NFC South Free Agency Grades

by user Letstalknfl

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Let's talk about the free agents and trades this off-season for the NFC South. The AFC grading will come at a later date, and for the rest of the NFC grades, check out http://letstalknfl.blogspot.com/

Key:

A Team significantly improved from off-season moves B Team improved from off-season moves C Team relatively unchanged by off-season moves D Team took a step back due to off-season moves F Team drastically hurt by off-season moves

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Atlanta Falcons

Grade: D+

Joey Harrington is certainly a downgrade from Matt Schaub at the backup QB position. The Falcons may regret that move down the line. Toniu Fonoti has the ability to be a great player, but may never be completely healthy after missing most of the last two years. He may not be capable of starting for the departed Matt Lehr, though the draft may have solved that problem. Losing Justin Griffith hurts, though Ovie Mughelli is an up-and-comer who will fit just nicely into new Head Coach Bobby Petrino’s system. Billy Cundiff provides the leg strength that ageless Morten Anderson has lost. Ashley Lelie won’t be missed. Edgerton Hartwell was a good player isn’t the same player he was when he played in Baltimore, so the Falcons were wise to unload him. Kevin Mathis and Jason Webster were both expendable after the draft and have underachieved anyway. The loss of Patrick Kerney looked monumental until draft day.

The Falcon’s biggest off-season addition may be outspoken WR Joe Horn. Not only is he still talented (when he’s healthy) but he’s a born leader who may be just the ticket for Atlanta’s talented, but still very raw, young receivers Roddy White and Michael Jenkins.

Overall, not considering the draft, the Falcons took a step back. The success of their first three 2007 draft picks and Michael Vick’s progression (and playing availability) will be the things that define exactly how much of an effect this off-season has had on the franchise’s future.

Carolina Panthers

Grade: C-

The Panthers unloaded some older players to make room for some youth. Johnson can still be a valuable number two possession receiver, but is no more than that at this stage in his career. Kris Mangum and Michael Gaines were similar players, so unloading one of them made sense. Cutting the aging Al Wallace affects the depth along the defensive line, but also was a sensible move. The only move that may come back to haunt the Panthers is letting Chris Draft go. One of the more underrated LB’s, Draft will be the second starting Carolina LB to take his talents to the Rams in as many years. Eventually, the Panthers are going to have to start looking toward keeping their LB’s and perhaps letting go of the extremely talent, but oft-injured Dan Morgan. David Carr is an instant upgrade over Weinke at the backup QB position. Additionally, if Delhomme starts to struggle, don’t be surprised to see Carr taking over that starting position. Maybe he can excel with some sort of offensive line protection.

Overall, the Panthers did well to sign Carr, and didn’t lose anyone substantial outside of Draft. The team may miss Draft quite a bit. Hopefully John Fox will continue to plug-and-play the LB position.

New Orleans Saints

Grade: B

The Saints did a good job of filling holes and making subtle improvements to a squad that made it to the NFC Championship game last season. Joe Horn has battled injuries recently and the Saints have a good core of young receivers who can step up. Danny Clark was a backup. Michael Haynes underachieved with the Bears and didn’t even play last year so he won’t be missed. John Carney will be replaced by Olindo Mare, who is an upgrade even though he’s been inconsistent the last couple of years. Omar Stoutmire was a starter who will be missed, but Roman Harper may be ready to step into that starting spot, and Kevin Kaesviharn will be in the mix too, as he adds depth and experience to the secondary. Eric Johnson (when healthy) is an upgrade over Ernie Conwell, and should provide Drew Brees with yet another reliable target.

Jason David is an immediate upgrade at cornerback. Fred Thomas was burned too often and David is a great addition to start opposite veteran Mike McKenzie. Brian Simmons should challenge incumbent Mark Simoneau at middle linebacker and will at the very least provide depth. David Patten was a disappointment with Washington, and will fight for playing time with the talented corps of receivers in New Orleans.

Overall, the Saints did a good job of doing just enough to fill some holes and make minor upgrades to an already emerging team. They added some guys who will be able to contribute right away and didn’t really lose anyone of significance.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Grade: B

Blue Adams has potential but has yet to make an impact and Juran Bolden was far too inconsistent. Tim Rattay didn’t pan out as the savvy veteran that John Gruden likes, so Jeff Garcia will take over and provide the Bucs with a solid starter for a couple of years. The only question is whether the Bucs got the Philly Garcia, or the Browns/Lions Garcia. Tampa Bay will miss Dewayne White, and Shelton Quarles who had over 100 tackles the last three seasons. Green was a depth guy, but Mahan was a starter who will be missed. Losing underachieving Kenyatta Walker rounds out an overhaul of the O-Line, which was pretty bad last year, helping the Bucs to finish 28 th in rushing and 26 th in passing. True, the QB play was porous last season, but it all starts up front.

Stepping into likely starting positions along the O-Line are veterans Matt Lehr and Luke Petitgout. They provide veteran leadership and upgrades along the line. Kevin Carter should replace White at DE, but he turns 34 this year and is a temporary fix. B.J. Askew is interchangeable in the league, and will sit behind Mike Alstott this season. Ryan Simms was a bust with Kansas City, but the Bucs will see if they can channel his talent into a productive season. Jake Plummer may retire before the start of the season, and is just another body in the logjam at QB. Patrick Chukwurah provides solid depth. Jerramy Stevens will contend for playing time but has been a disappointment thus far in his career. Sammy Davis is a bust and likely will not make a difference. The biggest addition for the Bucs is OLB Cato June coming over from the Colts. June is immensely talented, though some say he is a product of the Colts’ defensive system. If that is the case, he should fit right into Defensive Coordinator Monte Kiffin’s system and provides an upgrade at the LB spot.

Overall, the Bucs lost some contributors and gained some as well. It appears as though the additions of Lehr, Petitgout, Garcia, June, and Carter make for a very productive off-season though, as all will likely start on opening day.

The NFC South should be pretty competitive. The division is however riddled with bang-or-bust type of teams. Each one of them could really blow up this season or wind up 5-11. The interesting thing about this division, is that with the exception of Carolina, all the teams were very, very active this off-season. It'll be interesting to see how that activity translates on the field.

Good talking NFL!

Brandon