A Sign Of Things To Come In The NFC South

According to ESPN's Pat Yasinskas, the NFC South "made history" in 2010.

You hear a lot about how great the AFC East, the NFC North and the NFC East are, among others, but the NFC South had three playoff contenders in 2010, and at least two of those teams (Falcons and Buccaneers) are clearly on the rise. This is best illustrated by the tidbit Yasinskas picks out, which is that the trio of the Bucs, Falcons and Saints each went 6-2 on the road.

Now, admittedly the AFC East had three teams who also posted 6-2 records, which means these two divisions are tied with the most teams with the most road wins since 2002. No, that's not the most poetic record of all time. But bear with me.

If you thought the Falcons would have it easy in the years ahead, you're sorely mistaken. The Buccaneers will be competitive for years to come. The Saints will have to survive a huge free agent class and an aging defense, but I doubt they're going away any time soon. The Panthers have cleaned house and should be on the rise before too long. Thankfully, the Falcons are in my humble opinion the best-run team in the entire division, but that doesn't mean an automatic playoff berth every season.

Judging by those shiny road records, teams having to play the NFC South in the cozy confines of their own stadiums shouldn't be taking it easy. Especially against the Falcons, because hey, the Falcons are great.