Will this be Brady’s final season haunting the Atlanta Falcons?

Atlanta Falcons fans were given false hope this off-season when Tom Brady retired and it looked as if the NFC South would be wide open for the foreseeable future. As much as Atlanta fans recognize and respect Brady’s accomplishments they were ecstatic to see Brady leave the division and the league altogether. A player who orchestrated Atlanta’s most embarrassing moment and has dominated them anytime they have matched up.

Making Brady’s return all the more painful is the fact that Russell Gage and Julio Jones both joined forces with the veteran quarterback this off-season. Neither player should be blamed for putting themselves in the best situation possible to get a ring and increase their relevance playing with a quarterback who will obviously be followed closely.

While Gage nor Jones shouldn’t be blamed for their decisions it is still less than ideal to watch the former Atlanta receivers have success within the division.  Tampa Bay is obviously the division favorite and looks to have improved their roster in comparison to last season.

One more season of Brady dominating the NFC South might not be fun to watch but in a rebuilding year for Atlanta, they weren’t a contender regardless of Brady’s return. If a team has to win the division aside from Atlanta at least it will be Tampa Bay and not the New Orleans Saints.

Next season is the year the Falcons will be making a push to return to contention and the year Tom Brady should leave the NFC South. No matter how the season ends it would be surprising to see Brady return to the division.

There has been a lot of speculation this off-season that Tom Brady was planning to leave Tampa and his retirement was simply a power play to end up in Miami with former New Orleans coach Sean Payton.  In the final year of his deal with Tampa and considering the number of short-term deals on the roster it seems likely this is Brady’s final season in Atlanta’s division.

Whether he finishes his career elsewhere or retires for real Atlanta can have some hope that every indication suggests this will be Brady’s final year in the NFC South and perhaps his final year in the league.