The Bucs defense got off to a very fast start by landing cornerback Eric Wright and defensive tackles Amobi Okoye and Gary Gibson.  A former first-round pick, Okoye started 59 games over the past five seasons, and will likely be part of a three-man rotation with 2011 starters Gerald McCoy and Brian Price. Entering his age-24 campaign, Okoye has upside, and is capable of providing an interior pass rush. He registered four sacks in 16 appearances with the Bears last season.

Tampa Bay also retained cornerback Ronde Barber and defensive end Michael Bennett. Barber will likely begin his 16th NFL campaign as the Bucs’ slot corner, but could slide further down the depth chart depending on his early-season play. Perhaps the league’s worst starting corner in 2011, Barber shouldn’t approach the 996 snaps he played last season, and is being brought back for his leadership as much as anything else. The National Football Post reports Barber could see time at safety in 2012.

The Bucs’ strong offseason continued at the NFL draft, when they initially traded down in the first round to draft highly coveted Alabama safety Mark Barron. Tampa Bay selected a third impact player when it traded up in the second round to draft Nebraska linebacker Lavonte David.

Other draft picks include West Virginia inside linebacker Najee Goode and West Virginia corner Keith Tandy.

Bucs GM Mark Dominik is holding out hope that DE Da’Quan Bowers (Achilles’ surgery) will play late in the 2012 season. It’s a long shot, but does confirm Bowers will be placed on PUP rather than I.R. “He’s going to do his rehab with Shannon Merrick, who is one of the best rehab gurus in the NFL, which is why guys have been able to come back like they have at a quicker pace,” Dominik said. “We hope it does the same thing for him.”

New Bucs coach Greg Schiano believes third-year DT Gerald McCoy “can be a dominant force in this league.” McCoy has actually been a better run defender than pass rusher through two seasons, but Schiano hopes to maximize his all-around talent. “He plays defensive tackle the way I like,’’ Schiano said. “He’s a penetrating guy who can change direction. We’ve got to keep him healthy.” Through two seasons, the Bucs have gone 11-8 with McCoy in the lineup. They’re 3-10 when he’s been out.

With regards to the coaching staff, Schiano hired ex-Giants QBs coach Mike Sullivan as offensive coordinator, ex-Dolphins LBs coach Bill Sheridan as defensive coordinator and added Butch Davis as an assistant coach.

When you examine the entire scope of moves that the Bucs made, they have done the most to improve their team during the 2012 offseason.

Those players are back in 2012. Panthers WLB Thomas Davis (ACL surgery) expects to be ready for training camp. Davis says his knee feels better than the past two surgeries. His optimism has become a right of spring, as this is his third ACL recovery in three years. He can make history by returning at a high level of play.

The key offseason moves that the Falcons made to try to bridge the gap were signing free-agent linebacker Lofa Tatupu to a one-year deal after Tatupu was unable to get on the field in 2011 coming off of twin knee surgeries. His signing all but assured that highly graded MLB Curtis Lofton was allowed to walk in free agency. Pro Football Focus rated Tatupu as one of the league’s worst linebackers in 2010.

They also traded a seventh-round draft pick to Philadelphia for corner Asante Samuel, before inking Samuel to a three-year, $18.5 million contract. Samuel will presumably slide in at left cornerback, with Brent Grimes seeing slot work and Dunta Robinson manning the right side. Still a playmaker at age 31, Samuel has earned a Pro Bowl berth in four of the past five seasons while averaging 6.5 interceptions over the last six. The Falcons haven’t upgraded their pass rush much, but they absolutely have a good-looking secondary.

However, the biggest key to Atlanta’s offseason was how many of its own free agents it was able to reach deals with. Atlanta re-signed safety Thomas DeCoud, defensive end Kroy Biermann, defensive end John Abraham and corner Brent Grimes. The Falcons also restructured the contract of corner Dunta Robinson.

As for the draft, the Falcons were spectators for quite awhile, as their first turn on the clock came at overall pick No. 55. The Falcons selected Troy defensive end Jonathan Massaquoi, Mississippi State safety Charles Mitchell and South Carolina nose tackle Travian Robertson for defensive depth.

While this draft class won’t make a huge impact, the team’s main offseason focus was to try to keep as many of their key free agents as they could. Overall, they succeeded in that strategy and now we will see if they can leapfrog the Saints in the NFC South this season.

Their opponents get a bit easier this year, especially at RB and they hope to meet a Saints offense that is not at full strength after a rough offseason and who have yet to sign their top free agent QB, Brees. They definitely improved in their secondary and should see a leap in defensive production against fantasy WRs.

The Saints have paid fines, have lost head coach Sean Payton for the year and will have general manager Mickey Loomis and assistant head coach Joe Vitt suspended as well. Saints GM Mickey Loomis’ eight-game bounty scandal suspension will not begin until Week 1. Whereas coach Sean Payton’s suspension begins on April 1 and Rams DC Gregg Williams’ is effective immediately, the NFL was nice enough to let Loomis conduct business during the draft and 2012 training camp. In other words, Roger Goodell felt Payton and Williams were guilty of more wrongdoing than Loomis. Loomis, of course, will be working with a much less attractive deck.