The NFC South is going to be one of the NFL's toughest divisions for years to come

There are no sure things in the NFL. For every Patriots dynasty, there are dozens of teams that enjoy one or two years of phenomenal success before fading into the twilight again for a time. And that maxim is particularly true with divisions, where there's so much turnover, bad luck, and bad decision-making that good divisions rarely stay that way for long.

The NFC South was, for a long time, one of the most competitive divisions in football. There was a new champion every year, there were almost always 2-3 quality football teams, and more than a few #1 seeds in the NFC. That all started to change in 2013, and for the last three years, the NFC South cranked out just one truly good team, the 2015 Carolina Panthers.

That should change in 2016 and beyond. The Saints will be semi-relevant, at least, as long as Sean Payton and Drew Brees are hanging on, but the three teams above them are all more promising over the next three years. The Panthers have the look of a genuine juggernaut with Cam Newton at the helm and a great defense, so you have to figure they'll be relevant for a while. The Falcons have Julio Jones, Matt Ryan (assuming he is not entering his decline phase, ha ha, nervous laughter), and a staff hellbent on building a quality defense. The Buccaneers have Jameis Winston and enough talent that things are looking up.

All that is to say that this division should be a strong one for the next few years, assuming the Falcons and Bucs can keep up their end of the bargain. Life would be great if the Falcons could just roll over the division every year, but failing that, I'll take a fierce battle for the crown.

Go ahead, tell us how you think the South will shake out from 2016-2018.