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One player coming to Tampa Bay -- that's what it took to shake up the landscape of the NFC South and quite frankly, the entire NFL. On Tuesday morning, icon and arguably the greatest quarterback in league history, , decided to depart New England for the first time in his career. By Tuesday evening, Bruce Arians, , , O.J. Howard, , and a top-five defense in Tampa Bay. With that, Tom Brady is a Buccaneer, which is just about the weirdest thing I've ever had to type during my five-plus years as an writer -- . The adding Brady wasn't even the only major quarterback shakeup the NFC South saw on Tuesday. Before Brady joined the Buccaneers, agreed to , which all but ended the era in Carolina. The Panthers will seek a trade partner for their longtime quarterback, but it sure sounds like they'll release him if no suitable offers for an oft-injured quarterback emerge. It's the end of an era that included three division crowns, four playoff berths, and one run. While the Buccaneers and Panthers changed directions at quarterback, two constants in the division remain: is still with the . And, Drew Brees is back with the , as expected all along. With all that in mind, it's time to take stock of the new-look NFC South by making way-too-early predictions for Philadelphia 76Ers Jeresy how the division will play out during the upcoming season (a suming there is, in fact, a season). Things will surely change between now and September. The Buccaneers might not be done adding talent -- the same goes for the Saints. Both teams are operating with all-time great quarterbacks over the age of 40, so it makes complete and total sense for them to go all-in right now.To no one's surprise, those two teams are ranked atop this list. 4. Carolina Panthers But first, let's begin in Carolina. Bridgewater is in. Newton is out. But it might not matter. The team around the quarterback just isn't very good. The Panthers appear to be the worst team in the division. They're coming off a five-win season that saw them get outscored by 130 points along the way. Only the finished , giving away 26-year-old guard for 31-year-old offensive tackle , who doesn't have a long-term future with a team in rebuilding mode. On Wednesday, Earlier this offseason, they lost their best defensive player, inside linebacker , to . Bridgewater was a nice signing. He's a 27-year-old, former first-round pick who has the potential to morph into their long-term solution at the position at a relatively cheap cost. At the very least, he'll be a bridge to whichever quarterback comes next. But Bridgewater is joining a bad football team after spending the past couple years on a stacked Saints team. While Bridgewater has demonstrated the ability to be a good quarterback in the right situation, he hasn't been asked to Moses Malone Jersey elevate a terrible team to a playoff-caliber team. He might struggle to do so in Carolina -- and no one should blame him if that's what happens. This team needs to improve in a lot of areas. Bridgewater alone can't be expected to be the solution. As of mid-March, the Panthers are the worst team in the NFC South. And it should remain that way. They're only just now beginning a reset. 3. Atlanta Falcons The Falcons are hoping the second Jimmy Butler Jersey half of the 2019 season is indicative of what's to come in 2020. After starting 1-7, the Falcons ripped off six wins in the second half of the season, buying Dan Quinn at least one more chance in Atlanta. Unfortunately, the division around them has only gotten stronger in recent days and the Falcons haven't made enough upgrades. They , who was good for 658 yards and four touchdowns per season since 2017. While they did manage to replace Hooper by for tight end , they were forced to give up a second-round pick for a tight end who has accumulated only 512 yards and three touchdowns in two seasons. There's no doubt that Hurst, a former first-round pick, has potential to develop into something more, but until he proves he's more than just potential, he represents a downgrade from Hooper. The Falcons also and failed to land , who , per , but on Wednesday, which will offset the lo s of Beasley. Finally, the Falcons also and , and they haven't signed Philadelphia 76Ers T-Shirts anyone of note to replace them. There's still time to upgrade their roster, but as of March 18, the Falcons have gotten worse while the division around them has gotten stronger. Still, the Falcons slot in above the Panthers because they still have Matt Ryan and . Their offense still has a shot to be pretty good in 2020. The key will be the defense, . A similar-sized leap during the upcoming season could have the Falcons fighting for a playoff spot. But that will be difficult to do barring an influx of talent late in free agency or during the draft. The Falcons should still be competitive. Ryan and Jones pretty much gives them a shot in most games. If the Buccaneers hadn't added Tom Brady, they might've had a chance to be the second-best team in the division. But the Buccaneers did add Tom Brady. 2. Tampa Bay Buccaneers Brady's arrival makes the Buccaneers the team best poised to chase down the Saints in the NFC South -- a division that's belonged to New Orleans for three straight seasons. The Buccaneers haven't captured the division crown since 2007, when Jon Gruden was still their coach, Jeff Garcia was their quarterback, and Brady was leading the Patriots to a 16-0 record. But Brady gives them a chance. It might've been a mistake for Brady to leave New England, but at least he picked a great alternative. Bruce Arians isn't Bill Belichick, but he's one of the league's better coaches with a specialization in quarterbacks and offenses. Brady is going from Philadelphia 76Ers Hats having Julian Edelman and a bunch of nobodies to having Mike Evans and Chris Godwin (who combined for 2,490 yards and 17 touchdowns last year) at receiver and O.J. Howard and Cameron Brate at tight end. The only concerns offensively are the offensive line, which (per Football Outsiders) and (per ESPN), and Arians' offense, which often requires quarterbacks to drop deep and throw long. But it's not like Brady isn't used to a bad offensive line -- the Patriots ranked 18th in pa s block win last year and Brady still managed to play like an average quarterback on a team lacking weapons. The Buccaneers' offensive line might not be great, but at least Brady won't lack firepower around him. And Arians isn't an idiot. He knows he's working with a soon-to-be 43-year-old quarterback. He's likely to make nece sary modifications to his offense. This part flies under the radar, but it's one of the biggest reasons why I think the Buccaneers are a playoff-caliber team and will present a challenge to the Saints with Brady: Their defense already made the leap from in just one season under Todd Bowles. This was a good defense. Don't pay attention to how many points they gave up (28.1, the fourth-most in football). This was a team hamstrung with a quarterback in who threw Despite all of those turnovers, th |
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