NFL
Super Bowl Backups?
By: JJ Lanier
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
One of the main topics of discussion as we exit the football season is the importance of having a capable backup at the quarterback position.
Teams like Green Bay and Miami struggled mightily when they were forced to rely on their 2nd string QB.
I mean, Miami had so much faith in Matt Moore they signed Jeff George’s twin brother from a different mother, Jay Cutler, and started him Week 1.
Teams like Minnesota, and obviously Philadelphia, we’re able to keep their season afloat despite losing their starting quarterbacks.
So, this got me thinking: How much faith should fans of the NFC South have in their respective team’s backup quarterback?
Since things could, and probably will change over the next few months, I’m going with who the backup quarterback was at the end of the season.
Atlanta Falcons: Matt Schaub. All you need to know is that Schaub is currently 54 going on 83 and over the past 2 years has only thrown three more passes in an actual NFL game than I have.
Look, I like Schaub’s game, from 7-8 years ago and if this were being written during his first stint with Atlanta I would be really high on his ability to lead the Falcons for an extended period, if needed.
Unfortunately, that’s not the case. I can’t imagine a scenario where Dan Quinn doesn’t bring someone else in back up Matt Ryan. Falcons’ fans better hope Ryan is the Cal Ripken of NFL Quarterbacks.
Carolina Panthers: Derek Anderson. See Matt Schaub. The only difference is I can count on Anderson to throw at least one red zone interception for every game he plays.
If Schaub actually played I feel like he would just hand the ball off every play, which is what I would want the Panthers to do with Anderson.
New Orleans Saints: Chase Daniel. This one is interesting, mainly because I have no idea how good Daniel is.
I know a lot of teams think highly of him and he’s made really good money over his 10 year career based on those opinions. I also know he’s never thrown more than 38 passes in a season.
In fact, he’s only thrown 78 passes in his entire career. Seriously, there’s not enough info on him for me to even poke fun at. He’s truly “a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma.”
Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Ryan Fitzpatrick. I guess out of all the backup quarterbacks the NFC South has to offer, Fitzpatrick is the best.
I’m not really sure that’s saying a whole lot though. I will say this, he did do an admirable job filling for Jameis Winston at various times this past year. And he has proven himself to be a decent quarterback in recent years.
I guess it’s not completely out of the realm of possibility to see him have the type of season Case Keenum had if Fitzpatrick needed to run the show in Tampa. Not saying it’s likely to happen, just that it’s not impossible.
Basically, while the NFC South may have the strongest group of starting of quarterbacks in the league, they also have the male version of the “Golden Girls” as their backups.
And if I’m being completely honest, with the exception of Ryan Fitzpatrick, I’m pretty sure I’d rather have Bea Arthur as my backup as opposed to the other three. You can even include Fitzpatrick if you’re giving me Betty White.
What Super Bowl LII Means For NFL
By: JJ Lanier
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
After what seemed like 2 decades of underwhelming Super Bowl games, 3 out of the last 4 years have been anything but boring. You had New England’s win over Seattle 4 years ago.
New England’s come from behind, overtime victory over Atlanta last year. And of course, Philadelphia winning this year’s Super Bowl for every football fan not from the Boston area. So, here are a few observations from this year’s game.
1- I now have a huge man crush on Philadelphia’s head coach, Doug Pederson. His play calling and willingness to have faith in his offense to convert on some of those fourth downs is something that as a Carolina Panthers fan, feels foreign to me.
I just automatically assumed you were required to punt on 4th down, no matter the situation. Plus, Pederson makes me feel like my approach to Madden 2018- never punting, ever- means I too could be a NFL head coach.
Also, what he and Offensive Coordinator, Frank Reich, did in adjusting their offensive scheme to mesh with Nick Foles’ strength and comfort level, may be one of the more impressive coaching jobs I’ve seen in years.
2- Now that Nick Foles is a Super Bowl MVP- just marinate on that for a minute- what team in desperate need of a quarterback mortgages their future to tries and trade for him?
Also, will we see a run on teams overpaying for backup quarterbacks, they previously wouldn’t have thought twice about? If you thought the backup quarterback was the popular player among fans before this Super Bowl, I have a feeling you haven’t seen anything yet.
3- There are a plethora of reasons to be giddy watching Tom Brady and the Patriots lose, much like Nick Cage seems to take pride in making “Ghost Rider” movies, or really any movie where there’s no plot and a lot of things blow up, for that matter.
Regardless of how deep seeded that dislike is for both Patriots and/or their quarterback, you should be impressed with Brady.
I’m 37 years old and anytime I run a 5k in under 30 minutes I feel like the local news channel should be producing a segment on just how awesome and in shape I am.
Tom Brady is 3 years older than I am, and he just threw for over 500 yards in the Super Bowl!
I still felt like New England was somehow going to pull out a win when they were inside their own 10, with 58 seconds left because Tom Brady was the quarterback.
4- While New England’s run of 8 Super Bowl appearances in 17 years is incredible, what may be even more impressive is that every single one of them has been a good game. Upset win against the Rams in ‘01; game winning field goals against Panthers and Eagles in ‘03, ‘04; goal line interception in ‘15 against Seattle; last year’s overtime win versus Atlanta.
Throw in their two close losses to the Giants and this year’s game, and basically every Super Bowl New England has participated in has come down the wire. Look, I despise the Patriots as much as anyone whose last name isn’t Damon or Affleck, but they do put on a good show.
So, if you want the early odds on who will be back in the Super Bowl next year, my guess is New England and whatever NFC team has the best backup quarterback. I mean, the NFL is a copycat league, right?
How Long Can Falcons Fly?
By: Kenneth Harrison Jr.
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
The Atlanta Falcons had a disappointing season in my opinion. Coming off an 11-5 2016 with a Super Bowl appearance they regressed. There was only a one game difference because they finished 10-6 this season.
That one game made a huge difference in playoff seeding. The 2017 team barely made the playoffs, getting the #6 seed. That means every playoff game is on the road. The 2016 team was the #2 seed and both of their playoff games were at home.
The biggest difference was obviously the loss of offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan. Atlanta was the highest scoring offense in the NFL last season. They were second in the league in total offense, averaging 416 yards per game.
Shanahan left to become a head coach in San Francisco. Steve Sarkisian replaced him and I thought that was a poor hire when it happened. The offense slipped to eighth averaging 365 ypg. The only thing to look forward to is maybe the team will play better in the second year in Sarkisian’s system. The same thing happened under Shanahan.
The team did improve drastically on defense. The 2016 team finished the season 25th in total defense. They surrendered 25.4 points per game and 371 ypg. The Falcons jumped to ninth in 2017 allowing 19.7 ppg and 318 ypg.
Head coach Dan Quinn has the defense going in the right direction. I think they can be even better in 2018, possibly finishing in the top five.
Defensive end Takk McKinley was a rookie this season and he played fairly well. He finished the season with 6 sacks and 20 total tackles. Not very impressive but I expect him to make a big jump in his second year.
The same thing happened with Vic Beasley and in his second season, he led the league with 15.5 sacks. He also regressed and only had 5 sacks in 2017. I think the emergence of McKinley will force teams to stop double teaming Beasley and his sack total should go up. I think they can become the best pass rushing duo in the NFL.
Matt Ryan was named the NFL MVP in 2016. He passed for nearly 5,000 yards, 38 touchdowns and completed 70% of his passes. This past season his totals dropped to 4,095 yards, 20 touchdowns and 64.7% completion rate. He also threw 12 interceptions compared to just 7 the previous season.
Ryan has showed us that he is a top ten quarterback for the past decade. He has the potential to be a top five QB once he becomes acclimated to a system. He has elite weapons like Julio Jones and Devonta Freeman to help him.
The best-case scenario for Atlanta in 2018 is to be one of the most balanced teams on both sides of the ball.
The offense needs to return to an elite level while the defense improves. With the young talent added from the last two drafts this should happen.
If the team does not improve next year then I think the championship window for Atlanta is almost closed. It will be time to reevaluate everyone on the roster and possibly start over.
Jaguars On The Prowl
By: Kipp Branch
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
Most Jag fans felt like this was going to be the year at the beginning of the 4th quarter last Sunday in Foxboro.
New England came back from a 10-point fourth-quarter deficit, the Jaguars had no idea what hit them. Sure, Tom Brady doing Tom Brady things played a major role here. Tom Brady is the best QB in NFL history and Jacksonville became another Brady victim in the AFC title game.
The Jaguars went 7-2 with a playoff win over Buffalo at Ever Bank Field in 2017. The Jags went 5-5 on the road with a signature win over Pittsburgh in the playoffs.
The biggest turnaround for Jacksonville in 2017 was the running game. In the five previous seasons the Jags ranked no higher than 22nd in the league in rushing offense.
In 2017, the Jags were first in the NFL in rushing offense averaging 141.4 yards a game. The biggest reason for this was the addition of Leonard Fournette. The rookie from LSU had 1,040 rushing yards and 268 carries for 9 TD’s and carried the ball over 20 times in each of the Jags three playoff games. Fournette had 109 yards in the big road playoff win against the Steelers.
The Jaguars offense finished the season ranked in the top 6 of the league in rush yards, points per game, yards per game, and time of possession, but yet Blake Bortles takes a lot of heat from the fan base for underperforming.
Bortles passed for 3,687 yards which was in the top half of the league. He passed for 21 TD’s which is middle of the pack and threw 13 interceptions. Cam Newton and Ben Roethlisberger threw more picks than Bortles but yet they don’t get the heat from the fans and media that Blake does.
Bortles is still a young QB that will continue to improve. The Jaguars averaged 224.6 passing yards per game which ranks 17th in the league. Did I mention that the Jaguars led the NFL in rushing offense? Translation is that Jacksonville is right on track on improving the offense which is what Doug Marrone has stated all along.
With the addition of Cam Robinson, the OL improved dramatically. The running back position is set with Fournette for a decade. The WR corps probably needs upgrading in the upcoming draft. The perception is that the jury is still out on Bortles.
On defense, the Jaguars finished in the top two in the league total yards allowed, points per game, and sacks with 55. Jacksonville led the NFL is pass defense only giving up 169.9 yards per game.
The only warning sign for Jacksonville is rushing defense where the Jags allowed 116.3 rushing yards per game which ranked 22nd in the league. The Jags may need to add some depth at middle linebacker and some run stuffing road grader depth in the middle of the defense.
The Jaguars have the best CB tandem in the NFL in A.J. Bouye and Jalen Ramsey and maybe the best overall secondary in the NFL that totaled 21 picks in 2017.
This defense is special at rushing the passer. Calais Campbell had 14.5 sacks, Yannick Ngakoue had 12, and Malik Jackson and Dante Fowler had 8 each thus earning the title “Saxonville” in 2017.
Telvin Smith led the team with 102 tackles and Myles Jack followed with 90.
This team isn’t going anywhere folks. The Jags are built like a cold weather team that can run the football and play defense in January.
The New England Patriots run may be over after this Super Bowl because I guarantee you a 41-year-old Tom Brady in 2018 does not want to see this defense again.
If I told you before the season the Jags would play in the AFC title game you would have said pass me some of what you are smoking.
No more tarps covering empty seats in the upper decks Jaguar nation. This team has earned your support.
Super Bowl Preview
By: JJ Lanier
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
There’s a line in “Spaceballs” where Rick Moranis’ character, Dark Helmet, says “So, Lone Star, now you see that evil will always triumph because good is dumb.”
As soon as New England defeated Jacksonville, cementing a spot in their 8th Super Bowl over the past 16 years, that was the first thing that popped into my head.
Of course, after Philadelphia completely manhandled Minnesota, I suddenly had that part of movie playing in my head on a loop. (Good lord, I hope the commercials will be enjoyable).
That being said, allow me to be one of approximately 7,385 articles you’ll read on Super Bowl LII.
There will be fair number of juicy stories, mainly coming from the Patriots side. (Did Tom Brady finally win Patriot of the Week?!?!?)
You’ll get your share of “experts” over analyzing every last detail, down to the Eagles conversion rate on 3rd and 3, during their 1st possession of the 2nd quarter.
To me, it’s all going to come down to how Philadelphia performs. I know that sounds kind of basic, but let me explain.
You pretty much know what you’re going to get from New England, for the most part. Their defense will give up a fair amount of yardage, but will tighten up in the red zone. Besides the two drives Jacksonville had at the beginning of the game, they were only able to score 2 fields goals.
Offensively, Tom Brady will do what Tom Brady does in the Super Bowl, basically he’ll throw for 300 yards and 3 touchdowns.
You can almost count on all those things taking place.
So, the question is what will we get from Philadelphia? In regards to this, there are two specific things I’m curious to see.
The first, revolves around Philly’s defense. The Eagles are known for being opportunistic on the defensive side and that hasn’t changed over the past few years.
As great as Tom Brady is, and has been in Super Bowl games, he does take chances that Philadelphia should be able to take advantage of. As someone who had their defense in his fantasy league, when they get an interception they are looking to score. More often than most, they find the end zone.
Don’t get me wrong, Brady will take advantage of their aggressiveness; can Philadelphia capitalize on Brady’s mistakes as well?
The next concerns both the Eagles head coach and offensive coordinator, Doug Pederson and Frank Reich, respectively.
You know the Patriots are going to come up with some sort of scheme to slow down Philadelphia’s running game, which has been one of the league’s best throughout the season.
Knowing that, can Pederson and Reich put together a game plan that will ease the comfort level of Nick Foles, so that he’ll be confident to make the throws you know he is going to have to make.
So far in playoffs, they have done a terrific job with this against two defenses in Atlanta and Minnesota, that should have been more dominant than they were.
Philadelphia has an awful lot of talent on that side of the ball and should be able to move the ball with more success than New England’s first two playoff opponents.
When all is said and done, who will walk away victorious? Well, I’ve learned not to bet against New England, so I guess I’ll go with the Patriots.
Then again, I may not even watch the game- it’s been a while since I sat down and watched “Spaceballs”.
Jaguars Roar
By: JJ Lanier
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
When you look back over the NFL season, it shouldn’t really be all that surprising that the Jacksonville Jaguars were at least able to make the playoffs.
For one, it’s become a yearly ritual for the playoffs to consist of around a half dozen teams that didn’t make it to the postseason the year before. Jacksonville was a hot pick to be one of those teams last year, until Blake Bortles did his best Akili Smith impersonation and the Jaguars season prominently went the way of Kevin Spacey’s career.
Coming into this season, Jacksonville had a favorable schedule, a defense that people thought would be very good (not sure anyone thought they would be this good) and a possible running attack led by Leonard Fournette. As long as Bortles could semi keep it together they would have a legit shot of returning to the playoffs.
However, all that being said, you’re straight up lying if you predicted Jacksonville to be playing in the AFC Championship game.
Yes, I know they had Buffalo at home, another “surprise” team that was more or less a mirror image of how Jacksonville plays.
And sure, they did best Pittsburgh, in Pittsburgh, back in Week Five. But c’mon, if I told you Roethlisberger was going to throw for over 400 yards and the Steelers would put up 42 points, how much a chance would you give Jacksonville to win?
Probably about as much a chance as most will give them in Foxboro Stadium. Well, as a former president once said “Fool me once, shame on – shame on you. Fool me – you can’t get fooled again.” Obviously, that isn’t quite how the saying goes, but you get the gist.
I don’t expect the Jaguars defense to be able to stop Brady completely, but they are stingy enough to slow down the Patriots offense and should be able to keep Jacksonville in the game; barring their offense decides to help them out.
This of course, is the big question. You have to imagine Belichick will load the box in order to stop one of the league’s best rushing attacks, but that’s easier said than done.
The Patriots defense is much improved from where they were at the beginning of the season, but Jacksonville should be able to have success on the ground.
However, like every other conversation concerning the Jaguars over the past two years, it will come down to Blake Bortles and whether or not he can- 1. Make the important throw when needed, or 2. Not turn into Ryan Leaf. At this point, I’d feel more comfortable trying to predict which athlete/music mogul Khloe Kardashian is going to date next. (Officially, my vote is for Kyrie Irving. It just feels right, you know?)
One thing that New England has been able to use as an advantage in home playoff games of years past, but that may not be much of a factor against Jacksonville, is the weather.
As of right now, the skies will be clear and the temperature will be in the 50’s. Granted it’s not Jacksonville, FL weather, but it’s hardly the type of weather that should hinder their play.
I know New England is a heavy favorite, as they should be, but I just can’t shake this feeling Jacksonville will put up more of a fight than most expect.
Regardless, making it to the AFC Championship is farther than just about anyone would’ve imagined before the season started….no matter what they tell you.
Falcons Flight Ended
By: TJ Hartnett
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
It’s a funny thing about sports; most seasons end with heartbreak. After all, there’s only one champion when it’s all said and done. Only one team takes home the Stanley Cup. Only one team wins the World Series. Only one team can be the CFB National Champion (or two, if you count UCF). And only one team can win the Super Bowl.
Atlanta knows that all too well after last year. All but one group of fans stands triumphant after the dust settles, the rest go home empty-handed regardless if they go 0-16 during the regular season or if they get knocked out in the big game itself. They’ve lost.
But, being a sports fan is also eternally optimistic. After all, the seasons keep turning over, resetting everyone’s records at 0-0 and bringing the hope of improvement.
There was a cloud of misery over Atlanta the week after the Super Bowl in 2017. But, as winter turned to spring and spring to summer, Falcons fans began to look ahead to the season yet to come, wondering what the chip on their team’s shoulder would motivate them to do.
The season came and, at best, brought mixed results. Good stretches, bad stretches, blown leads (that without fail brought up that damn Super Bowl again), all manner of praise and criticism. They battled into the playoffs and even past the Wild Card game.
Then they lost again. They lead the Eagles after the first two quarters and saw the game slip away in the second half with a pair of unanswered field goals.
It’s not a collapse that compares to inarguably the worst day in Georgia sports history (still true, UGA fans – sorry), but it was another winnable game that wasn’t won. This one featured a game-winning drive that didn’t deliver the win after the Falcons failed to cross the goal line from the six-yard line.
It really does beg the question: will the Falcons ever be able to win a Super Bowl?
I’ll admit, this is the kind of stupid, broadly nonsensical question that is a great example of sensationally dumb sports writing. I can’t make an actual argument for or against this because this team will consist of entirely different people in ten years.
But I do fear that the Matt Ryan and Julio Jones window is closing.
It shouldn’t be. This team has talent, and lots of it. They weren’t going to live up to 2016’s offensive output in any situation, but they were a mess all year long in 2017.
I’ve already seen people calling for OC Steve Sarkisian’s job. Maybe he should get fired.
Maybe that’s overly reactionary and having yet another OC come in and mix things up so soon would be a terrible idea. I don’t know. But I know that the Falcons have had leads in their last game of the season for two years in a row now and haven’t been able to close the door.
I don’t know if Atlanta has a curse of some kind. Those tend to be more well-publicized in baseball, where Atlanta actually has a championship. But, the Falcons have put good teams on the field several times for Matt Ryan. They put good teams on the field for Michael Vick, too.
For Falcons fans, it can seem like Atlanta is the only team in the world and when they lose, that’s the biggest loss of the year.
But 31 teams don’t win the Super Bowl every year. Only one does.
That may not be much of a comfort, but take some consolation in knowing that you’ve got lots of company, every time this happens.
And remember that while 31 teams don’t win the Super Bowl every year, one team does. And winter will be spring before you know it.
Black Monday
By: Kenneth Harrison Jr.
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
The NFL regular season ended Sunday. Changes were made immediately after that, which brings us to the aftermath of Black Monday. Some moves were obvious, while others have been very puzzling to say the least.
The Chicago Bears fired John Fox. Fox is a pretty decent coach, winning the NFC and AFC Championship with Carolina and Denver. He suffered double digit losses every year in his three seasons in Chicago. His overall record with the Bears is 14-34.
The coaching change makes sense but another move by the Bears is a head scratcher. The general manager Ryan Pace has been with the organization for the same amount of time as Fox and he received a contract extension.
I’m not sure why he was rewarded for not building talented teams but if Chicago doesn’t mind why should I? His replacement will likely be an offensive coach like New England’s Josh McDaniel’s or Minnesota’s Pat Shurmur.
Jim Caldwell was fired by Detroit. Caldwell has been there since 2014 and he’s done a decent job. His only losing season was in 2015. The Lions were 9-7 the last two seasons and his overall record with the franchise is 35-28 (.556). That’s the best winning percentage for a Lions head coach since Buddy Parker in the 1950’s.
The Lions have asked for permission to interview Texans Defensive Coordinator Mike Vrabel.
Chuck Pagano has been fired by Indianapolis. He’s been in Indy since 2012 and this year was his first losing season. Starting quarterback Andrew Luck missed the entire season and the Colts went 4-12.
I think most teams would struggle without their starting quarterback. Their roster had glaring weaknesses even when Luck was healthy. The Colts were 8-8 in 2015 and 2016. I think the GM should also be fired with the coach in most cases and this is one of them.
The Colts will also interview Mike Vrabel but Jim Harbough is their top candidate.
Oakland fired Jack Del Rio after three seasons. The Raiders finished 6-10, which was disappointing because they were 12-4 in 2015. That was Del Rio’s only winning season in Oakland.
Their top candidate is their former coach and current analyst Jon Gruden. I think that would be a terrible hire but it would bring a lot of attention for the franchise.
Marvin Lewis was in the final year of his contract in Cincinnati coming into the season. He’s been there since 2003, making him the second-longest tenured coach in the NFL behind Bill Belichick.
The Bengals were one of the worst franchises before he got there so he did help them improve into a winning team. I have to mention he also never won a playoff game during his tenure.
For that I think he should have been fired a while ago. The Bengals went 6-9-1 in 2016 and 7-9 in 2017.
This next move was very confusing to me. New York Jets coach Todd Bowles has been with the team since 2015. His first year the team was 10-6. The last two seasons they were 5-11. He and GM Mike Maccagnan signed contract extensions to continue through 2020.
The Super NFC South
By: JJ Lanier
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
At the beginning of the season it looked as though a battle would be taking place between the AFC West and the NFC South for NFL dominance.
As we approach the final stretch of the season it looks like the AFC West will only get one team into the playoffs and that basically because they have to have at least one representative.
On the other hand, the NFC South has held up their end of the preseason bargain and are looking to be the toughest division in football.
The question regarding the division isn’t whether or not they’ll get two teams into the playoffs, but could they possibly get three?
For the sake of argument let’s go ahead and assume that Philadelphia (East), Minnesota (North), Saints (South) and the Los Angeles Rams (West) will all win their respective divisions.
Obviously, anything can happen over the next few weeks, but my brain is fried on college football playoff hypotheticals, so I’m taking the easy way out on this one.
Were this scenario to play out, that would really leave only four viable teams for the remaining wild card spots: Seahawks, Lions, Falcons, and Panthers.
Seattle has probably the second easiest schedule of those four teams, but I just don’t have the confidence in the Mom to make a legitimate run at the playoffs.
Their offense has resorted to Russell Wilson running around in the backfield and making some sort of ridiculous throw to Doug Baldwin, off of a busted play.
With injuries plaguing the defensive side of the ball the “Legion Of Boom” has turned into the Legion of “We’d like to hit you hard, but we’re a little fragile right now, so we’re just going to push you and hope that you fall down.”
Could Seattle make the playoffs? Absolutely. Will they ultimately make me regret saying that they won’t make it? Without a doubt.
So, that leaves Detroit as the main threat to the NFC South sending 3 teams to the playoffs.
There are two things the Lions have going for them. First, they have a much easier schedule from here on out. of their remaining games, Detroit doesn’t play a single team with a winning record.
It’s almost the exact opposite for Atlanta and Carolina. Secondly, and this could be what propels Detroit into the playoffs, is that Carolina still has one more game against Atlanta and New Orleans, while the Falcons and Saints will play each other twice. Did I mention they both have a game with Minnesota still on their schedules, too?
The one thing that both the Falcons and Panthers do have on the Lions though, is that they are currently one and two games ahead of Detroit in the standings, respectively.
Not to mention, both teams hold the tiebreaker due to victories earlier in the season. So really, Atlanta has a two game lead and the Panthers’ lead is three. That’s difficult to overcome when you only have a handful of games left to make it happen.
The entire division has their work cut out for them is they hope to get three teams into the playoffs.
Detroit is in prime position to run the table while the entire NFC South will be dueling it out amongst themselves- reminiscent of what the SEC West used to be years ago.
Regardless, ¾ of the NFC South has lived up to the hype, which is pretty damn impressive, when you think about it.
Who Will Win AFC South?
By: Kenneth Harrison Jr.
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
We are in October and the first quarter of the NFL season is in the books.
It’s almost too early to really know the contenders and pretenders. In previous years, teams have started the season 5-0 or 6-0 and still missed the playoffs. I’m going to try to determine how the teams in the AFC South will fare the rest of the season.
