National Football League

Saints, Panthers, Buccaneers and Falcons all feeling southern discomfort this season

Published Oct. 21, 2014 9:44 a.m. ET

Alex Marvez

There is no southern comfort in the NFC.

Well, except the prosperity enjoyed by the opposition that has faced Carolina, New Orleans, Atlanta and Tampa Bay.

The NFC South usually represents quality football. The past six winners have posted at least 12 regular-season victories. The division also had wild-card entries with double-digit wins qualify in three of the past four seasons.

The competition between those squads is fierce as well. No champion has ever repeated since the NFL realigned its divisions in 2002.

This history is what makes the NFC South's inability to rise in 2013 so stunning.

Each of the NFL's other divisions has at least one team above .500. Not only do the Panthers lead the NFC South with a mediocre 3-3-1 mark, all four squads have surrendered more points than they've scored. Plus, the quartet has a combined record of 4-13-1 against foes outside the division.

Every NFC South team has its own set of problems, but there is a common thread that all four franchises share: They're brutal on defense.

The Buccaneers are allowing an NFL-high 34 points per game. The Falcons (28.4), Panthers (27.9) and Saints (27.5) are close behind.

Here is a breakdown about what has gone wrong with those units. For additional insight, I spoke on condition of anonymity with an assistant offensive coach and front-office executive whose clubs have already played two NFC South teams with two more matchups to come.

Carolina (3-3-1): The Panthers have suffered the most precipitous decline from 2013. Carolina is allowing an average of 12.5 more points and 87.1 more yards per game than last season when the defense led the Panthers to a 12-4 record and NFC South title.

The dip is even greater when it comes to sacks. The Panthers have 15 through seven games after leading the NFL with 60 in 2013.

The obvious difference is the absence of defensive end Greg Hardy. The team's best pass-rusher is essentially on a paid suspension while appealing a guilty verdict for domestic violence. The case will be heard Nov. 17.

But even without Hardy, there are still things Carolina's defense can improve upon after surrendering 37 or more points in four of the past five games.

"Carolina's problem is they over-pursue everything and give up big plays," the assistant coach told FOX Sports. "The linebackers are over-active. Carolina stops most plays but the big plays are killing them. They are feast or famine."

According to STATS LLC, Carolina and Atlanta are two of the NFL's worst teams in surrendering YAC (yards after catch).

New Orleans (2-4): Like the Panthers, the Saints also have taken a major tumble since 2013. A front office executive told FOX Sports the problems stem largely from poor personnel in the secondary -- "Keenan Lewis is a solid left corner, but they don't really have a right corner," he said -- and a risk-taking approach that hasn't paid enough dividends.

"The Rob Ryan experiment doesn't appear to be working," the executive said of New Orleans' defensive coordinator. "I think a lot of their problem is scheme. They give up so many big plays at inopportune times."

Whatever the reason, the unit crumbled again during last Sunday's 24-23 loss to Detroit. The Saints squandered a 13-point lead in the final four minutes. First, the Lions turned a third-and-14 into a 73-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Matthew Stafford to wide receiver Golden Tate. And when New Orleans quarterback Drew Brees subsequently made a huge mistake with a sloppy interception, the defense couldn't keep Detroit from marching 14 yards for the game-winning touchdown.

Compounding the problem? The Saints are missing on an NFL-high 15.7 percent of their tackle attempts, according to STATS LLC. They ranked in the Top 10 last season.

Atlanta (2-5): The offseason shift to a 3-4 scheme hasn't remedied Atlanta's problems on pass defense that date back to the 2013 campaign. The Falcons and Dallas Cowboys are tied for the fewest sacks (seven) for teams that have played seven games.

"They miss the great pass-rusher who left to Arizona," said the assistant coach, referring to John Abraham's departure in 2013. "And they're just not talented in the front seven."

The front-office executive agreed that pass-rush and personnel are Atlanta's biggest drawback. He also pointed to a run defense that ranks 27th in the NFL with a 137.7-yard average.

"They went and signed these big guys [defensive linemen Paul Soliai and Tyson Jackson], but they're not stopping the run and don't have anyone who can stop the passer," he said. "They're not very good at linebacker. They've got some good young cornerbacks, but they're kind of average at safety."

Tampa Bay (1-5): All four NFC South squads rank in the bottom half of the league in big plays allowed per game, according to STATS LLC. No NFL team is worse at defending the deep pass than the Buccaneers. Opponents are completing throws of 16-plus yards at a 61.4-percent clip. Tampa Bay also is surrendering the highest completion percentage (71.6) and quarterback rating (111.9).

This doesn't reflect well on the offseason decision to release cornerback Darrelle Revis in a salary-related move.

Head coach Lovie Smith and defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier presumably spent the team's bye week figuring out ways to help players become more comfortable in the "Tampa-Two" system installed during the offseason upon their hiring. The pass rush, which is a problem in Tampa Bay that predates Smith, remains an ongoing issue as well. Five of the Bucs' paltry nine sacks came in one game -- a 27-24 upset of Pittsburgh in Week 4.

Tampa Bay is en route to a sixth consecutive season ranked 23rd or lower in sack totals despite having three head coaches during that span (Smith, Greg Schiano and Raheem Morris) with defensive backgrounds.

UPON FURTHER REVIEW: The Washington Redskins should have traded Kirk Cousins when they had the chance. Cleveland expressed interest in the offseason but rebuffed what CBS Sports reported was a fourth-round draft pick as compensation.

Cousins has minimal trade value now, if any. He was benched at halftime of last Sunday's game against Tennessee after his ongoing struggles in first-year head coach Jay Gruden's offense continued.

Washington's decision to keep Cousins had a domino effect. The Browns had interest in reuniting Cousins with his former Redskins offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan. If the deal was made, Cleveland probably wouldn't have selected Johnny Manziel with the No. 22 overall pick. Brian Hoyer would have then needed to best Cousins, who had a major head start already knowing Shanahan's offense, for the first-string job rather than a novice like Manziel.

It's hard to say where Manziel would have landed but his availability could have prompted Minnesota and Oakland to make a different quarterbacking decision later in the draft rather than Teddy Bridgewater and Derek Carr respectively. There's also the chance that a team without a pressing QB need would have taken Manziel looking toward the future.

Kansas City -- which didn't have starter Alex Smith signed to a long-term extension at the time and was selecting one pick after the Browns in the first round -- fits that bill.

As for the Redskins, I wrote this last month and the opinion still stands. Washington may not have a franchise quarterback on its roster despite the 2012 draft investment made in Robert Griffin III and Cousins. Griffin will have the second half of the season to prove otherwise after returning from his leg injury.

NUMBERS TO NOTE: A 27-0 loss to Indianapolis marked the first time Cincinnati was held scoreless in 70 regular-season contests dating back to Week 17 in the 2009 season. The longest active streak without a regular-season shutout belongs to Denver at 347 games. To put that in perspective, Peyton Manning was 16 years old when the Los Angeles Raiders handed the Broncos a 24-0 defeat in November 1992. The only shutout Manning has experienced in his 17-year NFL career was a 41-0 playoff loss to the New York Jets during the 2002 season while he was with Indianapolis.

THURSDAY NIGHT PICK: Denver 27, San Diego 17

The Chargers defeated Denver once last season and almost pulled another upset in the playoffs using a ball-control attack designed to keep Manning off the field. San Diego will have a tougher time pulling off that trick against a much-improved Broncos defense that is allowing only 74.3 rushing yards per game.