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Can the Atlanta Falcons have a winning record for the third straight season?

There was some minor celebrating at the end of last season when the Falcons won their final three games to finish 9-7 and record back-to-back winning seasons for the first time in franchise history. It still wasn’t good enough for the Falcons to get to the playoffs in back-to-back seasons for the first time and that was mildly disappointing after a 2008 season in which rookie coach Mike Smith and rookie quarterback Matt Ryan took Atlanta to the postseason.

Blame last year on injuries and bad luck. But maybe a season in which everything that could go wrong did is exactly what the Falcons needed to raise the bar for 2010. They were a 9-7 team when everything was working against them.

They should be much better when things are going well. Things can always change, but, right now, the schedule doesn’t look all that difficult. Injured guys like defensive tackle Peria Jerry, safety William Moore and receiver Harry Douglas are expected back at full strength. Running back Michael Turner is in much better physical condition than he was at this point a year ago and he seems to be on a mission to prove that his 2008 season wasn’t a one-hit wonder.

The Falcons took their annual one large plunge into free agency by signing cornerback Dunta Robinson and that should solidify the secondary. First-round pick Sean Weatherspoon should give Atlanta a playmaker at linebacker. The only uncertainty is the pass rush. Maybe John Abraham can bounce back from a quiet season and maybe Kroy Biermann and Lawrence Sidbury can take the next step in their development.

The pass rush and the New Orleans Saints might be the biggest obstacles the Falcons face at the moment. Even with those issues hanging out there, this looks like a team that’s on course for a third straight winning season.

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Can Carolina coach John Fox trust a rookie wide receiver?

He’d better. Although Fox is the ultimate creature of habit and rarely has given young wide receivers big opportunities in the past, that might not be possible this year. That’s simply because Fox really doesn’t have much choice.

The Panthers invested two early draft picks in wide receivers Brandon LaFell and Armanti Edwards . Beyond Steve Smith, who will miss at least part of training camp with a broken arm, the Panthers have virtually nothing else at wide receiver. Dwayne Jarrett is a guy who never has played up to his potential and Kenneth Moore might be able to be a role player.

Jarrett is a good example of Fox’s tendency to go slow with young receivers. The coach doesn’t like to play them because they’re capable of making mistakes. Aside from Keary Colbert, who had a decent rookie year before disappearing, Fox never has given a rookie receiver much playing time.

But Fox, who is in the last year of his contract, needs to think more about possible big plays than possible big mistakes by LaFell and Edwards. The Panthers desperately need someone to take some of the defensive attention off Smith.

LaFell is big and strong and has all of the tools to be an every-down receiver. Edwards is speedy and dynamic and can give the Panthers a real slot receiver for the first time in years.

Fox has been given the parts he needs at wide receiver. Now he just has to use them.

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Will the New Orleans Saints be better in 2010 than they were in 2009?

We actually need to give credit to New Orleans defensive coordinator Gregg Williams for creating that question. While driving over the weekend, I caught a quick clip of Williams on Sirius NFL Radio and he was talking about how the Saints could be better this year.

He’s got a point. Yeah, recent history hasn’t been kind to Super Bowl champions as they head into the next season. We’ve already addressed many times how the Saints are going to be the big target on every opponents’ schedule and about how things like legal issues and Jeremy Shockey fainting spells can be distractions. Those are all very valid points. Things like that have been the downfall for other teams and it could turn out the same way for the Saints.

But, for a change, let’s play on Williams’ statement and wonder why the Saints actually could be better. It’s hard to repeat as a Super Bowl champion, but the way the Saints are set up, I don’t think it’s impossible. With Drew Brees in his prime, the offense isn’t going to get any worse. In fact, I think the return of a healthy Heath Evans at fullback and positive contract resolutions with Pierre Thomas and Jammal Brown, the offense could be better.

The special teams already are very good. That brings us to the defense, which was the biggest question entering last season. All the Saints really lost on defense was linebacker Scott Fujita. He was a nice player, but the Saints have a lot of young legs to replace him.

With Alex Brown and Jimmy Wilkerson, they probably have upgraded on Charles Grant at defensive end. Their collection of defensive backs is as talented as any in the league. Williams knows this defense better than anyone else.

If he’s saying the Saints could be better, it might be because he sees his defense getting even better.

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Can Dwayne Jarrett emerge as a successful No. 2 wide receiver for the Carolina Panthers?

It seems that question gets asked every year. But the answer really could be different this year. Jarrett’s been a bust since the Panthers used a second-round pick on him in 2007.

But let’s keep a couple of things in mind. Jarrett is still only 23 years old and came out of USC early. Carolina coach John Fox has a long history of not placing a lot of trust in the hands of young wide receivers.

But that could change in Jarrett’s fourth year in this offense. He should know the system by now and he really is the most logical candidate to start opposite Steve Smith. Yes, it’s true the Panthers used early-round picks on Brandon LaFell and Armanti Edwards, but it’s tough to see Fox trusting either of them enough to put them directly in the starting lineup.

Jarrett may get the first shot simply because of his experience and the Panthers still would not have him on the roster if they didn’t think there was some upside. At 6-foot-4 and 219 pounds, Jarrett is a logical choice to take over the starting job vacated by Muhsin Muhammad. Like Muhammad, Jarrett is big enough to be an effective blocker in the running game and a possession target for quarterbacks Matt Moore and Jimmy Clausen.

Jarrett’s never had more than 17 catches in a season, but there are some football people in Carolina who believe he can be a quality No. 2 if he’s given a chance to play the role.

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Who will the Saints bring in to back up Brees?

The New Orleans Saints are a team without a veteran backup behind quarterback Drew Brees -- at least for the moment.

Brees has been durable and the offensive line played so well last year that he rarely was touched. Veteran backup Mark Brunell didn’t look especially good when he got to play late last season and there are strong rumblings the New York Jets will sign him just before training camp.

I’m not ruling out a Brunell return to New Orleans. But, at the very least, I think it’s safe to say the Saints will add a quarterback with some experience at some point. The only quarterbacks they have besides Brees are Chase Daniel and rookie Sean Canfield. The Saints like them both, but they’re viewed as projects.

This is too good a team to leave in the hands of an untested quarterback if anything happens to Brees. Due to the "final eight" rules, the Saints are rather limited in their ability to sign true unrestricted free agents.

They’ve had Patrick Ramsey and Josh McCown in for visits and could do something with one of them later. The Saints did a nice job of keeping their championship roster together and put some good patches on some need areas.

They’re pretty much set at every spot, except backup quarterback. They’re not done there yet. Sometime in the coming weeks, the Saints have to bring in a backup with some experience who can handle the team in case anything happens to Brees.

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Where will the pass rush come from in the NFC South?

We asked that same question back when Julius Peppers was leaving the Carolina Panthers. Although you could have argued at the start of the offseason that every team in the NFC South needed to make a dramatic move at defensive end, none of them have.

The Saints have the division’s top remaining defensive end in Will Smith and they need another year of double-digit sacks from him. But it remains to be seen if they can get Smith any help from the other side. Charles Grant was cut and a lot of fans say that’s addition by subtraction. The Saints did add Jimmy Wilkerson and Alex Brown. But they’re a pair of guys who have been nothing more than steady veterans.

Atlanta’s the team that talked the most about improving the pass rush in the offseason, but the Falcons haven’t made dramatic moves. They’re pretty much sticking with what they’ve got -- hoping John Abraham can bounce back from a lackluster season and gambling that Kroy Biermann or Lawrence Sidbury can step forward. Although they did little on the outside, the Falcons strongly believe that the return of defensive tackle Peria Jerry from injury will create a surge in the middle that should help free up the defensive ends.

Tampa Bay is following a similar philosophy. The Buccaneers used their first two draft picks on defensive tackles Gerald McCoy and Brian Price. Their primary task is to stop the run. But McCoy has the tools to give the Bucs an interior pass rush for the first time since Warren Sapp left the team.

That Panthers didn’t panic when they let Peppers walk as a free agent. They had been preparing for this situation in the past few drafts. They brought back veteran Tyler Brayton as insurance, but they believe Everette Brown, their top draft pick from 2009, and Charles Johnson are ready to step up and help fill the void left by Peppers’ departure.

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Are the Tampa Bay Buccaneers ready to give up on Sabby Piscitelli as their starting strong safety?

If you watched Piscitelli in Monday’s workout, you saw him line up with the first-team defense. Maybe it’s just a matter of giving Sean Jones time to learn the playbook. Or maybe the Buccaneers really are giving Piscitelli a chance to keep his job.

If you watched Piscitelli last season, it was ugly. He had all sorts of problems in coverage and his tackling was bad. That’s a pretty brutal combination for a strong safety. But the Bucs did see something last year that inspired them to move Jermaine Phillips to linebacker in an effort to get Piscitelli on the field.

In the eyes of the fans, Piscitelli quickly went from being the next John Lynch to the symbol of all that was wrong with Tampa Bay’s defense. He certainly deserved some criticism, but I’m not ready to write this guy off just yet.

Strong safety is a position like right field in Little League or softball. When you’ve got a good defense, it’s not all that important. Fact is, the Bucs had a horrible defense last year and Piscitelli went from being hidden to being exploited badly.

Maybe -- and I’m just saying maybe -- all the moves on defense will make the Bucs better and give Piscitelli a chance. In theory, their pass rush should be better and the cornerback tandem of Ronde Barber and Aqib Talib should keep the pressure off the safeties.

I think back to this time a year ago when a lot of New Orleans fans wanted to run off strong safety Roman Harper. On a bad defense in 2008, Harper was hung out in coverage a lot and he struggled. In 2009, the Saints upgraded their defense all over the place. Harper no longer got stuck in long-term coverage and turned in an excellent season. He was allowed to do what he does best, which is to make hits and sort of be an extra linebacker.

That’s kind of the ideal role for a strong safety. Maybe the improvements to Tampa Bay’s defense will prevent Piscitelli from having to do too much deep coverage and that would be a big plus. But if Piscitelli really is going to be the next Lynch, he has to start hitting like Lynch. Or, at very least, he has to make the tackles that are in front of him. If he can’t do that, Jones is waiting in the wings.

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Who will be Drew Brees' backup in New Orleans this year?

My guess is that quarterback isn’t even on the roster yet. Yes, the Saints took a long look at several quarterbacks in their recent rookie camp. They brought in Syracuse’s Greg Paulus and seventh-round pick Sean Canfield also took part. Paulus is a former Duke basketball player who played only one year of college football. At best, he’s a developmental prospect. Maybe he spends some time on the practice squad.

Canfield also is a prospect. He was a seventh-round pick and it’s unrealistic to expect him to start off as anything more than a No. 3 quarterback. But that role was held by Chase Daniel last season and it’s hard to imagine anyone other than Daniel and Canfield competing for the No. 3 job this year.

Yes, the Saints like Daniel, but he’s got no real experience. It’s kind of a stretch to imagine the Saints just handing the No. 2 job to Daniel at this point.

They’ve got a Super Bowl championship team. Let’s get hypothetical for a second and say Brees twists an ankle and has to miss a couple of games. Are the Saints ready to turn it over to Daniel? Or Canfield?

I seriously doubt it. This is a veteran team and just about anything less than another Super Bowl will be a disappointment. The Saints need an insurance policy behind Brees. They need someone with experience who could come in and lead them for a couple games.

You’ve got to believe something will happen on this front, especially when you look at how the Saints have collected depth just about everywhere else. Mark Brunell, last year’s backup, is still available as a free agent and I still think he’s the leading option. Yes, Brunell is old, but he already knows the system.

Even if the Saints think Brunell is too old, they’ve got to look at other guys with experience. The list of available free agents isn’t all that impressive right now. But someone like Marc Bulger could make the Saints feel a lot more comfortable with their backup situation.

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Which NFC South rookie will have the most impact from the start of the season?

Let’s go beyond the first-round picks. Let’s go beyond the biggest name in the NFC South draft class (Jimmy Clausen) because some of those guys might not start right away and some play positions where you won’t hear a lot from them. Let’s turn to Tampa Bay receiver Arrelious Benn, a second-round draft pick. Heck, let’s also throw in Tampa Bay receiver Mike Williams, a fourth-round pick.

Barring a totally disastrous training camp from either one of these guys, I see this tandem as Tampa Bay’s starters on opening day. If Benn and Williams can even come close to grasping the playbook by September, their physical talents make them better than Michael Clayton and Maurice Stovall.

Throw them out there with Sammie Stroughter as the slot receiver and you have a group of receivers that’s incredibly young. But it’s also a very talented group that could make a lot of noise.

Sure, Tampa Bay’s going to be starting two rookie defensive tackles in Gerald McCoy and Brian Price. But you don’t hear a lot about defensive tackles if they’re doing their job. The same applies for Atlanta linebacker Sean Weatherspoon, who might not be an immediate starter. I’m not sure we’ll hear much from New Orleans first-round pick Patrick Robinson right from the start because the Saints now have such a wealth of talent in their secondary. Clausen might end up starting in Carolina. Still, the Panthers might open the season with Matt Moore as their quarterback.

But I’m pretty sure we’re going to hear a lot from Benn and Williams right from the start. Quarterback Josh Freeman needs some guys to throw to outside of tight end Kellen Winslow. Benn and Williams quickly could become popular targets.

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Besides Steve Smith, who is going to catch passes for the Carolina Panthers?

Seems we ask that same question every year, or at least every year since Muhsin Muhammad left the Panthers the first time. The Panthers have turned to guys such as Keyshawn Johnson, Keary Colbert, Drew Carter and Dwayne Jarrett and none have really worked out. Muhammad, in his second stint with Carolina, did all you could ask of an aging receiver, but still didn’t produce like a true No. 2 and wasn’t able to take defensive attention away from Smith.

But we’ve got a fresh set of names to look at now and there’s at least hope on the horizon. Will draft picks Brandon LaFell and Armanti Edwards be the combination that does what all the others couldn’t?

We won’t know for sure until the fall, but there are at least reasons for optimism. LaFell comes with good size and speed and he was productive in a program that wasn’t a passing machine on offense. Colbert and Jarrett were very productive in college too, but that might have had more to do with the fact they were playing for an offensive factory at USC than with their abilities.

Edwards was a quarterback at Appalachian State, but the Panthers plan to use him as a slot receiver. That might suggest that it may take some time for Edwards to learn a new position. Plus, the Panthers' history under John Fox shows a trend of going very slowly with young wide receivers.

But it looks like all that’s about to change, and LaFell and Edwards could get a chance at big playing time right from the start. The mere fact the Panthers used an early pick on a slot receiver means they’re serious about doing more with that position. That is long overdue and it will bring the Panthers in step with the rest of the NFL.

The days of bringing rookie receivers along at a painfully slow pace in Carolina may be over. Fox and general manager Marty Hurney know they have to win now and they drafted these two guys with the idea of playing them sooner than later. Besides, there aren’t any other real options on the roster. Jarrett’s still around, but he really hasn’t shown much of anything.

Smith is screaming for help and he just might get it. One other thing to keep in mind, and this is highly significant, is the change at quarterback. Jake Delhomme locked onto Smith way too much and used him as a crutch. That hurt all of the other receivers.

Delhomme is gone and Matt Moore or Jimmy Clausen will be the quarterback. They’ll still want to get the ball to Smith, but he no longer is going to be the only option in the passing game.

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What if defensive tackles Ndamukong Suh and Gerald McCoy are gone before the Buccaneers pick at No. 3?

The general consensus is that the Rams will pick quarterback Sam Bradford at No. 1 and the Lions will pick one of the two defensive tackles at No. 2, leaving the other for the Buccaneers. But the Rams haven’t definitively said they’re taking Bradford. It seems as if Suh would be the likely candidate for the Rams if they do pull a surprise.

Let’s say they took Suh. Detroit almost certainly will go with McCoy because the Lions need a defensive tackle as much as the Bucs do. If that happens, the Bucs suddenly wouldn’t be in a very good spot. Their best hope then would be that someone would be anxious enough to trade up for Bradford. That would be nice because the Bucs probably could get a good player if they move back a few spots and they’d probably be adding at least one more draft pick. But draft trades are easier said than done.

If the Bucs are at No. 3 and Suh and McCoy are gone, the choice likely will come down to safety Eric Berry or offensive tackle Russell Okung. The argument there opens a whole can of worms. Do you really draft a safety that high? The Bucs certainly could use help back there, and Berry’s the best defensive back in the draft. But how many problems is a safety going to solve if you don’t upgrade your front four?

Okung would have to be intriguing. He is a franchise left tackle and could protect franchise quarterback Josh Freeman. But the Bucs already have a decent left tackle in Donald Penn. But Penn has been making some noise about wanting a new, long-term contract. If the defensive tackles are gone, the Bucs might have to switch up and get an offensive tackle.

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Would the Carolina Panthers actually take quarterback Tim Tebow with their first pick in this year’s draft?

There’s been a lot of buzz about this because the Panthers have shown up at Tebow’s workouts and had a private meeting with the Florida quarterback. Coach John Fox even heaped praise on Tebow during the owners meeting. But don’t read too much into that. Fox praises every potential draft pick and constantly praises players on other teams. It’s his way of making sure he never gives anyone any bulletin-board material.

Tebow might be available when the Panthers are up with the No. 48 overall pick and, at the moment, they really only have Matt Moore at quarterback. They clearly have to make a move (or two) at quarterback in the draft or free agency.

But drafting Tebow would be breaking from their history and with the way Fox and general manager Marty Hurney have thought throughout their tenure. They never have used a pick earlier than the fourth round on a quarterback and both the coach and general manager repeatedly have said that’s because they think it takes too long to develop a rookie quarterback.

Let’s face it, even if Tebow turns into a legitimate NFL quarterback, it’s going to take some time. He’s got to adjust to a pro-style offense and he just recently overhauled his entire throwing motion. He’s not going to come in and start right away. The Panthers need someone who can just in case Moore, who showed great promise at the end of last year, doesn’t work out.

Carolina has some very pressing needs and the Panthers need to use their first draft pick on a player that can help them immediately. Fox and Hurney are in a spot where they have to win this year. Drafting Tebow isn’t the kind of move that will provide immediate results. If they take Tebow, it could be their parting gift to a new regime.

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Are the New Orleans Saints doing the right thing by staying so quiet?

The Saints sat high atop the football world after winning the Super Bowl in February. But the future stories of recent champions hasn’t been pretty.

Still, the Saints pretty much have been sitting still in free agency, not adding much of anything and losing a couple of key cogs.

The truth is, they’re handling the situation perfectly and you have to keep in mind this is a unique situation. Without a labor agreement, the NFL is headed into a season without a salary cap and some special rules apply to the final eight teams left standing last season. That means the Saints can only sign an unrestricted free agent when they lose one of their own and the price tags are similar.

To date, all they’ve really lost are unrestricted free agent Scott Fujita and restricted free agent Mike Bell. They also released defensive end Charles Grant and a few others, but you can call that addition by subtraction, and the Saints may look to replace Grant with Alex Brown, who recently was cut by the Bears.

Fujita, an outside linebacker, and Bell, a running back, each played important roles last season. But neither player was part of the team’s core. They both got big money elsewhere and the Saints would have matched or bettered those offers if they truly believed Fujita and Bell were irreplaceable.

The Saints have a bevy of young linebackers and they’re hoping one of them can step forward and claim Fujita’s job. They also might pick up a linebacker in the early rounds of the draft, so the loss of Fujita isn’t devastating.

Neither is the loss of Bell. He was part of the backfield rotation with Pierre Thomas and Reggie Bush last year. But the Saints also have a young power runner in Lynell Hamilton. They’ve sniffed around a couple of free-agent running backs and it’s also a position they might address in the draft.

The Saints also are letting veteran safety Darren Sharper hang out there as an unrestricted free agent. They still want him back, but they’re not going to break the bank on a 34-year-old safety. From the looks of things, it doesn’t appear any other team is beating on Sharper’s deal to give him a huge contract. There are contingency plans in place if Sharper leaves.

No matter how that one plays out, the Saints are in good shape. Their real focus this offseason is to protect their core and they’ve done that by placing high tenders on restricted free agents like guard Jahri Evans. At some point, they’re going to have to give him a long-term contract. They also are likely to extend the contract of quarterback Drew Brees, who is the core of the core.

Yes, the Saints haven’t added very much, but that will change some with the draft. Besides, the Saints haven’t lost all that much. They still have the core of a team that won a Super Bowl, which is a lot more than most teams can say.

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Can Raheem Morris be a better coach than he was last year?

Let’s be honest, it probably would be impossible for Morris to look more overwhelmed than he was the first half of last season.

The rookie Tampa Bay coach seemed to be desperately grasping for any sort of hope as he changed offensive and defensive coordinators, quarterbacks, kickers and punters. It took the Bucs a long time to win or even look like an NFL team.

But if you look closely at the chaos that was Tampa Bay’s season last year, you can spot some progress, particularly from the head coach. The guy showed an ability to admit his mistakes and move on from them. That’s a unique quality and that’s why there’s a chance Morris might have grown quite a bit last season.

We’ll have to wait to see how this season plays out, but Morris is in a much better spot than he was a year ago. Morris realized Jim Bates’ defensive scheme wasn’t working out and fired the veteran coordinator. Morris took the reins of the defense, went back to the Tampa 2 and the Bucs actually played decent defense at the end of the season.

They now will spend an entire offseason working on the defense they’ll actually play all season. Same for the offense, where coordinator Jeff Jagodzinski was fired just prior to the start of last season. There were a lot of issues (more than we’ll ever know) going on with Jagodzinski, but the bottom line was the offense wasn’t getting any real coaching. Quarterbacks coach Greg Olson suddenly had the offense dumped on him at the same time he was trying to get rookie quarterback Josh Freeman ready to step on the field and the early results weren’t pretty.

But the Bucs, most importantly Freeman, will have an entire offseason in the Olson offense. That alone should help Morris look a lot better. He’s not suddenly going to turn into the league’s most brilliant coach.

But Morris’ willingness to admit his mistakes and fix them should make him a better coach in his second season.

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With Julius Peppers gone from the Carolina Panthers, there’s room at the top of the NFC South. Who’s the best athlete in the division?

It’s Reggie Bush.

We’re not talking best player. That would be Drew Brees, and there are other guys out there who are better players than Bush or Peppers. We’re talking pure athleticism -- speed, agility, etc.

Say what you want about Bush being a bust or nothing but a role player. He’s easily the best pure athlete in the division now that the freakish Peppers is gone. That statement’s not based on production, but if you want to see the importance of pure athleticism, go back to the Saints’ playoff victory against Arizona.

That’s the game where Bush was a huge factor as a runner, receiver and return man. He wasn’t the best player on the field, but he was the best athlete. When you throw a bunch of good athletes on the field, sometimes the very best is going to rise up, and that’s what Bush did in that game.

He’ll do that from time to time and that’s his upside. He’ll have moments when being the best athlete on the field will temporarily make him the best player on the field. That’s what he does.

He’s not the only player in the NFC South to get by on pure athleticism. I’ll give you one guy from each of the other three teams who does the same kind of thing. Again, they’re not the best players, but they’re the best pure athletes.

Atlanta cornerback Brent Grimes. If he were 6-foot-1, Grimes might be the best cornerback in the league. But he’s 5-8 or 5-9 and he makes up for it with tremendous athleticism. Grimes can out-jump anybody on the Falcons and can run just as well.

Carolina linebacker Thomas Davis. It took Davis a couple of years to really get the mental part of the game, but he got by on athleticism before that. Now that he’s got the two aspects going for him, Davis has a chance to be a truly special player. He might even help make up for the loss of Peppers.

Tampa Bay cornerback Aqib Talib. He’s a bit like Davis in his early years. Talib is getting by purely on his athleticism so far, but that’s half the battle at cornerback. If he can grasp the mental part of the game, he can become a truly elite player.