Skip to main content

New on SI: NFC South Preview: A Three-Headed Saints QB and More Wild, Wild Takes | The MMQB NFL Podcast

Can the Bucs make another run for the Super Bowl? What's the Saints QB situation? Will Darnold finally thrive with the Panthers? And what to expect from the Falcons.

As the world turns and the Division Preview Series moves on, Jenny, Conor and Gary turn their attention to the NFC South, home of the defending Super Bowl champions, the NFL’s strangest QB situation, the most challenging reclamation project in the league and … also the Falcons.

Just how good was the Bucs' offense last season? And if the answer is “not as good as you remember it being,” can we expect this year’s edition to be better than last year’s champions?

Jameis? Taysom? Ian? Who should start at quarterback for the Saints this fall, and what does Sean Payton have to do to keep this team on top?

A discussion of what the Panthers can hope for from Sam Darnold and from an intriguing young defense, and whether the Falcons—who consider themselves to be in “win-now” mode—should truly be in “win-now” mode.

Also, an official end to the term “quarterback whisperer”—you are banned from using it!—our weekly Mad Libs, predicted order of finish and more!

Have a question for a future mailbag? Dare to guess how we’ve ordered these division previews? Email

themmqb@gmail.com or tweet at @GGramling_SI, @JennyVrentas or @ConorOrr

The following transcript is an excerpt from The MMQB NFL Podcast. Listen to the full episode on podcast players everywhere or on SI.com.

Gary Gramling: If you go back to last January and you rewatch that Saints-Buccaneers game, I think people kind of lose track of the fact that the Saints had a touchdown lead and the ball at midfield with less than 20 minutes to go in that game. Then they had the Jared Cook fumble. They turn it over a couple of times in the fourth quarter, and that's how it kind of got away from them. But if the Bucs lost that game, what would the narrative this offseason have been with them? Because that offense was really not good. I think they had a couple of really good series in the Super Bowl—I thought the play-calling was really good that game. I thought they figured some things out that maybe they hadn't figured out at all in the regular season or even the playoffs at that point. 

I don't think they were very good in the Green Bay win in the NFC title game. But this system just never really worked. And to an extent, they sort of handed it over to Tom Brady and that sort of helped things out there. But I don't know exactly what they're going to look like in 2021, because if you sort of hand it over to Tom Brady and be like, O.K., this is going to be a New England offense that we're going to run, and you basically take the reins and we'll sort of follow your lead, I think that works to an extent. But does it work all season long? I don't know. I guess overall, I just think they underachieved on offense for, I don't know, eighteen and a half games. And that's why I think the Washington football team is basically the equal of the 2020 Bucs. That's the end of my thesis. 

Listen to The MMQB NFL Podcast

Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Stitcher | Google Podcasts | iHeart

Find recent episodes on SI.com

Labels:

Popular posts from this blog

New on SI: NFL Kickers Have Historically Bad Week With Record-Tying 12 Missed PATs

It's been a historically bad week for NFL kickers, with 12 missed PATs through the conclusion of Sunday's evening games. View the original article to see embedded media. Kickers in many ways have a thankless job. Make a kick, and often times nobody really cares. Miss one? Well, people won't stop bringing it up. The 2021 season has already established a new high-water mark in kicking with Ravens kicker Justin Tucker's NFL record-setting 66-yard field goal to beat the Lions in Week 3. Two weeks later, though, we might have established a new low point. Prior to kickoff on Sunday Night Football  between the Bills and Chiefs, kickers had missed a whopping 12 extra points in Week 5. That ties the league's Super Bowl era record set in Week 11 during the 2016 season, the year after the NFL moved PAT's back to the 15-yard line. Rams kicker Matt Gay got the train rolling on Thursday when he missed his first PAT attempt of the game in the third quarter. That set a ...
Read more

New on SI: Buffalo Bills Approved for Fans at Home Playoff Games

The Bills are set to host a wild card playoff game for the first time in 25 years. Get ready, Bills Mafia: Your time has come. A week ahead of the wild card round, New York state has approved a capacity of 6,772 fans for the Buffalo Bills, the team announced Wednesday . The Bills currently hold the No. 2 seed in the AFC, and will host a playoff game for at least the first round. The wild card round will mark the first time in 25 years that Buffalo has hosted a playoff game. All fans who attend the game will be required to receive a negative COVID-19 test through the league's testing partner, Bioreference Laboratories, in order to be admitted into the game. Tickets will be made available to season ticket holders who opted into buying tickets earlier this year. Fans will also be required to pay for their own COVID-19 test, which costs $63. The Bills have thrived at home this season despite the absence of their rowdy fans, with a 6-1 home record. They are one of five teams with ...
Read more

New on SI: Brett Favre on Aaron Rodgers' Future in Green Bay: 'I Think That Aaron Will Finish Somewhere Else'

Former Packers great Brett Favre said Aaron Rodgers was surprised by Green Bay's decision to draft Jordan Love. Former Packers legend Brett Favre believes that star quarterback Aaron Rodgers won't finish his career in Green Bay. "I think he will play somewhere else," the three-time MVP said Wednesday on the Rich Eisen Show. Favre said he was "very surprised" about the Packers' decision to select Utah State QB Jordan Love No. 26 overall in the 2020 NFL draft last Thursday, noting that the team's decision not to draft "any weapons that can help immediately" sends a "disrespect message" to the team's current quarterback. "He has every right to feel disrespected, if he is," Favre said of Rodgers. The former Packers great said he had talked recently with Rodgers.  "Let's just say [Rodgers is] surprised that they went in that direction," Favre explained. "It's not his job to mentor Jordan Lo...
Read more