By: JJ Lanier

TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services

Go ahead and stop me if you’ve heard this before: everything in the NFL is cyclical. I know, it’s been more times than Stephen A. Smith yells about someone having the “unmitigated gall”, but it’s also extremely accurate.

Five years ago the NFC West was a disaster. Two years ago it was the toughest division in football. This year the entire division, outside of Seattle, will be as inept as the Florida Gator offense.

The past few years the NFC South hasn’t had much to brag about. Obviously, the last two NFC representatives in the Super Bowl have come from the division, which is certainly nothing to sneeze at; it’s just that there hasn’t been much else to get excited about.

That should change this year as the South looks to be the toughest division in the NFC, if not the entire NFL. (The AFC West may have something to say about that last part).

For starters, you’re not going to find a better collection of quarterbacks, anywhere. Coming into the season Jameis Winston is probably the least heralded of the group and there are some who think he may put up MVP type numbers with the talent he has around him.

We already know Cam Newton and Matt Ryan are both capable of being MVP’s, seeing as how they both already have one for their respective trophy cases. And all you have in Drew Brees is one of the most prolific passers in NFL history, who continues to put up huge numbers.

All of the projected top three teams (Panthers, Falcons, and Buccaneers) are talented enough to not only make the playoffs, but make a serious run at the Super Bowl. Nobody outside of New Orleans is expecting the Saints to do anything close to that, but it’s not like they’re the Browns or the Jets.

With the exception of the AFC West (Broncos, Chiefs, Raiders), you’d be hard pressed to find another division with two potential Super Bowl candidates, let alone three.

There is some legitimate skepticism though. Can Carolina bounce back after an extremely disappointing season last year? For Atlanta, can they steer clear of the same post Super Bowl that the Panthers suffered last season? And with Tampa, can they take that next step and play up to level of talent they have on the field? (Also, can they avoid the Hard Knocks slump, which has recently taken the place of the Madden cover jinx? You can see the potential, but I’ve fallen into that trap,because of that show, before).

I don’t want to leave out the Saints, so I guess the big question is whether or not their defense can hold opponents to under 500 points scored for the entire season?

If all four teams are able to answer “yes” to those questions at the end of the season, then fans of the NFC South are in for one hell of an exciting season.

Of course this is the NFL, so the more likely scenario is this: Cam will go down with an injury, forcing Derek Anderson to run the show and the Panthers will go 6-10; the Falcons will follow in the footsteps of their division rival and miss the playoffs following their Super Bowl appearance; Tampa will tank so badly that the Hard Knocks series will implode after they are black balled from the league; the Saints wind up winning the division with a record of 7-9.

Gotta love this game.