Bengals v NFC South

[BFritz21]

(04-01-2018, 09:27 PM)fredtoast Wrote: First a little history. Last time we played the NFC South we went undefeated (3-0-1), but that is not much to brag about because the Panthers won the division with a losing record (7-8-1).  Bengals have a .512 win percentage all-time against the division and are .500 or better against the top three teams (Panthers .500, Saints .538, Falcons .615).  Tampa Bay comes to Cincinnati this year, but we are 0-4 at home against the Bucs since 1989.

2018

Saints at home.  Saints had arguably the best offense in the league last year.  Their passing game was 5th in total yards and first in yards per attempt.  Running game was 5th in total yards and 2nd in yards per carry.  The Defense was 10th in points allowed.  They only lost to the Vikings in the playoffs because of one of the most miraculous finishes in NFL history.

Buccaneers at home.  Jameis Winston has developed into a solid QB, but he is not near good enough to carry one of the worst running games (27th) and defenses (dead last in yards allowed).

At Falcons.  Like the Saints, the Falcons won a playoff game last year.  Matt Ryan had a down year for him, but the Falcons run game was not bad (13th yds, 8th yd per carry) and their defense was top 10 (8th points, 9th yds)

At Panthers.  Panthers were the third team from the NFCS to make the playoffs last year.  Passing offense was nothing special (28th yds, 24th passer rating), but Cam had no WRs.  Running games was strong (4th yds, 8th yds per carry), and the defense was solid (7th yds, 11th scoring).  Panthers run offense is skewed by Cam.  He led the team with 754 yards and a 5.4 avg, but the top 2 RBs (Stewart, McCafferty) combined to average just 69 yards per game and 3.5 yards per carry.  No one else had more than 100 rushing yards for the season.

I know you can not always project next years record from the previous season, but I think the Saints, Falcons, and Panthers will all be good teams again next year.  NFCS has three of the best QBs in the league (Brees, Ryan, and  Newton all Super Bowl QBs) and another who is above average (Winston).  I also think having AJ, along with Mixon being our bell cow, 

That was the only reason they lost?  They only played one play in a playoff game?

Seems strange, but the NFL does have weird rules now, so 

Their division should be tough again this year, but I think Matt Ryan is on the decline (didn't have a great year last year), Brees is 39, Cam will be 29 coming off a season where he had the 2nd lowest yards in his career (and only played 14 games the season he had his lowest), 2nd most INTS (next to his rookie year), most rushing yards (but also most attempts and most fumbles), and the Bucs have talent on offense, but Winston isn't consistent enough to scare me.  I also think that our offense absolutely torches them.