The NFC South is rising.
Teams with dreadful pasts and no pasts at all suddenly find themselves among the cream of the NFL.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are 8-2 for the first time. They also have the league’s No. 1 defense, nothing new except they have a good early-season record to show for it.
The 7-3 New Orleans Saints have the highest-scoring offense, the leading NFC rusher in Deuce McAllister and the leading NFC receiver in Joe Horn.
The 6-3-1 Atlanta Falcons have the longest unbeaten streak in the NFL–six–and the most exciting player in Michael Vick.
The 3-7 Carolina Panthers are out of it. They have the longest losing streak–seven–outside of the Bears’ eight. But they also boast the league’s leading sacker in rookie Julius Peppers and the league’s fourth-ranked defense under first-year coach John Fox. They have lost four games by a field goal or less and are no pushover.
Only the AFC West’s quartet of Denver, San Diego, Oakland and Kansas City can match the new NFC South for winning teams.
The 8-2 Green Bay Packers play the Bucs on Sunday in Tampa in the NFL’s game of the week. Home-field playoff advantage could be at stake, and the Bucs are happy they are the hosts.
The Packers simply will be glad to have the NFC South behind them. They were pounded in New Orleans and eked out three-point wins over Atlanta and Carolina at Lambeau Field.
Once lost geographically and plagued psychologically, the Bucs, Saints, Falcons and Panthers have found their home at last–in the Deep South, where they have belonged all along.
The Bucs are escapees from the old NFC Central, where they were doomed for a quarter-century and have yet to win a game in weather below 40 degrees.
The Saints, Falcons and Panthers were mired in the NFC West of all places, where they served as foot wipes for the St. Louis Rams and San Francisco 49ers.
They are the youngest division, the only one with no team in existence before 1966 (Atlanta), followed by New Orleans (1967), Tampa Bay (1976) and Carolina (1995).
If the playoffs started today, three of the six NFC teams would come from the South.
“It turned out to be a pretty tough division,” Bucs receiver Keyshawn Johnson said Wednesday. “Going into the season, you thought the Tampa Bay Buccaneers would sit on the top alone just based on all the preseason publications and the things being said. Turns out we have pretty good competition.”
Young stars Vick, McAllister and Peppers have had a lot to say about that.
In his first year as the starting quarterback, Vick has been stunning. Although he has thrown only seven touchdown passes–29th among NFL quarterbacks–nobody is more feared by defenses for his running and throwing. He has run for six touchdowns, and the Falcons haven’t lost since Week 5 against Tampa Bay.
“He’s the best I’ve ever played against,” Saints defensive lineman Norman Hand said Sunday after New Orleans lost to the Falcons for the second time in the last month. “We’ve never seen the likes of him in the NFL.”
Only one passer, San Francisco’s Jeff Garcia, is currently ranked higher than Vick in third-down passing efficiency.
“He’s like Michael Jordan right now,” teammate Ray Buchanan said. “Every defense thinks they can stop him, but they can’t.”
Under new defensive coordinator Wade Phillips, the Falcons also have surprised with their new 3-4 scheme. Inside linebacker Keith Brooking was named NFC defensive player of the week Wednesday for his 15 tackles against the Saints.
Brooking is challenging the Bears’ Brian Urlacher for best-in-NFC status. The Falcons credit Brooking with more tackles this season than the Bears give Urlacher.
McAllister has become for the Saints what Marshall Faulk is to the Rams. McAllister leads the NFC in rushing, scoring and total yardage. Quarterback Aaron Brooks’ 21 touchdown passes ties him with New England’s Tom Brady for the league lead.
Horn, who ran his mouth about the worthiness of the Falcons before Sunday’s game, and rookie Donte’ Stallworth are the most prolific receiving tandem in the NFC, with six touchdown catches apiece.
Carolina rookie Peppers, who expects to challenge a pending suspension for banned substances, is proving how much difference one player can make. The Panthers were last in the league in defense a year ago.
The Bucs’ new star is their coach, Jon Gruden, who cost Tampa Bay two No. 1 and two No. 2 draft choices plus $8 million to pry him from Oakland.
Gruden replaced Tony Dungy, but he is leaning on Dungy’s longtime defensive coordinator, Monte Kiffin, to maintain a familiar defense anchored by All-Pros Warren Sapp, Derrick Brooks and John Lynch. There’s also Simeon Rice, who ranks second to Peppers in sacks.
While Gruden’s offense is hardly spectacular–17th in scoring–efficient quarterback Brad Johnson is the highest-rated passer in the division, and only the Packers are ahead of the Bucs in turnover ratio.
“I think we’ve been productive the entire year,” Keyshawn Johnson said. “I think it is a misconception that the offense isn’t doing its part. It is ridiculous to me.
“Think about the teams that are putting up a lot of points. They don’t win games. We don’t want to be in a shootout. We don’t want to throw the ball in the second half if we don’t have to.”
Peppers agreed after losing 23-10 to the Bucs on Sunday.
“You really don’t need a high-powered offense when you’ve got a defense like that,” Peppers said.
The NFC South is helped by the schedule rotation that has it facing the AFC North with relatively weak Cincinnati, Cleveland, and Baltimore this season.
Down the stretch, the only winning team the Saints face is Tampa in the Superdome. The Saints have four of their last six games at home.
The only winning team the Falcons face also is the Bucs at Tampa. Four of the Falcons’ final six games, including the next three in a row, are on the road.
The Bucs have the toughest finish. They must play the Packers, Falcons and Pittsburgh Steelers–all at home–while going to New Orleans, Detroit and finishing Dec. 29 against the Bears in Champaign, when the weather is likely to dip below the dreaded 40-degree threshold. It will be Tampa’s only cold-weather game of the season.
NFC South standings
SOUTH REC PCT DIV
Tampa Bay 8-2 .800 3-1
New Orleans 7-3 .700 2-2
Atlanta 6-3-1 .650 3-1
Carolina 3-7 .300 0-4
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