Southern Command
May 14th, 2020
Bill Currie Ford general manager Sean Sullivan personally will guide you and give you a special Ira/JoeBucsFan discount. Historic 0%/84-month financing offers won’t last long.
BY IRA KAUFMAN
Dan Quinn calls it QB South. You could also label it the golden oldie division.
Whatever term you prefer, the NFC South is deliciously stocked with a pair of first-ballot Hall of Fame quarterbacks and another who deserves more than a passing thought for Canton induction.
The only kid in the group is 27-year-old Teddy Bridgewater, now the lynchpin of Carolina’s rebuilding program.
“Being in a division with two guys (Tom Brady, Matt Ryan) who won MVPs and two guys (Brady, Drew Brees) who won Super Bowls, that is a great feeling to be among those guys,” Bridgewater says. “I just have to work hard to try to get up to those guys’ level.”
The star quality in this division is off the charts, although some of these quarterbacks may soon have trouble reading an eye chart.
Brady, who turns 43 in August, is the senior man of this terrific trifecta. Brees is 41 and Ryan is 35. Together, they have 51 years of NFL experience, carving up defenses and stacking up wins.
Lots of wins.
With a stunning career record of 219-64, Brady has celebrated more victories than any quarterback in the league’s 100-year history. Brees isn’t too shabby at 163-111 while Ryan is 109-80 … nothing to be ashamed about.
To have three guys in the same division assaulting the NFL record book like this is quite a treat. Yes, we live in interesting times.
These prolific passers have combined for 31 Pro Bowl berths, and there’s more. Brees ranks No. 3 with a career passer rating of 98.4.
Brady holds the No. 5 spot at 97.0 while Ryan’s 94.6 mark is topped by only 10 quarterbacks all-time.
“This may be one of the best divisions in NFL history right now,” says Saints cornerback Justin Hardee. “It’s crazy. It’s really loaded and it’ll be exciting.”
When the 2020 season commences, a lot of national eyes will focus on the NFC South. The Week 1 Brady-Brees matchup is already under scrutiny, in part because no one is quite sure how many more years will pass before these icons call it a day.
Just when Cameron Jordan, one of the NFL’s elite defensive ends, waves goodbye and good riddance to Cam Newton, he now has to gear up for No. 12 twice this fall.
Ira Kaufman wants Cam Jordan to “keep his yap shut.”
“Tom Brady blows on a conch shell and (Rob) Gronkowski magically comes out of retirement,” Jordan says. “So now you have Cameron Brate, Gronkowski and O.J. Howard at tight end and you still have 2,000-yard receivers in Mike Evans and Chris Godwin.”
That sounds about right.
Jordan comes off as a bit of a whiner. He should keep his yap shut because he gets the annual privilege of seeing a historic unit work its magic. The Saints have featured a Top 10 offense every year since Brees and Sean Payton joined forces in 2006.
Fourteen seasons — no exceptions. That’s beyond crazy.
While Ryan’s career doesn’t stack up to Brady and Brees, he’s in the process of compiling a potential Hall of Fame resume of his own. He already ranks in the Top 10 in several key career categories and Ryan figures to be taking snaps well after Brees and Brady head off to a broadcast booth.
And let’s not forget about Jameis Winston, adding to the division’s glamour position as a backup in New Orleans.
Brady, Brees, Ryan, Bridgewater and Winston — sounds like a prestigious law firm. Catch them this fall, you won’t see their likes again.
Ira with his good friend Sean Sullivan, general manager of Bill Currie Ford, Tampa’s first family of ford. Sean will help you personally in any way he can.
May 14th, 2020 at 12:16 am
I can see the commercial now. Got legal troubles call on our law firm Brady, Brees, Ryan, Bridgwater and Winston. Come down this Sunday and we have a special treat for y’all!! Our one and only Jameis Winston will be handing out gifts to and giveaways to all comers!!
May 14th, 2020 at 12:29 am
luv your articles Here Ira. Always have and with the newspapers. How come I am not embracing this Brady Gronk thing? Call me ole school but.. How could we do the Las Vegas gamble on a 43 yr old, broken down QB who cannot run 5 yrds. And a guy who has not..completed a season since 2011 (Gronk) are we desperate? It was wrong to give up on Jameis. But it ws even wronger to place all chips on Arians hopes we can win a SB in 2 yrs without..Brady going down. Trust me Ira. Go down he will. Gabbert..I will leave it here ……? I’m sorry. I luv my Bucs. But this will go down as a classic..Buc Failure. Mark my words.
May 14th, 2020 at 12:59 am
Kind of nice to say we no longer have the 4th best QB in the division.
Mike Johnson let me get those powerball numbers bro.
May 14th, 2020 at 5:52 am
@Ira … “And let’s not forget about Jameis Winston, adding to the division’s glamour position as a backup in New Orleans.”
Oh Sage, you were doing sooo good until that. “Adding to the division’s glamour”? You know full well where the comments are going when you ended with that. Yup, open the floodgates.
May 14th, 2020 at 6:41 am
Mike johnson
You clearly dont luv our bucs so please stop with the BS
Take your whining some place else . Please. We beg you.
Every comment is negative . Im starting to think you and Ndog are involved in some creepy relationship
And What‘S wrong with pushing all chips in and making A super bowl run
I mean the bucs have stunk it up for years.
Who cares if its one year , 2 year or 10 years
Every year should be about winning a championship
And the future at qb can be drafted / found next year.
Lets face it , jameis in 5 years wasnt close to winning a playoff game …let alone a championship. Every time he dropped back i did not know if he was going to make a crazy great play or another INT
Everybody talks about how mccoy was part of losing culture Here and needed to be let go. No offense but So was jameis. And its clear that the players spoke up after The season to the coach and GM about beating themselves. And i know this is team sport and other parts of team did jameis no favors .
JaMeis is a talented dude but Unfortunately he could not get out of his own way . Maybe he needs a change of scenery. And thats fine. He is no longer a buc so its time to move on. And you too
May 14th, 2020 at 6:51 am
It’s nice to not have the worst QB in the division for once.
May 14th, 2020 at 7:04 am
@Mike, I can relate to how you feel. At first, I felt the same way. Maybe I drank the Kook Aid (pun intended), I don’t know… But just as you say we only have a 2 year window and what if Brady goes down, only God knows if Winston would have slowed down his charity work for every opponent.
I loved Winston’s potential, but after 5 years, that is still all it was – potential; potential is an ugly word for me. Time will tell if we made a mistake, but look at the difference between how the Bucs look now and how they looked a year ago. We were NOT having SB discussions last year. Enjoy it my friend; take it in. It is a RARE opportunity for a Bucs fan!
May 14th, 2020 at 7:17 am
What sucks is now we might have the fifth best quarterback in the division!
May 14th, 2020 at 9:13 am
Test
May 14th, 2020 at 9:14 am
Why did other get cut?
May 14th, 2020 at 11:55 am
ndog
when it comes to QBs in the division, we just went from worst to FIRST!!!!
JW never went to the playoffs….won a SB…won a MVP….
but but but, he threw for 5k…..lol….JW is a back up QB…..
GO BUCS!!!!!!
May 14th, 2020 at 12:11 pm
Watch Brady get nailed by a pass rush when he starts. Good riddance., Can’t do squat about the Glazers.
May 14th, 2020 at 3:17 pm
Go bucs