Road to the Super Bowl: NFC South

Welcome Real Bookie, this is the last video of the series Road to the Super Bowl, I hope you continue learning with us here. On this video you’ll learn about the NFC South.

The Atlanta Falcons have been part of the National Football League since the 1966 season. Atlanta has never won a Super Bowl title, but has plenty of history within the franchise. Let’s take a look at some of the important history within the franchise.

The Atlanta Falcons, when they first started playing, were at the Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium. If you are not familiar with this venue, it’s where the Atlanta Braves of Major League Baseball played their home games for many seasons. In 1992 – the Falcons moved over to the Georgia Dome. They spent 24 seasons there before moving to Mercedes-Benz Stadium in 2017.

The Falcons, like many teams in the National Football League, were named after a contest with fans. A proud and dignified bird, with great courage and fight. It never drops its prey. It is deadly and has a great tradition of sport. The name Falcons, goes along well with the team name in the National Basketball Association in Atlanta named the Hawks.

Matt Ryan is the most successful quarterback in franchise history, with nearly 60,000 passing yards. Julio Jones will go down as one of the elite receivers of all time, with nearly 13,000 receiving yards and 60 touchdowns.

The Falcons are on record for one of the shortest games of all time. The Falcons and Patriots in 1972 had a game of just 2 hours and 16 minutes.

Atlanta has been to the Super Bowl twice in their franchise history. Super Bowl XXXIII (33) in Miami saw the Denver Broncos smack the Falcons around 34-19.

The most recent time the Atlanta Falcons were in the Super Bowl was one they would like to forget. The Atlanta Falcons were cruising along in Super Bowl LI (51). Atlanta led the game 28-3 and lost the game 34-28 to the New England Patriots. The Falcons were 11-5 in the regular season, and quarterback Matt Ryan was named the league MVP, but this game will haunt their franchise for many years.

Atlanta has won six divisional titles. They have been to the postseason 14 times.

Matt Ryan is the most popular Atlanta Falcons signal caller. Ryan is also the most successful, as far as keeping his job as the quarterback. There is only one guy with a better win percentage that’s Michael Vick. From 2001-2006, Vick went 38-28. Ryan finished his career at 102-102, making him the only quarterback in franchise history with 100+ wins, and also 100+ losses.

The Falcons have three guys that they consider their own, while 5 other guys were part of the organization at one point, and have made the Hall of Fame.

The guys in the Hall of Fame that only spent a portion of their career in Atlanta are Tommy McDonald, Eric Dickerson, Chris Doleman, Brett Favre, and Tony Gonzalez.

The first Falcon to ever make the Pro Football Hall of Fame was Deion Sanders. Next, was Claude Humprey, a defensive end from 1968-1978. The most recent was Morten Andersen. Andersen was in the league 25 years, with 8 of them being with the Falcons.

Frederick “Freddie” Falcon is the official mascot of the team. He has been part of the action at the games in Atlanta for nearly 35 years.

They came into the National Football League at the start of the 1995 season and were the 29th franchise in the history of the National Football League. The Panthers play their games in Charlotte, which now has two professional sports teams in the city, with the Hornets of the National Basketball Association being the other one. The Panthers are one of the teams remaining in the league without a Super Bowl title. Let’s take a look at some of the best and worst Carolina Panthers franchise history.

The Panthers played one year in Memorial Stadium, which was the home of the Clemson Tigers in 1995. That was used only to help workers finish up Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte. Once Bank of America Stadium was completed, the Panthers started to play there.

Jerry Richardson was the team president at the time. The story goes that his son Mark was the sole reason behind the name Panthers. A couple of other choices were the “Cobras,” “Rhinos,” or “Cougars.” Mark chose “Panthers” as if felt it represented the strength and power that he wanted from his team and the city, with the colors black, silver, and blue.

As the 2023 season starts, the Carolina Panthers come in with 212 career wins. The Panthers are 9-8 in the postseason. Some names that come to mind when thinking of the Carolina Panthers include Cam Newton and his nearly 30,000 passing yards. Jonathan Stewart the running back with over 7,000 career rushing yards. Steve Smith, who finished with 67 receiving touchdowns for Carolina. Also, Ron Rivera is the winningest head coach in franchise history with 76 wins.

The Carolina Panthers have never won a Super Bowl. The Panthers have gone to the Super Bowl twice and lost both games. Carolina has six divisional titles under their belt. The team has been to the postseason 8 teams in team history.

Cam Newton is at the top of all statistics when it comes to Panthers quarterbacks. He is the only quarterback to start in more than 100 games for the Panthers. Newtown went 68-60-1 in 129 starts with the Panthers. Next on the list is Jake Delhomme with 91, then Steve Beurelein with 59. Kerry Collins started 45, and no one else finished their career with more than 30.

Dom Capers was the first-ever head coach of the Carolina Panthers, but John Fox served as the longest-tenured. Oddly enough, a third name, Ron Rivera, has the most regular season wins in franchise history.

Sir Purr is the Carolina Panthers’ official mascot. He is a Panther that wears a football jersey to all home games and has the #00. The website lists him as liking Falcons, Eagles, and Seahawks as his favorite snack.

In an odd statistic, during the 2012 season, the Carolina Panthers lost their first 13 coin flips of the season. The Panthers finally won one in 2014.

Finally, because the franchise is located in Charlotte, many perceive the franchise as being a “North Carolina” team, but the organization claims they are for both North and South Carolina equally.

The New Orleans Saints have been around the National Football League since the 1967 season. The Saints are the pride of New Orleans and are known for some of their rabid fans in all of the league. Let’s take a look at some of the most important information when it comes to the Saints.

When the Saints started their franchise, they started playing at Tulane Stadium. The Green Wave and the Saints shared the venue from 1967-1974. The Superdome was then built, and the team started their seasons there in 1975. They have continued to play there even today.

The Superdome was the original name of the venue, while some know it as the Mercedes Benz Superdome and also the Louisiana Superdome. It is a multi-purpose location that has seen a ton of great action. The first National Football League game was played in 1975 when the Saints were smacked by the Cincinnati Bengals.

The franchise adopted its name due to the rich Catholic identity that the city of New Orleans once had. The city also had a connection with Louis Armstrong, and his famous song “When the Saints Go Marching In” was very popular and symbolized the franchise. The team was founded on November 1st, which is known as “All Saints Day”.

The franchise comes into the 2023 season with 403 wins in the history of the team. New Orleans has just 10 postseason wins as well.

Drew Brees is and has always been known as the most popular player to play with the team. Brees was fantastic, finishing with over 68,000 passing yards and 491 touchdowns. Morten Andersen is another name that Saints fans will not forget. His 1,318 points in his career is the leader for the franchise.

Sean Payton is another name fans will not forget. He won 152 games as the head coach of the franchise, an all-time leader. The 2011 Saints were one of the highest-scoring teams in all of the National Football League, with 547 points. That is an average of 34 points per game.

The New Orleans Saints have only been to the Super Bowl once in their franchise history, and that was a winner. The Saints won Super Bowl XLIV (44) to close out the 2009 season. The Saints have won their division 9 times in franchise history. New Orleans has made the postseason 14 times.

The New Orleans Saints have four guys they can “call their own” in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. There are 4 others that played with the Saints during their career, and additionally, two coaches and executives. Until the selection of Rickey Jackson in 2010, there were no Saints that had their time primarily as Saints to get inducted in.

After Rickey Jackson came offensive tackle Willie Roaf, Roaf played from 1993-2001 with the Saints. He was inducted in 2012. The last two guys from the Saints inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame were Morten Andersen, a kicker from 1982-1994, and Sam Mills, a linebacker from 1986 to 1994.

Here are some final tidbits about the New Orleans Saints that you may or may not have known:

1.It took the Saints 20 seasons before reaching the postseason for the first time.
2.The Saints were one of the first teams to play a game outside of the USA. The Saints and Eagles played in Mexico City back in 1978.
3.During the 1980 season, the team lost their first 14 games of the season. Many referred to them as the “Aints,” and fans wore paper bags over their heads for home games.
4.The song “When the Saints Go March In” is played every time the team scores a touchdown at home.
5.The Saints have two mascots: Sir Saint and also Gumbo the Dog.
6.The Saints cheerleaders are called the Saintsations.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a franchise that will be enjoying its 47th season in the NFL. The Buccaneers have had the highest of highs and the lowest of the lows during their franchise existence. The team joined the National Football League in 1976 as an expansion team, the same season Seattle came into the league. Let’s take a look at some of the most important information when it comes to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

They have had just two venues that they have called home. When they first started playing in the league, they were at Tampa Stadium. They played at this venue all the way up to the 1997 season. In 1998, that’s when they moved to Raymond James Stadium, one of the most recognizable venues in the league.

The venue has hosted three Super Bowls, along with College Football National Championship and other mega-events.

When the franchise was told they were going to get a team in Tampa Bay, they immediately started planning for what was to come. The team elected to have a name the team contest. Buccaneers was a reference to the Pirates who often came to Florida’s Gulf Coast way back in the 17th century. It did not take long for the name to be shortened to the “Bucs,” and the rest is history from there.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have won 299 games in their franchise history.

Matt Bryant hit a 62-yard field goal against Philadelphia in 2006. At that time, it was the third-longest field goal made in an NFL game. Now, it has moved to 7th all-time.

The Tampa Bay defense also went 50 straight games with a sack and a forced turnover.

The Buccaneers have won two Super Bowl titles in franchise history. They are a perfect 2-for-2 in Super Bowls, as they have not been back any other time.

Tampa Bay has won 8 divisional titles in franchise history. The first three came in the NFC Central. While the next five came in the NFC South. Oddly enough, the Buccaneers won division titles in back-to-back seasons for the first time in franchise history in 2021 and 2022.

Tampa Bay has been to the postseason 13 times.

Trent Dilfer leads the list of starting quarterbacks for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as far as games started. Dilger started in 76 games but went just 38-38. The others on the list for games started, in order, include Vinny Testaverde, Jameis Winston, Doug Williams, Jose Freeman, Tom Brady, and Brad Johnson.

Only 7 quarterbacks have made starts in the postseason for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Tom Brady has the most starts with 7, as he won 5 of those games. Brad Johnson and Doug Williams made four starts. Johnson won three of those games, while Williams just went 1-1. Other guys, Trent Dilfer and Shaun King, won 1 game with the franchise, while Chris Simms and Garcia lost their only starts.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have five guys they consider their own in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. They also have a coach as well.

Captain Fear is the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ mascot. He is a Caribbean Pirates Captain. He has blue eyes, black hair, and thick eye. In 2000, he replaced a parrot mascot with the name of Skully.

The franchise has changed its team’s logo and colors five times in team history.

We’ve had a blast during the last few weeks reviewing all of the teams of the NFL, thank you for joining me on this journey.