Fug it: ATL vs CIN eddition lawl

[Marguide]

If we show up at all this year, this division is going to be sick good. That doesn't even take into account a possibly improving Bucs team.

[Herbert The Love Bug]

The Falcons and Bengels will both be good teams this season.

[Seltzer]

The NFC South is going to be tough. I honestly don't know whether the Panthers will finish. They could be first or last or somewhere in between.

I believe the Panthers will be somewhere between 6-10 and 10-6, and I could make a good argument for either side.

If the defense and special teams play better (the preseason is not going to answer that) and the Panthers can catch a break with injuries (they are certainly due for a year of good luck) then this is a playoff team.

Having Cam and an offense makes them compelling to watch.

[KendrickPanther]

Asante got burnt on a double move. No surprise there.

[Fiz]

Let me see if I got this? We are going to catch up next year. And although we were competitive with them last year, we are going to get poo housed by them this year? Because your predict we don't have a pass rush? Is that right?

Last year competitive w/Atl. Worse this year. But better than them next year?

Cool theory bro.

The Falcons added the second best corner in football to their defense and addressed their 2nd biggest deficiency.

The Panthers biggest additions were at positions that didn't need addressing.

Additionally, the Falcons have installed an offense that has looked pretty fuging impressive, both in training camp and in the preseason. The Panthers still don't have a pass rush, still don't have a defensive line, and still only have half a secondary.

Ryan has looked better, Julio has looked unstoppable.

Also cool 6 year old meme that really hammered your post home.

[SevenSixes]

The Falcons O line looked porous against the blitz. Matty gets rattled under pressure, so it's important that our down four get pressure. We can bring the backers to keep matty in his own head though. Falcons D looked stout and their DB's are no joke, but let's see them up against a physical TE like Olsen or a brawler like Tolbert.

Tough, yes. Impossible, no. I count a split against the "dirty birds" this year.

[Fiz]

they weren't blitzing.

The Falcons pass blocking is about mediocre, but the Bengals d line is damn good.

An agile, slashing defensive line rotation had an excellent season. Tackle Geno Atkins justified his selection to our 2011 Top Prospects list with a Pro Bowl season, and fellow tackle Domata Peko was almost as disruptive inside. The Bengals went from 27 to 45 sacks, despite the fact that top pass rusher Carlos Dunlap was hampered for a large chunk of the year by a balky hamstring, and ranked in the top ten for defensive Adjusted Line Yards for the first time ever.

(Seriously, if you want to understand the AFC North, simply consider this stat: Adjusted Line Yards stats go back to 1995. In the 17 years since, Pittsburgh has ranked in the top ten in defensive ALY 13 times, Baltimore has ranked in the top ten 11 times, Cincinnati has ranked in the top ten once, and Cleveland has never ranked in the top ten since returning to the league in 1999.)

A couple of cogs in the machine, Frostee Rucker and Jonathan Fanene, chased free-agent money and more playing time elsewhere. They have been replaced by more than 600 pounds of youthful mass inside, high draft picks Devon Still and Brandon Thompson. Second-rounder Still bluntly admitted that he wore down late in games while at Penn State, so 15-to-20 snaps per game in Mike Zimmer’s system should work out well for him. Third-rounder Thompson comes out of Clemson, and turned heads by tossing bodies around at the Senior Bowl. In addition, the Mike Brown Home for Wayward Draft Busts attracted ends Derrick Harvey and Jamaal Anderson to southern Ohio to try and resurrect their careers.

Rey Maualuga’s season was defined by the regular-season finale, when Ravens blockers took him out twice, thus releasing Ray Rice for long touchdown runs. Maualuga moved to his more natural middle linebacker slot, and was generally steady, but two or three times per game was either out of position or unable to disengage from lead blocks. Bay Area rejects Manny Lawson and Thomas Howard proved serviceable outside linebackers in the Queen City, with Lawson’s coverage ability a bonus. Projected impact pass rusher Dontay Moch missed the sea- son due to severe migraines. His return would add provide an element the team lacks, a standup blitzer who can regularly pressure the passer. However, the most interesting linebacker on the roster is not Moch but an undrafted rookie. Vontaze Burfict’s junior year at Arizona State was a miasma of missed assignments and personal fouls, resulting in a nosedive off the league’s draft boards. But if Marvin Lewis can contain the crazy, the Bengals may have an undrafted free agent reminiscent of James Harrison in both playmaking ability and wild man tendencies.

[DaCityKats]

Geno Atkins.

[God]

the second best corner in football hahahahahahaha

there is probably 10 corners id rather have.

[CardiacCats]

Well Dalton>Cam obviously.....

I kid.... I kid

Yeah Falcons are gonna ass rape up this year unless Matt Ryan gets a bounty placed on him

[Fiz]

the second best corner in football hahahahahahaha

there is probably 10 corners id rather have.

pff

Being targeted and giving up receptions is one thing … what about the completion percentage when teams are going after a cornerback? Let’s take a look at which corners allowed the lowest completion percentage first. At the top of that list you have none other than Darrelle Revis. Who saw that coming? Interestingly, in second place is Ike Taylor, who despite that game against Denver isn’t a terrible cornerback–he just impersonated one for a highly-watched playoff matchup. His finish is all the more impressive given that he tracked receivers like Wes Welker and Larry Fitzgerald this year. Other players in the Top 5 are soon-to-be free agent Brent Grimes, Carolina Panther Chris Gamble, and Sheldon Brown. Just behind them, the only rookie to crack the Top 10 makes his presence felt–not the aforementioned Peterson, but rather Richard Sherman. Great drafting Seattle. Here’s the top 10:

1: Revis

2: Ike Taylor

3: Brent Grimes!

4: Chris Gamble

5: Sheldon Brown

6: Cromartie

7: Sherman

8: Asante

9: Joe Hayden

10: Carr

This ranking shows what a quarterback’s rating looks like when they throw at a certain cornerback. Again, you have Revis at the top, with Gamble and Taylor making appearances in the Top 5, but I also get to mention Asante Samuel and the highly impressive Lardarius Webbfor the first time. Here are the lowest (and best) 10 ratings:

1: Revis

2: Asante Samuel

3:

4:

5:

6:

7:

8:

9:

10: Brent Grimes

http://www.footballo...3/asante-samuel

he's been first the last two years by FO metrics.

[Herbert The Love Bug]

This kid out of ECU is impressive. I wish he was Cam's back up. I think Armanti could have been a lot like him if they brought him here to strictly play QB and not try him at positions he isn't comfortable with.

[God]

interesting list. he's good but ill have to disagree hes number 2.

Id say its Revis, Nnamdi, then the rest is pretty interchangeable.

[koolkatluke]

Fiz is stupid. Does your PFF breakdown (hit or miss site) show how bad of a tackler Samuel is?

And since the Falcons will win the division why even play the year out?