Now that the Super Bowl has been played and each NFL organization is gearing up for another off-season, I am going to give my own take on what needs to happen from March 3rd until kickoff of the 2011 season. I am going to post – division by division – the three things that I feel each team in the league needs to do this off-season in order to succeed in 2011 and in the future. This all of course comes with the idea that the owners and players will settle on a new Collective Bargaining Agreement and NFL will resume in the fall.
You know I tend to be a little wordy at times (or all the time), which is why I’ll go four teams at a time. Today I’ll look at my first division:
NFC SOUTH:
Atlanta Falcons
1. Safety Blanket (aka get a tight end)
- Tony Gonzalez is on his way out and may actually just hang up his pads and announce his retirement. The Falcons have a solid running game and one of the most mistake-free quarterbacks in the business. Matt Ryan has Roddy White at wide receiver and 2010 proved that those two are a potent duo. But a quarterback who likes to control the game and hit intermediate routes to set up the home run ball needs a tight end. Find Matt Ryan a new tight end either in free agency or in the draft (most notable prospect: Notre Dame’s Kyle Rudolph) and Atlanta’s offense should click for years to come.
2. Make that defense GREAT
- I know that’s easier said than done. But Atlanta plays indoors and has a quarterback, running back, wide receiver combination that ranks up there with the best in the league. John Abraham showed that age isn’t a problem for him posting an All-Pro year. Coach Mike Smith needs to focus on piecing together a defense that can thrive in the Georgia Dome. Their defense was solid in 2010, but with a few big signings this off-season they can be great.
3. Sell the city of Atlanta to free agents
- The NBA is selling “glamour cities” to all of their free agents in recent years. Miami isn’t much of a football luxury town, Los Angeles has no team, and Chicago has tradition but the cold weather and poor playing surface won’t appeal to too many players (unless they offer money like they did Julius Peppers). Atlanta has potential to join New York as one of the NFL’s “luxury cities.” It has warm weather, southern hospitality, and a great stadium. If Arthur Blank sells the city of Atlanta and the Falcon’s potential, he could land his organization some prime free agents.
Carolina Panthers
1. Find defensive tackles to free up Jon Beason
- Beason is one of the five best middle linebackers in the game. But not too many people know how good Beason is because, not only the Panthers’ lack of success, but because he is very limited by guards and centers. Beason takes on an awful lot of blocks despite being the middle guy in a 4-3 scheme. Carolina needs to invest in some big boys that can take on blocks in front of Beason. I’m not saying to spend the first pick on Nick Fairley, but if no one bites in free agency, they may have to.
2. Find a direction and go
- The last two seasons have been somewhat confusing for the Panthers. They had no first round draft pick last April and pretty much wasted the entire 2010 season. No good came out of it. Not even any progress from Jimmy Clausen. New head coach Ron Rivera needs to find an identity in Carolina and role with it. Be a defensive team like Pittsburgh, find a quarterback to ride like Green Bay, Indianapolis, and San Diego, or be uber-conservative until you win like Atlanta and Kansas City. Just do something and build the franchise into that type of team.
3. Make the 1st pick a franchise move
- This draft is really the first draft in some time without a clear-cut top guy. That stinks for Carolina because they sit at the number one spot and chances are no teams will be willing to bargain for that top pick for Nick Fairley or DaQuan Bowers. The Panthers need to think about who could be a franchise changer. Is Fairley good enough? Is a quarterback to much of a reach at #1 – especially with Clausen? Do they reach for cornerback Patrick Peterson hoping that he is the Deion Sanders-like cover guy that people are deeming him? Whatever it is – make it count. A cornerstone guy could turn this thing around. Just ask Ndamukong Suh.
New Orleans Saints
1. Re-sign Reggie
- Too many people have christened Reggie Bush “a bust.” No, he hasn’t exactly run for the millions of yards and returned the hundreds of kicks that he was expected to after being drafted second overall in 2006. But Reggie Bush was the player that put the Saints over the top in the playoffs of their Super Bowl year. And he is a walking mismatch. What linebacker is going to cover a player that explosive? I don’t even know too many nickels that can cover him. Reggie Bush is probably the most versatile back in the league. As much as the Saints offense helps Reggie, he helps the Saints offense.
2. Sure up the running game
- The fun and gun was cute for a season or two, but now the Saints need to settle down. Pierre Thomas and Reggie Bush are both free agents and Chris Ivory did a good job stepping in but he is not the answer. The Saints offense line is one of the best in the business so a running game should be easy to implement. Now they just need to make an effort. How would Mark Ingram look in a Saints jersey?
3. Malcolm Jenkins
- Jenkins is on his way to being one of the top corners in the game – now why not make him the focal point of the defense. Sort of like Ed Reed and Charles Woodson are as defensive backs. Let Jenkins roam around and make plays. Big play safeties are coming in handy more than sideline -to-sideline linebackers and the Saints are headed in the right direction with Jenkins.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
1. Hit puberty
- The Bucs were the youngest team in the league in 2010 (coach included). Their quarterback with Sam Bradford may be the most promising young arm in the league and they have two A-potential receivers for him as targets that graduated high school in 2006 and 2007. Not to mention the steal of the 2010 draft at running back in Lagarrette Blount.The two veteran leaders on the offense are Kellen Winslow II and Davin Joseph – both are 27 years old. When the Bucs grow into the team that they will be, look out. But for a team like this, time is the only thing that will allow it.
2. Raheem Morris swag
- I’m convinced that the Steelers and Jets are so successful because they follow the lead of their coach. Raheem Morris has that same ability. The self-proclaimed “best coach in the league” needs to have his young team follow suit. Morris has a great mind and a good head on his shoulders. His head may be a little big at times, but that’s really never been a bad thing in the NFL.
3. Find Simeon Rice
- When Tampa Bay won Super Bowl XXXVII, their defense was as complete as they come. But the driving force of it all was the pass rush that didn’t require any more than the front four. Simeon Rice and Greg Spires were the defensive ends who manhandled tackles. Simeon Rice especially took the league by storm in the 4-3 defense. His constant pressure forced MVP Rich Gannon into throwing five interceptions in the final game. Since Rice left St. Pete, the Bucs have not found a defensive end like Rice since Rice. The current team has all of the pieces in place at defensive tackle, linebacker, and in the secondary. If a big strong d-end that can rush the passer ends up in Tampa Bay, Raheem Morris will have something more to talk about.
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