The beauty of the NFC South is there is always some sexy team within the division, contending in a showy kind of way. This season, is it the upstart Falcons who traded away several draft picks for one wide-receiver? What about the Saints? Have they cured their rushing problems by drafting another running back, and signing another in free agency? How about the Buccaneers? Can what could be the youngest team in the league, finally break into the top two in the division? Lastly, have the Panthers solved their quarterback issue by drafting Cam Newton? Picking the division winner is tough especially because last season, even though the top three teams posted records of 10-6 or better, the Falcons won seven games by 6 points or less, the Saints won seven games by six points or less, and the Buccaneers won 3 games by 6 points or less. It’s obvious that at least for the Falcons and Saints, they are winning games when they have to.
From a fantasy perspective, there is nothing too scary about each team’s schedule. Yet, this division is starting to boast some of the better defenses in the league. Whatever team among the Falcons, the Saints, or the Buccaneers can get its offense going, should be a team whose defense is owned by fantasy owners in 2011.
As The Fantasy Greek has mentioned before, in the case of the 2011 previews, a player’s projected draft round (found below) is based on a twelve team league due to the fact that the fantasy draft pool of players shrinks faster in a twelve team league than in a ten team league. The previews also assume a fourteen round draft. A player’s projected draft round gives you, the fantasy owner, an idea of about when a player is appropriately drafted.
As you read through the previews by team, you will see each team’s averages on both offense and defense, where the team finished in the league, a positional overview with a suggestion of what round(s) in fantasy drafts each player should be drafted (if at all), strength of schedule by position, each team’s 2011 schedule, and each team’s “bottom line” for 2011. When fantasy owners draft, they must consider the block of players on the board to be drafted in any given round, as well as what round each player should be drafted in. This is important because no player should be drafted before it is time. Drafting a player too soon means you are passing up on a more valuable fantasy player than the one you are drafting. At the same time, when a player is still on the board after they should have been drafted, the player becomes a “value pick.” Hopefully, the preview helps in understanding this.
Enjoy!