PFF Week: Down South, Week 1

It’s your last chance to get caught up on the happenings at PFF before the next slate of games is upon us and our new ‘PFF Week’ posts provide quick access to the week that was. The ‘Down South’ edition covers all things pertaining to the AFC and NFC South divisions for a one-stop Saturday shop built to keep you in the loop and on top of your football-watching game. 

With the regular season officially underway, the first Sunday of the season has come around and the teams in the South division are facing different expectations. There are teams looking at potential playoff runs, if not possible Superbowl appearances, teams hoping to be playing in January, as well as teams just trying to pick as high as possible come April. Over the offseason our 32 Teams in 32 Days series looked at reasons to be confident and pessismistic for each of the AFC and NFC South teams:

AFC South: Houston |  Indianapolis | Jacksonville | Tennessee
NFC South: Atlanta | Carolina | New Orleans | Tampa Bay

Preseason Wrap

Nathan Jahnke took a look round the teams and picked out some interesting statistics about guys who proved their worth and stuck around, even though they weren't expected too in his latest edition of 32 Observations. And, while we're on the subject of players who shone in the preseason, Khaled Elsayed picked out the top performing guys in PFF's first-ever Team of the Preseason that included eight players who call the South divisions home.

To gain an appreciation of what is to come, first you must look back, and if you want to do that, you can look back at the big performances from the “dress rehearsal” preseason games:

REFO: Panthers @ Ravens, Preseason Week 3
REFO: Browns @ Colts, Preseason Week 3
REFO: Buccaneers @ Dolphins, Preseason Week 3
REFO: Eagles @ Jaguars, Preseason Week 3
REFO: Falcons @ Titans, Preseason Week 3
REFO: Saints @ Texans, Preseason Week 3

Of course, you may want to look back at the unsung guys, the guys at the bottom of the roster, but those who can make the difference between a good and a great team. Their shining moment came last week and you can see the good as well as the reason many guys are now looking for a new team.

REFO: Colts @ Bengals, Preseason Week 4
REFO: Jaguars @ Falcons, Preseason Week 4
REFO: Saints @ Dolphins, Preseason Week 4
REFO: Redskins @ Buccaneers, Preseason Week 4
REFO: Steelers @ Panthers, Preseason Week 4
REFO: Texans @ Cowboys, Preseason Week 4
REFO: Titans @ Vikings, Preseason Week 4

Steve Palazzolo offered a few final thoughts on the preseason in the first of two ‘Palazzolo's Pitch' piece this week.

Playing for Keeps

With the preseason in the rearview mirror, it's officially time to get ready for the games that count. What better place to start than with a look at every team as Neil Hornsby has predicted — and graded! — all of the starting lineups.

AFC South: Houston | Indianapolis | Jacksonville | Tennessee
NFC South: Atlanta | Carolina |  New Orleans | Tampa Bay

Our team of analysts looked through the two divisions in their Four Questions, Four Analysts series, giving their opinions on breakout players, playoff teams, the rookies and where they, hypothetically, put their money on division win totals: AFC South | NFC South

The guys weren't done making predictions there, though, as they made public their thoughts on all the awards, as well as the team they see being first to the podium in April: PFF Predictions 2013. But not content with making calls that can only be proved wrong in five months, our team also put together their picks for the games of Week 1 in the PFF Pick'em, with three of our team already one game down on the others.

You want power rankings? Who doesn't. The PFF team kicked off one of our regular Wednesday features with the PFF Power Rankings Season Opener and marked Atlanta as the No. 5-ranked team in the league. Where did the other South teams fall? Check it out.

Of a more immediate focus for the teams will be their games on Sunday, except the Texans who will be finishing the Monday Night Football double header. We've previewed the seven games involving the teams of the South (including one divisional match-up) looking at three areas that could determine the outcome of each contest:

3TFO: Seahawks @ Panthers, Week 1
3TFO: Raiders @ Colts, Week 1
3TFO: Chiefs @ Jaguars, Week 1
3TFO: Falcons @ Saints, Week 1
3TFO: Buccaneers @ Jets, Week 1
3TFO: Titans @ Steelers, Week 1
3TFO: Texans @ Chargers, Week 1

Even More…

Beyond the preseason coverage and a walk into the Week 1 action, we've posted a number of other pieces worth your read, including Sam Monson's first Analysis Notebook of the season, breaking down a key play in the Thursday Night opener.

Something that has been asked for many times over has finally become a reeality here at PFF as Khaled Elsayed organized lists of our highest-graded games and seasons ever — for every position! Have a look through our PFF Page of Fame to see which players nabbed a spot among the best we've seen.

Don't forget to check back next week to catch the analysis of the Week 1 games and — if you are a PFF Premium subscriber — the full grades of statistics. If you are still unsure about whether or not to sign up, Steve Palazzolo explains how PFF fits in the analytic and advanced statistics spectrum here.