The AFC East has belonged to the New England Patriots ever since Drew Bledsoe was knocked out of a game against the New York Jets and replaced by a young Tom Brady. Since then, the Patriots have failed to win the division only once in a span of 11 seasons from 2003 through 2013.
Another NFL season is upon us and once again the New Orleans Saints are expected to be one of the elite squads challenging for a Super Bowl title. The reason? Drew Brees who seems to be getting better with age, Sean Payton who has to be considered one of the best coaches in the game and the Superdome.
The Carolina Panthers will head into the 2014 season looking to build on a remarkable 12-4 season last year that saw them win the NFC South and elevate to near elite status in the NFL.
Is there any team in the NFL more poised for a bounce back season than the Atlanta Falcons? Seriously – how did this team go from perennial contender to a 4-12 season last year?
The St. Louis Rams enter another season full of promise – promise that Sam Bradford can finally shake the injury and inconsistency bug and can take the Rams to a different level.
The Arizona Cardinals will try to build on a terrific 2013 season in which they won 10 games and almost qualified for the postseason. A lot is starting to go right in the desert – Coach Bruce Arians looks like a savior as he heads into the second year as Head Coach.
The Carolina Panthers took their turn at winning the NFC South title in 2013 with 12 wins, but heading into the new season the Oddsmakers like the Saints’ chances to capture their fourth division title since 2006.
Luck has everything to do with the Colts odds. Indianapolis took a brief hiatus from dominating the AFC South in 2011 with Peyton Manning lost for the season, but they are back on top under the guidance of his replacement Andrew Luck.
The San Francisco 49ers enter the 2014 season as third betting choice to win the Super Bowl in February. And why not? The Niners have been to the NFC Championship game three straight years; they have 10+ wins in their last three seasons and are coming off a 12-4 campaign.
The reigning Super Bowl Champions begin the season in pursuit of a very difficult goal – a repeat Super Bowl performance. The Seahawks opted to mainly “stay the course” with their roster- to stick mostly with the players that saw their defense dominate and their offense do enough to get them to the top of the mountain.
2014 NFC South Division Preview
The unpredictable NFC South looks to be a crapshoot again in 2014 – no team has repeated as champion in this division since 2002 – bad luck for Carolina who went 12-4 last year and claimed the crown. The Saints will be better and will be looking to knock off the Panthers who again have a solid lineup – top to bottom.
2014 AFC South Division Preview – A Slam Dunk for the Colts?
The AFC South belonged to the Indianapolis Colts last year and a look at the division reveals that it will be theirs to lose once again this upcoming season. On paper the AFC South looks like the Colts and only the Colts – the rest of the division will be lucky just to get to the .500 mark.
In all likelihood, the Tennessee Titans are not going to be good in 2014. This is blatantly obvious when looking at their roster, but at least they have one reason to hold their heads high entering the new year: The only team in the NFL with worse odds to win the Super Bowl are in their own division—the Jacksonville Jaguars.
The Indianapolis Colts are the odds-on favorites to win the 2014 AFC South, and it’s easy to see why. They went 11-5 this past season—the best record in the division by a relative longshot—and with a guy like Andrew Luck leading the way, it’s tough to picture the Houston Texans, Tennessee Titans or Jacksonville Jaguars taking over as the team to beat.
The Houston Texans entered the 2013 NFL season with high hopes. They were thought to be contenders for a shot at a Super Bowl, but they ultimately flopped their way to an abysmal 2-14 record. Now it’s time to see if the offseason changes can get them back to where they were expected to be a year ago, which is far away from the basement of the league.
The Denver Broncos came one win away from the Vince Lombardi trophy. Their high-powered offense was held in check, but that was not the sole point of their emphasis of improvement this offseason.
