As the summer daze drags along, there is light at the end of the tunnel. Every hot, sweaty, muggy Mississippi day in July brings us one step closer to the sweet sounds of national anthems and pregame flyovers. The Terrible Towels will be waving in Pittsburg and the Black Hole will be rocking in Oakland. Eight weeks and counting until the National Football League kicks off its 91st season and the world will once again be in order.

    This is a historic season for pro football fans in central Mississippi. The New Orleans Saints will enter the 2010 season as defending world champions for the first time in league history. Ironman Brett Favre will most likely be capping off the final season of what has been a record-setting career. Major NFL rules changes go into effect in 2010, including the end of single possession, sudden death overtime.

    All of these issues deserve further discussion, but more pressing issues must be addressed. Eight weeks is just the right amount of time to run through the eight NFL divisions with a fine-toothed comb and make bold predictions about how the teams will fare in 2010. It only makes sense to start at the top with the world champion New Orleans Saints and the NFC South.

New Orleans Saints

    The Saints dominated the NFC South in 2009 and all signs point to history repeating itself. Quarterback Drew Brees finished 2009 as the most accurate QB in the league (70.6 percent completion percentage), the most passing touchdowns in the league (34) and the highest-rated QB in the league (109.6). Brees is in the prime of his career and should be on the mark again in 2010.

    The Saints don’t have one go-to receiver, they have three. The trio of Marques Colston, Devery Henderson and Robert Meachem  provides quite a challenge for every defensive coordinator in the league. Combine this with the solid footwork of running backs Pierre Thomas and Reggie Bush and the Saints’ offense looks set to repeat their eye-popping numbers from 2009 (league-leading 403.8 yards per game).

    The 2009 New Orleans Saints defense was good, but not great. They ranked 25th in total yards allowed and 20th in total points allowed. Defensive back standout Darren Sharper is one year older and linebacker Scott Fujita has bolted to the Cleveland Browns. On the flip side, defensive coordinator Gregg Williams is one of the better defensive minds in the league. Defensive lineman Will Smith continues to get better and linebacker Jonathan Vilma is as solid as they come.

    The backfield is strong with Tracy Porter and Jabari Greer. The Saints have spent their last two first round draft picks on cornerbacks. Williams continues to upgrade the defense, but expect a mixed bag from this year’s bunch.

    Overall, the Saints should still be a top tier team in 2010. They host the Minnesota Vikings in the 2010 NFL season opener. Also, look for an exciting battle on Halloween night when the Steelers make a trip to the Superdome.

Atlanta Falcons

    The Falcons finished the 2009 season with a 9-7 record including a signature win against the New York Jets. Overall, they beat most of the teams they were supposed to beat and lost to most of the teams they were supposed to lose to including a 6-6 NFC South record.

    Atlanta’s Matt Ryan started out his pro career as a quarterback prodigy, but seemed to have taken a step backwards in 2009 finishing the season as the 20th highest rated QB in the league. The running back tandem of Michael Turner and Jerious Norwood gives hope to Falcons Nation, but neither one finished the season in the top 10 in terms of rushing yards. Wide receiver Roddy White is good, but probably not good enough to carry the Falcons offense. Atlanta’s total offensive finished the season ranked right in the middle of the pack. The 2010 Falcons offense looks to be much of the same.

    The real question for Atlanta heading into 2010 seems to be the defense. The bad news is that defensive end John Abraham is getting older by the day. The worse news is that Abraham might be the best that Atlanta has got. First round pick Sean Weatherspoon looks to be a big boost for Atlanta, but they are going to need more than Weatherspoon to compete in the same division with the offensive juggernaut that is the Saints.

    The only thing going for Atlanta is the fact that the NFC South is a topsy-turvy division. Since its creation in 2002, the division has never had a repeat champion. Look for the Falcons’ Sept. 26 matchup versus New Orleans and the Dec. 12 road trip to Carolina to dictate their season.

Carolina Panthers

    The 2009 Carolina Panthers finished the season with a kiss-your-sister 8-8 record, but there is light at the end of the tunnel. Despite their overall record, the Panthers were 8-4 in the NFC South. They finished the season on a three-game win streak including wins against Minnesota, New Orleans and the New York Giants.

    Carolina’s 2009 offense was mediocre at best, but longtime starting quarterback Jake Delhomme is no longer in town. Presumed starter Matt Moore showed signs of blossoming in 2009 and the Panthers bought a little insurance with the drafting of Notre Dame QB Jimmy Clausen. Add the running back team of Jonathan Stewart and DeAngelo Williams (the first running back tandem to crack 1,100 yards individually in NFL history) and the continued solid play of wide receiver Steve Smith and the Panthers’ offense doesn’t look so bad.

    Despite perceptions, Carolina’s defense finished 2009 ranked in the top 10 in total defense. They were better than Dallas, New England and the New York Giants. The funny thing is, I can’t tell you more than one or two starters on the Panthers’ defense. Linebacker Jon Beason and cornerback Chris Gamble are the leaders of this rag-tag bunch of guys that could possibly be one of the most underrated defenses in the league coming into 2010.

    I’m not saying that Carolina is headed to the Super Bowl in 2010, but I am saying that Carolina may surprise some fans. They are only one year removed from their 2008 NFC South crown. Carolina could easily be sitting at 3-0 heading into their Oct. 3 trip to the Superdome. The rest of the season sets up nicely for the team with games versus St. Louis, Cleveland and Seattle.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

    It’s a toss-up for the title of 2009’s worst team between Tampa Bay, Detroit and St. Louis. The bumbling Bucs finished the season at 3-13. They did manage surprise wins against Green Bay and New Orleans, but I am convinced the Green Bay win was a fluke of nature.

    The Tampa Bay offense finished 28th out of 32 teams and the defense wasn’t much better. Quarterback Josh Freeman has not had much success under center and the lack of a decent offensive line doesn’t help.  Running back Carnell Williams seems to have fizzled and the Bucs have absolutely no wide receivers worth mentioning.

    As far as the defense, can you name two defensive starters for the Bucs? Me neither.

    First-round draft pick Gerald McCoy will definitely help the Bucs, but don’t expect much out of this bunch. The Bucs are still rebuilding after the firing of Jon Gruden and the release of veterens Derrick Brooks and Jeff Garcia. Their 2003 Super Bowl victory (2002 season) seems like a distant memory to the faithful in central Florida.

    Agree/disagree? Email sports@themeridianstar and let us know your thoughts. Next week we’ll take a look at the frigid NFC North.