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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

OFFENSE

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

DEFENSE

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

SPECIALISTS

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

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

The 2012 NFL draft won’t be remembered as the flashiest in NFC South history. That honor belongs to the 2011 draft -- probably forever.

It’s tough to top a draft in which quarterback Cam Newton went No. 1 to Carolina, Atlanta traded up for receiver Julio Jones and New Orleans traded back into the first round to get running back Mark Ingram. Aside from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' pretty good splash, this year’s NFC South draft wasn’t filled with drama.

Instead, it was filled with very deliberate picks that addressed big needs all around the division.

BEST MOVE

No pick set the division's tone for this draft better than Carolina's selection of Boston College linebacker Luke Kuechly at No. 9 overall.

There’s nothing really flashy about Kuechly, but the Panthers didn’t need flash this time around. They got that with Newton, and he gave them a prolific offense. But that offense was only enough to carry the Panthers to a 6-10 record last season. Carolina couldn’t play defense, and opponents have run all over the Panthers the last few seasons.

A lot of people thought the Panthers should go with a defensive tackle in the first round. But there were two reasons they didn’t. They weren’t enamored of any of the first-round prospects at that position. They also feel pretty good about what they already have at defensive tackle. Ron Edwards, a big free-agent pickup last year, is coming back from an injury that kept him out last season, and the Panthers think he can anchor their defensive line. They also used two third-round picks on defensive tackles Terrell McClain and Sione Fua last year.

The Panthers believe they have the personnel to clog up the middle. Kuechly should be able to come in and do what he does best. He can roam the field and be the kind of tackling machine he was in college. This guy had as few flaws as any player in the draft and is ready to make an instant impact. It remains to be seen whether Keuchly or Jon Beason will play the middle and which one will slide outside. It doesn’t really matter. Either way, the Panthers now have a deep linebacker corps that should be able to stop just about any running game.

RISKIEST MOVE

You could say the Saints made a risky move by using their first draft pick on a player who didn’t even play his college ball in the United States. They drafted Regina (Canada) defensive tackle Akiem Hicks with the No. 89 overall pick in the third round.

The fact Hicks didn’t play against elite completion means there is obvious risk with this pick. But why not take a shot when you’re this late in the third round? Hicks has tremendous upside, and he was good enough to be recruited to LSU before leaving for Canada. The Saints have a great history of discovering gems (Jimmy Graham, Jahri Evans and Marques Colston) later in the draft. They took a risk, but it might pay off.

Hicks should at least have a chance at some playing time early on. The Saints don’t have much behind Brodrick Bunkley and Sedrick Ellis at defensive tackle. Hicks could end up in the rotation very quickly, and the Saints could end up looking very smart for taking this risk.

MOST SURPRISING MOVE

The Bucs haven’t been exciting in any way in quite some time. But they provided virtually all of the excitement within the division in this draft. General manager Mark Dominik shrewdly made some trades that gave the Bucs the ammunition to move up twice and come out of the draft with three instant starters.

Get over the fact that Dominik used the No. 7 overall pick on a safety, Alabama’s Mark Barron. The Bucs weren’t sold on LSU cornerback Morris Claiborne for reasons we don’t know. They were sold on Barron, and safety might have been the weakest position on their roster heading into the draft. Trading down from No. 5 to No. 7 started a process in which Dominik was able to manipulate the draft with trades that gave him two other starters -- running back Doug Martin and outside linebacker Lavonte David.

The Bucs traded back into the first round to get Martin late Thursday night. They were without a second-round pick Friday night. But they saw David sitting there, they had the ammunition, and they pounced. No NFC South team needed more help from this draft than the Buccaneers, and Dominik made sure they got help that will matter right from the start.

FILE IT AWAY

Atlanta’s selection of Wisconsin fullback Bradie Ewing in the fifth round might not seem like a big deal on the surface. For now, Ewing is probably nothing more than a special-teams player. But the Falcons also were looking a year or two down the road when they made this pick. Veteran fullback Ovie Mughelli is coming off a major injury, and he’ll turn 32 in June. It was time to find someone to groom as Mughelli’s eventual successor.

The New Orleans Saints, who were without a pick in the first two rounds, just made their first pick of the draft and it’s a unique one.

They selected a guy who played his college football in Canada. They chose Regina defensive tackle Akiem Hicks with the 89^th overall pick.

This may sound like a stretch, but it really isn’t. Hicks isn’t a totally unknown commodity. He played at Sacramento City Community College and transferred to LSU. But Hicks then left for Regina. The competition in Canada might not be great, but Hicks showed enough to catch the attention of scouts.

He has great size and his athleticism gives him plenty of upside. But Hicks could end up being more than just a long-term project. He might have a chance to earn some time in the rotation pretty quickly because the Saints really don’t have much at defensive tackle besides Brodrick Bunkley and Sedrick Ellis.

The Falcons, Panthers and Buccaneers all had pre-draft sessions with the media. The New Orleans Saints didn’t have any media access, but we don’t want to leave them out.

So let’s turn to two of our in-house draft experts to discuss what the Saints may do in the draft.

Check out this Insider post by Steve Muench that lays out a draft plan for the Saints and throws out five potential picks. Muench starts with Virginia defensive end Cam Johnson in the third round and also has them taking defensive tackle Jaye Howard in the fifth round. Both picks make plenty of sense. The Saints don’t have picks in the first two rounds and they obviously have some needs on defense as new coordinator Steve Spagnuolo takes over. Spagnuolo emphasizes the importance of generating a pass rush almost exclusively from the front four. Aside from defensive end Will Smith, the Saints don’t have a strong pass-rusher. Muench says Johnson has the quickness to develop into a good pass-rusher. Howard also has potential as a pass-rusher in the interior. That could help because defensive tackles Brodrick Bunkley and Sedrick Ellis aren’t known for their pass-rushing skills.

In this Insider post , Matt Williamson writes about the four teams with the worst draft situations. As you would expect for a team short on picks, the Saints made his list. Then again, so did the Falcons.

In his analysis of what the Saints need, Williamson is in full agreement with Muench about the importance of adding some help to the defensive front. I think that’s pretty much the consensus on where the Saints’ biggest needs are.

Let’s bounce back to Muench’s picks for the Saints. His last one might be the most intriguing. He has the Saints taking Western Michigan wide receiver Jordan White in the seventh round. White doesn’t have a lot of upside and he’ll be a 24-year-old rookie. Once upon a time, 2006 to be precise, the Saints used a seventh-round pick on a receiver who wasn’t supposed to have a lot of upside. That wound up working out very nicely. That pick was used on Marques Colston.

ESPN draft expert Mel Kiper Jr. analyzes the needs of all four NFC South teams and makes their projected picks for the first three rounds of the draft .

For the sake of variety, let’s skip the first round. You can check that out in Kiper’s post. I promise, there aren’t any major surprises for Carolina and Tampa Bay, the only NFC South teams with first-round picks.

Let’s jump to the second round and let’s start with the Atlanta Falcons. He has the Falcons taking offensive lineman Kelechi Osemele in the second round and defensive end Olivier Vernon in the third. I haven’t studied Osemele and Vernon nearly as closely as Kiper has. But I like the picks because the Falcons clearly need to get better on the offensive line and need to add someone who can rush the passer.

New Orleans doesn’t pick until the third round and Kiper has the Saints picking defensive tackle Akiem Hicks. That’s a name that should be familiar to some Saints fans. Hicks was recruited by LSU, but wound up playing in Canada. Kiper said Hicks can have an impact right away. That would be nice because Brodrick Bunkley and Sedrick Ellis are about all the Saints have in the middle of their defensive line.

Now, let’s shift back to Carolina and Tampa Bay.

The Panthers don’t have a third-round pick and Kiper has them taking defensive end Nick Perry in the second round. There’s no question coach Ron Rivera would like to have as many pass-rushers as possible. But, if the Panthers take Perry here, they still will have a need at defensive tackle. If you haven’t already looked at what Kiper has given the Panthers in the first round, that should provide a big clue.

Speaking of big clues, Kiper has the Buccaneers taking running back Doug Martin in the second round and linebacker Demario Davis in the third round. I’m not sure Martin and Davis will be the exact guys that are available when the Bucs make those picks. But I think Kiper’s following a very logical order of positions to fill Tampa Bay’s needs.

It appears we’ve hit a little lull after a fast start to free agency through most of the NFC South. But I’m not expecting it to last. I expect another wave of signings in the coming days. They might not be as big as the early ones, but several NFC South teams are hosting free-agent visitors this weekend and deals could be worked out soon. Let’s take a look at the headlines from around the division.

The New Orleans Saints had free-agent defensive tackle Broderick Bunkley in for a visit. Aubrayo Franklin and Shau Rogers are free agents and the Saints need to add a run-stuffing tackle to play next to Sedrick Ellis. The Saints also are looking at several linebackers. They don’t have much salary-cap room to work with, but could release players or restructure contracts to clear some room.

The Panthers hosted a visit with San Diego running back Mike Tolbert. Presumably, he would replace Mike Goodson as Carolina’s third back behind DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart, but it’s also possible the Panthers could look to trade one of the two if Tolbert is added. Stewart is more likely to be used as trade bait because Williams signed a huge contract last season and other teams aren’t likely to want to take on his deal. Coach Ron Rivera and offensive coordinator Rob Chudzinski also are familiar with Tolbert from their time together in San Diego. There also have been some reports that Tampa Bay might have interest in Tolbert.

The Bucs still have issues in the front seven of their defense, particularly at linebacker. Although the team says it is focusing in on the April draft after an early splash in free agency, I still would be surprised if there is some movement at linebacker. The Bucs are monitoring the situation with Curtis Lofton and could get more involved if his price tag drops. The Bucs also could look for help at outside linebacker.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Let's take a look at the Sunday headlines from around the NFC South.

It’s almost a certainty the Atlanta Falcons will be looking for a left tackle. Sam Baker has not worked out and could be released and Will Svitek might be better off as a backup. The expectations are that Marcus McNeil will be released by San Diego and he could be a good fit for the Falcons if healthy. McNeil has had some neck problems, but is one of the best in the game when he is healthy. The Falcons need to make serious upgrades to their pass blocking and it would be hard for the team get an elite left tackle in the draft because they are without a first-round pick.

The Panthers will host the defending Super Bowl champions for the second straight season. They hosted Green Bay last season and the New York Giants are scheduled to play at Bank of America Stadium in 2012.

The Bucs looked at several candidates, including some they weren’t allowed to interview, before hiring Mike Sullivan as the offensive coordinator. As it turns out, they might have landed the perfect fit. As Stephen Holder points out, there’s a feeling inside One Buccaneer Place that getting quarterback Josh Freeman back on track is critical for the franchise. Working with Eli Manning the last two seasons, Sullivan has shown he can get positive results from a quarterback.

UCLA coach Jim Mora has been recruiting heavily in the Georgia area. He seems proud to remind recruits that he was the Atlanta coach the last time the Falcons won a playoff game. He might want to leave out the fact the Falcons were an incredibly unstable franchise throughout his tenure and much of that had to do with Mora’s up-and-down demeanor.

Saints defensive tackle Tom Johnson feels confident enough about his future with the Saints that he went ahead and recently bought a house in New Orleans. Probably a good move. After struggling with an early-season injury, Johnson worked his way into the rotation and seemed to score points with the coaching staff. Sedrick Ellis is a lock to stay in that rotation, but veterans Shaun Rogers and Aubrayo Franklin are not. Both are potential free agents and there is no guarantee the Saints want them back.

Tampa Bay veteran cornerback Ronde Barber, who is a free agent and also could choose to retire, said he hasn’t made any decision about what he wants to do in 2012.

The NFC South is a division without a dominant defensive tackle.

But I think it’s fair to say Atlanta’s Corey Peters and Jonathan Babineaux, New Orleans’ Sedrick Ellis and Tampa Bay’s Brian Price were the best the NFC South had to offer in 2011. Apparently, their coaches agreed.

According to playing-time numbers obtained by ESPN.com, Ellis led all NFC South tackles by taking part in 66.3 percent of New Orleans’ 1,061 defensive plays. That percentage ranked Ellis No. 16 in the NFL and he was the only NFC South player in the top 20.

Peters was next at 60.4 percent, which ranked No. 23 in the league. Babineaux was No. 30 at 54.1 percent. Price, who was somewhat limited by injuries and was sent home early from one game by former coach Raheem Morris, took part in 47.1 percent of Tampa Bay’s defensive plays. That tied him at No. 37 in the league with teammate Roy Miller.

Carolina rookie Terrell McClain was one spot behind them, taking part in 46 percent of his team’s defensive plays. After that, there was a big drop off among the rest of the division’s tackles and we should note that Tampa Bay’s Gerald McCoy probably would have finished in the top four or five in the NFC South if he hadn’t suffered a season-ending injury.

Let’s take a look at the percentage of playing time for the rest of the NFC South defensive tackles:

• Sione Fua, Panthers, 39.7
• Vance Walker, Falcons, 36.85
• Andre Neblett, Panthers, 36.2
• Albert Haynesworth, Buccaneers, 35.8 (included time with Patriots)
• Peria Jerry, Falcons, 35.6
• Tom Johnson, Saints, 30.1
• Shaun Rogers, Saints, 29.7
• Frank Okam, Buccaneers, 28.2
• Aubrayo Franklin, Saints, 27.3
• Gerald McCoy, Buccaneers, 20.8
• Frank Kearse, Panthers, 16.5
• Ogemdi Nwagbuo, Panthers, 15.6
• Ronald Fields, Panthers, 13.9
• Mitch King, Saints, 4.8
• Carlton Powell, Falcons, 3.8
• DeMario Pressley, Panthers, 3.8
• Jovan Haye, Buccaneers, 2.8

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

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 New Orleans Saints have agreed to terms with Steve Spagnuolo as their new defensive coordinator Thursday, according to ESPN’s Chris Mortensen.

This is a big victory for the Saints because I’m pretty sure Spagnuolo is the guy Sean Payton had targeted for this job, probably even before previous coordinator Gregg Williams left for St. Louis and a reunion with Jeff Fisher after the Saints lost in the playoffs.

If you want a picture of a Spagnuolo defense, don’t think too much about the St. Louis team he had been the head coach of since 2009.

Think more of the New York Giants, when Spagnoulo was their defensive coordinator in 2007 and ’08. The Giants won the Super Bowl in the 2007 season. Prior to that, Spagnoulo had a long run as an assistant with the Philadelphia Eagles, who played in four NFC Championship Games during his tenure. Spagnuolo worked for the Eagles from 1999 through 2006.

In short, his defense -- in theory -- is a lot like we’ve seen out of the Giants this postseason. It relies on a lot of pressure from the front four and not much blitzing. Spagnuolo prefers tall/angular cornerbacks that can play man-to-man coverage and also likes playmakers at safety.

Williams relied much more on the blitz than Spagnuolo typically has and the change in coordinators likely means there will be some changes in the defensive personnel.

Cornerbacks Jabari Greer and Patrick Robinson probably can fit the Spagnuolo profile, but Tracy Porter, who can be a free agent, might not. Free safety Malcolm Jenkins has the potential to be a playmaker, but strong safety Roman Harper, who blitzed a lot under Williams, might not be a great fit because he’s not particularly strong in coverage.

Up front, the Saints will have to generate more of a pass rush. Will Smith is the team’s top defensive end, but he’ll turn 31 in July and is not coming off a good season. The Saints may look at Smith’s high cap figure and realize they can free up $6 million by cutting him. Cameron Jordan was a first-round pick in 2011 and showed he can play the run, but isn’t yet a prolific pass rusher. Defensive tackle Sedrick Ellis can generate some push in the middle, but the Saints likely will have to add at least one strong pass rusher on the front four.

There also could be change at linebacker, but that probably was coming no matter what. Middle linebacker Jonathan Vilma showed some signs of age last season and outside linebacker Scott Shanle turned 32 in November.

There’s some work to be done on the personnel front. But the Saints got the man they wanted to direct their defense.

For two full seasons now, Drew Brees has been showing up for games with a kid brother in tow.

We’re talking about the New Orleans Saints’ defense. It’s just good enough to go out there and stand on the field while Brees is on the sideline. But it’s not nearly good enough to win games on its own.

Brees and the offense have done the heavy lifting last season and this season, and the Saints have won a lot of games. But, if the Saints are going to get back to being Super Bowl champions like they were in the 2009 season, the little brother is going to have to grow up in a hurry and carry his weight.

Maybe it comes in Saturday’s divisional-round playoff game at San Francisco. Maybe it comes in the NFC Championship Game, or maybe it comes in the Super Bowl.

But, at some point this postseason, the New Orleans defense is going to have to stand on its own two feet if the team is going to win a championship. I’m not saying the Saints need to go out and totally shut down an offense. That’s not the style of defense they used in their championship season, and it’s not what’s in their defensive playbook.

I’m simply saying there will come a point in time when the New Orleans defense has a chance to step up and make a play or two. If it happens, the Saints can win a championship. If it doesn’t, they’ll have another premature exit like last year, when they went to Seattle and couldn’t tackle Marshawn Lynch.

San Francisco’s Frank Gore can run the ball and quarterback Alex Smith has figured out how to be efficient. The 49ers are quickly becoming famous for their defense, a unit that ranked fourth in the NFL this season.

If that San Francisco defense can just slow Brees a little bit, this may be one game where New Orleans’ offense isn’t enough. You can go 13-3 in the regular season with no defense, but you’re bound to need some stops or some turnovers in the postseason.

If the Saints don’t realize that, they’re going to get burned. It seems everybody’s talking about the matchup between Brees and the San Francisco defense. Brees re-wrote the passing record books and the 49ers’ defense gets compared to teams like the 1985 Chicago Bears. Once in a while, there’s even a bit of talk about the San Francisco offense, but there really hasn’t been much said about the New Orleans defense.

That’s something the New Orleans defense has noticed.

“We’re very prideful being professional athletes and we want to make sure that we all give the best possible effort and are getting the best possible results we can get,’’ New Orleans cornerback Jabari Greer said. “You want to be seen as the better unit. We realize the challenge that we have against these guys this week. They have a good defense. They have a good offense. They really are a different team than what we saw in the preseason. As a defensive unit, we know that we have a challenge on our hands. As our coach says, the best defense will win the game.”

Greer was referring to defensive coordinator Gregg Williams, not head coach Sean Payton, whose mind clearly is focused on the offensive side of the ball.

There used to be an adage in the NFL that defense wins championships. It’s been forgotten in recent years as rules have become friendlier for offenses, but I think you still need a little help from a defense to win a championship.

Is the Saints’ defense good enough to do that?

Well, the numbers aren’t pretty. The Saints were No. 24 in total defense during the regular season. They ranked No. 12 against the run and No. 30 against the pass.

But it’s pretty clear what the Saints need to do defensively. They just need to look back to 2009. That’s the year Williams joined the staff and practices suddenly became a lot more interesting. Williams preached the importance of getting turnovers and any time a ball hit the ground or was up for grabs in practice, the Saints’ defense pounced on it, even if it wasn’t loose until long after the whistle.

The Saints rode that attitude almost as much as they rode Brees that season. They produced 39 turnovers and ranked No. 2 in the league.

But the turnovers have disappeared the past two seasons. The Saints tied for 20^th in the NFL with 25 turnovers in 2010. In 2011, they were No. 31 with just 16 turnovers.

The reasons for the defensive decline are something of a mystery. The Saints have put a lot of currency into their defense in recent years. They drafted defensive end Cameron Jordan in the first round this year. Cornerback Patrick Robinson came in the first round in 2010, safety Malcolm Jenkins in 2009 and defensive tackle Sedrick Ellis in 2008.

But the sacks, interceptions and fumble recoveries have all dipped since 2009 and that’s puzzling. Besides all the first-round picks, there is other individual talent on this defense. Middle linebacker Jonathan Vilma is the unquestioned leader, strong safety Roman Harper is a big-time hitter and defensive end Will Smith has been to the Pro Bowl in the past.

The current San Francisco offense won’t be confused with the high-powered passing attacks teams like the Saints, Packers and Patriots have had such success with. The 49ers rely on Gore and the ground game as the foundation of the offense and Smith and the passing game are asked to make big plays on occasion.

“A team like this is almost a throwback team so to speak,’’ Vilma said. “For them to line up like they do, they are going to punch you in the mouth and do it for 60 minutes. That’s to their credit and they deserve credit for the way they’ve played and the style that they play and it will be a big challenge for us.”

It’s ironic Vilma used the term “throwback.’’ The Saints don’t have to suddenly become a defense that’s going to shut down an offense for an entire game. They just have to get back to something like they were in 2009.

Make a key stop or two. Come up with an interception or recover a fumble.

If the defense can just do a little of that, Brees can take care of the rest.

Lots of ground to cover in the NFC South on this Thursday. We’ll start it off with one that’s close to my heart.

Carolina cornerback Captain Munnerlyn has been selected as the winner of the Tom Berry Good Guy Award by the Carolinas chapter of the Pro Football Writers of America. For those who didn’t know him, Tom Berry was the long-time Panthers beat writer for the High-Point (N.C.) Enterprise. I had the pleasure of being around Tom frequently in my days on the Panthers beat and he was a true pro’s pro and a good friend. When we decided to start this award soon after Tom passed away at the start of the 2009 season, we wanted it to reflect what Tom stood for. That’s why this award goes to the Carolina player who is most helpful to the media in doing its job. Munnerlyn was a unanimous choice this year. Jordan Gross was the 2010 winner and Brad Hoover won the inaugural award in 2009.

New Orleans guard Jahri Evans sat out Thursday’s practice with a knee injury. Defensive tackle Sedrick Ellis (hamstring), linebacker Jonathan Vilma (knee) and running back Mark Ingram (toe) also were held out.

Carolina coach Ron Rivera said he believes Jordan Senn has a chance to be a full-time starter at outside linebacker next season. Senn has done a nice job since getting a chance to play after the Panthers went through a slew of injuries at linebacker.

Tampa Bay cornerback Ronde Barber will play in his 224^th career game Saturday at Carolina. That will tie the franchise record set by Derrick Brooks. Barber could break the record when the Bucs play the Falcons the following week.

Here’s a bit of a strange one. Atlanta offensive coordinator Mike Mularkey said New Orleans fans caused the Falcons to have communications problems in the previous meeting between the teams. But that game was in Atlanta. If the Falcons had issues with noise from Saints fans in the Georgia Dome, they better have some new ways to communicate in place before they get to the Mercedes-Benz Superdome on Monday night.

Although there's still hope veteran cornerback Kelvin Hayden (toe) might be ready for Monday, he wasn’t cleared to practice Thursday. Starting cornerback Brent Grimes, who is coming back from knee surgery, did practice. If Hayden isn’t ready to go against the Saints, the Falcons likely will use Dominique Franks as the nickelback. Running back Michael Turner (groin) and linebacker Stephen Nicholas (toe) missed practice.

Martin Fennelly writes that it’s time for the Glazer family, which owns the Buccaneers, to make some noise on what the future holds for Raheem Morris. I know a lot of Tampa Bay fans feel that way. But I think you’re going to have to wait just a bit. If the Glazers are going to make a move, and I think they have no other choice, I don’t see it coming until after the season is over.