TSN football analyst Chris Schultz breaks down all the teams and each division in the NFL leading up to the regular season. Next up, the New Orleans Saints, Carolina Panthers, Atlanta Falcons and Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the NFC South. New Orleans Saints The Saints to me are the best team in the NFC South. Last year they went 8-0 at home and 3-5 on the road so you know what goal number one is, to win enough games so everything in the NFC goes through the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. There are three quarterbacks who will play with great urgency this year alone. First is Peyton Manning, who is entering his 17th year in the league. Second is Tom Brady, who will be starting his 15th year of NFL football. And the third would be Drew Brees who will on September 7 begin his 14th season. Brees knows that the opportunity is there but his team needs to catch up to the 49ers and Seahawks to make it happen, and this may be the year to do it. Two years ago the Saints defence was breaking records for most yards allowed, but last year they finished as the fourth-best in total defence. Rob Ryan as a coordinator has a plan and with the influx of new personnel that plan may be better than ever in reality. The only major weakness in the Saints defence last year was pass defence which was 19th best in the league. With veteran free agent Champ Bailey, highly paid Jairus Byrd, a very good cornerback in Keenan Lewis and a healthy Kenny Vaccaro, pure football logic says pass defence should improve. The Saints do need more turnovers as every team does but with better established players in the secondary that should happen. The Carolina Panthers had the best defence in the division last year but the Saints were not far away to being their equal and have a better offence. Which brings us to Brees. It has been identified on a regular basis but the Sean Payton-Drew Brees relationship works. Pete Carmichael Jr. is the offensive coordinator but Payton has been with Brees during so many ups and downs and highs and lows that there are very few if any problems on offence that cant be solved between the two. The Saints do need to run the ball better after finishing 25th last year but if they achieve a second-best passing attack they could surpass Denver and be the best. Lost in Mannings record 55 touchdown passes last year was the fact Brees was next with 39. Three things to watch for this year with the Saints. The first is left tackle Terron Armstead. He established himself last year, and this year needs 16 games of near excellence to solidify his status as top player. Second is Brandin Cooks as a replacement for Darrin Sproles. All indications are he can do it but can he make an impact every game? And third, the centre position. There is no veteran player so the unknown is can someone arrive to take over and be shot-gun perfect for every pass play that Brees calls? Last year Carolina won the division so history says they wont this year. The Saints are ascending on defence and remain consistently explosive on offence, plus they dominate at home. No other team has that balance in the NFC South. New Orleans Saints, first in the South of the NFC. Carolina Panthers The Panthers had a great year in 2013. They went 12-4 in the regular season and hosted their first playoff game in five years. The main reason was Cam Newton and his 24 touchdown passes in association with 585 yards rushing. Newton was the second-leading rusher on the entire team with only DeAngelo Williams having more rushing yards with 843. Defensively Carolina is one of the best in the business. Second in total defence, second in run defence, sixth in pass defence, second in least points allowed and the best at getting to the quarterback with 60 sacks. But this year could be different, especially with the ball. The entire left side of the offensive line has to find new starters and one star. Jordon Gross at left tackle was a star in the world of offensive line play, and is now retired. Still maybe of even greater significance, Carolina has to find not one, not two, but three receivers to mesh with Newton. All indications are that Kelvin Benjamin at 65" and 245 lbs is on his way, but you still need two more. Whether it is Jason Avant, Jerricho Cotchery or former Buc Tiquan Underwood I dont think Ron Rivera as a head coach cares. He just wants that elusive downfield chemistry between quarterback and target to be evident from Game 1 onwards at Tampa Bay. The defensive team you can depend on. Defensive rookie of the year Luke Kuechly was also voted defensive player of the year, which is reminiscent of Lawrence Taylor awards. He had 156 tackles and right next to him Thomas Davis had 123 tackles. Although the secondary has a veteran presence with former Saint Roman Harper, and former Falcon Thomas DeCoud, the defensive front seven remains the strength of the team. Only San Francisco could compare between linebacker and defensive line talent. Come to think of it when you look at Newton and Kuechly the Panthers may have the best individual players on offence and defence on one team. Yet in the tough NFC South another 12-4 season will be difficult. The Panthers play divisional opponent Tampa Bay in Week 1 but dont play another divisional opponent until October 30, a Thursday night against the Saints. The Panthers will be celebrating their 20th anniversary as a franchise this year, but have never had back-to-back winning seasons. This should be the year. Carolina to finish second in the NFC South. Atlanta Falcons If Detroit lost Calvin Johnson it would affect Matthew Stafford. If Dallas lost Dez Bryant it would affect Tony Romo. And last year without Julio Jones, Matt Ryan was just not the same. Your top player is your top player because he works so well with your other top players. Without Jones, Roddy White and Steven Jackson, Atlanta could not outscore opponents and had to depend on defending opponents and did not get it done. Seven of the Falcons 12 losses were by seven points or less and most of them were to playoff teams. Even though they were 4-12 last year Mike Smith has an impressive won-loss record of 60-36. He knows how to build a team or perhaps this year, rebuild one. With health at receiver and a proven quarterback the Falcons should be able to have a top 10 passing attack, but need a new star at running back. The job is wide open. On both sides of the line of scrimmage Atlanta drafted and signed players to make an impact. Still, you wont really know until about a third of the way through the season is completed how good you are in that area of football. With quarterbacks, running backs, receivers, defensive backs and linebackers you kind of know early if you have a quality starter because the numbers show it. Offensive and defensive line play is not about the spectacular play as much as consistency of play. The investment in talent is there but will be recognized in the second half of the season. Everything else shows up in the first half. In trying to build up a team you plan, study and evaluate, and spend money. Or you sign an unknown free agent named Paul Worrilow out of Delaware and he leads your team in tackles. If the Falcons can find a couple more Paul Worrilows the the defence that was 27th overall, 31st against the run, 21st against the pass and 27th in fewest points allowed will improve. But they may need two or three of those types of surprises. It seems like every division is a tough division but with the NFC South it is very true. New Orleans with Sean Payton and Drew Brees will be good. Carolina as a surprise team last year will not be taken for granted. And Lovie Smith in Tampa Bay will improve that team. The Falcons are a team that is trying to change from finesse to physical, and thats a process that may take more than one year. Atlanta to finish third in the NFC South. Tampa Bay Buccaneers After the 2013 season, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers made a coaching change from Greg Schiano to Lovie Smith. The personality change between the two is similar to that of the comparison between a dictatorship and a democracy. Lovie Smith is a proven winner. Whether it be his time in Tampa Bay as a positional coach, or as the head coach of the Chicago Bears - where he led his team to Super Bowl XLI before being defeated by the Indianapolis Colts - Lovie Smith knows NFL football. His downfall in Chicago was his inability to create a balance between a great defensive team and a consistently inefficient offence. With the Bears, his offences were no more than average with four different offensive coordinators taking turns at the helm. Still, as much as the Tennessee Titans are my surprise team to watch in the AFC, the Bucs are my surprise team in the NFC. The NFC South was already a competitive division, but it became even dangerous when the Bucs hired Smith. An 8-8 or better season is a possibility for the Buccaneers this season. Quarterback Josh McCown will be entering his 12th season in the NFL this year. When you hit your 12th year in the league, you have likely seen every look defences have to offer, this means McCown should have good ball security skills and be able to avoid turnovers. Behind McCown, I believe Mike Glennon is a top back up. After being the starter on a 4-12 team, you learn through disappointment. The combination of McCown and Glennon at quarterback is pretty good and, though the offensive line is completely re-built, running back Doug Martin is back from injury. If Martin can stay healthy, the Bucs will have the next Warrick Dunn with even more power. Martin may be only at five-foot-11, but he weighs in at 215 pounds. At wide receiver and tight end, the Bucs are huge; Vincent Jackson is six-foot-five, 230-pound, first-round pick Mike Evans is six-foot-five, 225 pounds and all three tight ends are between six-foot-three and six-foot-five. The taller a body, the longer the arms, the longer the arms the more inaccurate a pass can be while still be completed within the "catch radius." The Bucs will have a very fundamentally sound, relatively simple and very fast defence under Smith. Their group features Gerald McCoy at defensive tackle, Mason Foster at middle linebacker and a pair of safeties in the form of the expensive Dashon Goldson and potentially great Mark Barron. Smith will find that his breakout pass rushers and the pass defenders may already be on the roster. The Bucs will see Drew Brees, Matt Ryan and Cam Newton twice this season, and also face match-ups against Ben Roethisberger, Joe Flacco, Andy Dalton and Aaron Rodgers. Due to their schedule, the Buccaneers will need a good pass rush and great pass coverage all year long to stay competitive. Tampa Bays time is coming, just not this year. Buccaneers to finish fourth place in the NFC south. Archie Manning Jersey . -- With his team down 16 points in the second quarter and headed for another blowout loss at home, Golden State Warriors coach Mark Jackson yelled out to his players to keep shooting and keep fighting on defence. Andrus Peat Jersey .C. -- Authorities say the brother of Atlanta Falcons wide receiver Roddy White has been shot and killed outside a South Carolina nightclub. http://www.officialneworleanssaintsfootb...n-jersey-womens. -- Shanshan Feng was alone in her opinion about the pin positions in the Kraft Nabisco Championship. P. J. Williams Jersey . -- Edwin Encarnacion hit a three-run homer, Colby Rasmus drove in two runs and the Toronto Blue Jays beat the Detroit Tigers 9-4 on Saturday. Bobby Hebert Jersey . -- A year ago, Flavia Pennetta was close to retiring from tennis.CALGARY -- All signs point to Bo Levi Mitchell being Calgarys starter Friday against the Edmonton Eskimos although the best term to describe the Stampeders quarterback situation this season is fluid. Head coach and general manager John Hufnagel indicated the order of selection on his quarterback depth chart is Mitchell, Drew Tate and Kevin Glenn. But he cautioned that could change prior to the Labour Day rematch in Edmonton. "If we had to play today, Bo would be No. 1, Drew would be No. 2 and Kevin would be No. 3," Hufnagel said Wednesday. Glenn started but Mitchell finished Mondays 37-34 win over Edmonton at McMahon Stadium. Calgary led 37-7 in the fourth quarter before Edmonton rallied to score 27 straight points and make a game of it. Mitchell completed 11-of-18 passes for 225 yards and two touchdowns in relief of Glenn, who left in the second quarter with a bruised knee. It appears the 23-year-old Mitchell, Calgarys No. 3 quarterback in training camp, will get the ball again. With Tate and Glenn moving in and out of the lineup this season, Mitchell is getting plenty of work for a third-string player. "Its another chance for me to get out there and get some more experience, get out there and play some games with the guys and try and get another win," Mitchell said. "Youre playing the same team, but its a completely different game. "Youre definitely not going to prepare the exact seem. Youre going to change some things up." Tate began the season as the incumbent but has struggled with an injury to his right throwing arm. The 28-year-old hasnt played since the fourth quarter of a July 5 loss to Saskatchewan. Glenn, 34, has started six games in Tates absence but hasnt finished three of them due to injuries. Mitchell started and went the distance in Calgarys 37-24 win over Winnipeg on July 26, throwing for 376 passing yards and three TDs. He has completed 51-of-72 passes (70.8 per cent) with nine touchdowns and no interceptions. The Eastern Washington product was slow off the bench Monday. Calgary recovered its own second-half kickoff and was primed to score from the seven-yard line when a Mitchell pass intended for Maurice Price was knocked down and nearly intercepted by Joe Burnett. The Stampeders settled for a field goal. Mitchell did throw two short TD passes to Price later in the second half, which proved to be important given Edmontons late surge. The explosive Price had three touchdown catches and was named the CFLs offensive player of the weeek Wednesday.dddddddddddd If Mitchell starts Friday, Hufnagel wants a more polished performance. "Just to take care of the football, manage the game and do the things we want our quarterback to do," Hufnagel said. "Get the ball to our playmakers. "There were some mistakes that occurred at the quarterback position when he was in the game that I would like to see not be repeated." Glenn wasnt ruling himself out of Fridays game but that prospect seemed unlikely two days out. "I came out and practised and was still a little sore, so right now well go day by day," he said. "You have to be completely healthy because they have a good front four. "In this league, youve got to be able as a quarterback to sometimes get away from the rush and defensive guys. You want to make sure youre 100 per cent to go out there and play." Tate was expected to return for an Aug. 9 game against Saskatchewan but had a setback to start that week. "Im ready to go in and play if I have to play," Tate said. "Im still not to the point where Id like to be, but Im at the point where I believe that if I do go, Ill have confidence in my arm to get first downs." A solid 7-2 record has helped make Calgarys quarterback carousel seem less dramatic and more the accepted norm. The atmosphere in Calgary is in stark contrast to Edmonton (1-8), which has lost five straight by five points or less and hasnt won at home this season. Quarterback Mike Reilly was sacked seven times Monday, with Calgary defensive lineman Charleston Hughes accounting for three of them and claiming defensive player-of-the-week honours. Although Reilly got up after every hit, Edmonton cant afford to have its starter take a beating, especially with such a quick turnaround for a game the Eskimos desperately need to win. Eskimos GM Ed Hervey publicly lambasted his team Tuesday. He singled out Alberta-born offensive lineman Simeon Rottier by stating, "It wouldnt bother me if he didnt play another down this year." The state of the Edmonton franchise makes Calgarys seem serene by comparison even with the somewhat unsettled quarterback situation. While theres limited sympathy for the opposition, Herveys comments raised Prices eyebrows. "I saw it for myself on TV," Price said. "I dont agree with how he did that, especially singling out the one player out like that by name. "He shouldnt do it. It doesnt make anything better by doing that." 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