pro Bowl are in and the NFC South didn’t fare very well.

New Orleans tight end Jimmy Graham and strong safety Roman Harper were the only players to lead the NFC at their positions. New Orleans quarterback Drew Brees finished third overall in league-wide voting, but Green Bay’s Aaron Rodgers was the league’s top vote-getter.

Fan voting counts for one-third of the final tally. Votes from coaches and players make up the rest. The Pro Bowl rosters will be announced Tuesday night.

I was able to obtain the top five in fan voting at each position and I’ll run down the NFC South representatives. Carolina rookie quarterback Cam Newton was third behind Rodgers and Brees.

Atlanta’s Michael Turner was No. 5 among running backs and New Orleans’ Jed Collins was No. 3 among fullbacks.

Atlanta’s Tony Gonzalez was second to Graham among tight ends and Carolina’s Steve Smith was fourth among receivers.

New Orleans’ Jahri Evans was third among guards and teammate Brian de la Puente was No. 4 among centers.

On defense, Atlanta’s Sean Weatherspoon (No. 5 at outside linebacker) was the only NFC South player besides Harper to finish in the top five.

New Orleans punter Thomas Morstead finished fifth, return man Darren Sproles was No. 4 and Courtney Roby was No. 5 among special-teams players.