While the big headlines are made for football teams around the time of free agency and the NFL draft, the smaller headlines can often be just as important during OTAs and rookie minicamps. This is when the smaller transactions and personnel moves are made that won’t be as highlighted as the draft, but in the long run, could make just as much of a difference.
In the NFC South, at least three teams have a legitimate chance to win the division if things fall right for them, and the New Orleans Saints are a favorite for the Super Bowl behind the Seattle Seahawks and San Francisco 49ers. So, let’s look at the more important notes from each team following the early practices.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
There are certainly heavy hearts in Tampa after their owner Malcolm Glazer died on May 28 at 85. Although this doesn’t impact the on-the-field activities all that much, it will just be interesting to see how Glazer’s sons start to handle the team.
They had been running the team while Glazer’s health declined, so don’t expect much to change, but you never know. Glazer was famously frugal, but handled money extremely well within the organization. Will Glazer’s sons start spending more on the team? It remains to be seen, but as far as off-the-field things go, this was one of the bigger stories of the last week.
Back on the field, the Bucs made big fantasy news Tuesday when offensive coordinator Jeff Tedford told Pat Yasinskas of NFL Nation on ESPN that he plans to split carries between the running backs in Tampa. This shouldn’t be too much of a surprise. Most NFL teams don’t have a dominant running back anymore.
But in terms of fantasy news, this is huge. It really bumps down Doug Martin’s value if he is splitting carries with Mike James and Bobby Rainey. Both of those backs showed promise last season when Martin was out with an injury, so this is a good football move for the Buccaneers, but it’s sure to make fantasy owners think twice about drafting Martin.
On the defensive side of the ball, defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier compared defensive end Michael Johnson to Jared Allen when Frazier coached in Minnesota. Yasinskas talked to Frazier, who said Johnson is “that guy off the edge for us.” I’m not sure Johnson will ever put up the numbers Allen did, but this shows that the Bucs plan to rush the passer a lot with Johnson and shows that Frazier has confidence in his defense.
Atlanta Falcons
The Falcons have a franchise quarterback, but he needs to stay off of his back if they want to do make waves in the division this year. In order to improve the offensive line, the Falcons drafted Jake Matthews to play right tackle and they signed veteran right guard Jon Asamoah.
Offensive line coach (and another former Vikings coach) Mike Tice told Vaughn McClure of NFL Nation that the Falcons have a “good group” of offensive linemen and he said the line could be the “engine” of the team.
If Matt Ryan can stay on his feet, Atlanta’s offense has a lot of firepower if everyone can stay healthy.
McClure also posted five thoughts from OTAs for the Falcons, most notably the competition between rookie Devonta Freeman and Steven Jackson at running back. Jackson is obviously the starter because of his experience, but it will be interesting to see if Freeman can cut into Jackson’s carries at all.
New Orleans Saints
New Orleans added veteran center Jonathan Goodwin on Tuesday, the Saints announced, which really helps the Saints along their line. Goodwin played for the Saints previously from 2006 – 2010 after helping the San Francisco 49ers make one Super Bowl and most recently the NFC Championship game.
Goodwin is now the presumed starter in New Orleans. They also signed defensive lineman Brandon Deadrick to a one-year deal. He won’t be a starter, but he does have 5.5 career sacks and will give the Saints depth along the D-Line.
Staying on the defensive side, young linebacker Junior Galette said after OTAs that he likes the effort the team’s defense is putting forth. You never expect a player to say their unit isn’t trying hard enough, but what’s most notable about this is Gallette taking over as the leader and de-facto spokesperson for the defense.
Galette told The Times-Picayune that he’s looking for the defense to be the foundation of the team. New Orleans had one of the more underrated defenses last season, and without Jonathan Vilma on the team, Galette is in the position to take over this unit in the Vilma role of the leading linebacker.
Carolina Panthers
Panthers news so far this offseason has revolved around the team’s two biggest and most obvious weaknesses: wide receiver and offensive line. The line was an issue last season, and Carolina had to completely rebuild their group of receivers this offseason.
At receiver, Max Henson of Panthers.com wrote last Friday that Jason Avant and Jerricho Cotchery are setting the veteran, “workmanlike” tone for the Panthers. Both receivers have had plenty of experience in the league, and will be the anchor pass catchers while the Panthers hope that rookie Kelvin Benjamin can break out as a big-play guy.
"Me and Cotch can help mold the young guys into good players and help them with their craft," Avant told Henson.
The Panthers also have former NFL receiver Ricky Proehl as their receivers coach. In a separate story, Henson spoke to Proehl about working with Benjamin to utilize his raw talent.
"This is a great opportunity. You are starting from scratch," Proehl said. "We lost everybody. We lost some great players. But the guys we have are capable. They all are hungry to prove that they belong. It's going to be a very competitive training camp. There's no set starter in that room. We've got 12 guys, and all of them are not going to make it. But everyone in the room is going to get an opportunity,” Proehl said.
At offensive line, the Panthers are getting smaller (in a good way). In order to help them with mobility and athleticism, right guard Nate Chandler has lost 10 pounds, and right tackle Byron Bell has dropped from 345 to 321, according to David Newton of NFL Nation.
Because of quarterback Cam Newton’s mobility, the Panthers will want their line to get off the snap quicker to make their blocks, and pull to one side or the other to help Newton run the option or have DeAngelo Williams run.