NFC South Notes: Buccaneers, Panthers, Saints

Buccaneers

Buccaneers HC Bruce Arians explained the decision to replace Gerald McCoy with Ndamukong Suh by saying that McCoy simply wasn’t a great fit all things considered. 

“It just wasn’t a fit,” Arians said Friday during an appearance on ESPN, via JoeBucsFan.com. “Whether it was financial, whatever, on the field, you know, it just didn’t fit. I’ve been through this a number of times with guys and great players and it just comes a time when they have to separate the organization. You go back to Franco Harris not being a Steeler. This has happened for a long, long time.”

Arians highlighted Suh’s “consistency” as to why the made the decision to bring him in.

“He never misses a game, very seldom ever misses a practice,” Arians said. “Plays extremely hard the way I like to play. He fits our three-man scheme a lot better in terms of his versatility up and down the front.”

Panthers

Panthers DE Mario Addison has dropped from 262 pounds to 255 to prepare to play more rush linebacker as the Panthers shift to more of a 3-4 style defense. 

“When we’re doing all the dropping and stuff, you don’t want to be heavy like the typical end – 270-275 (pounds). That’s not a good fit,” Addison said via the Charlotte Observer’s Scott Fowler. “But when you got mobile guys like myself who can move around, that benefits all of us.”

Saints

So far, Saints DT Malcolm Brown is happy with his decision to leave the Patriots for New Orleans.

“I just love it. It was a defense where I knew I could have fun, and I really like having fun out there on the field, so it seemed very intriguing,” Brown said via Nathan Brown of the New Orleans Advocate. “It just makes everything easier.”