With the draft over and all wrapped up, we thought it would be a good idea to get back on the phone with our buddy Greg Cosell of NFL Films and ESPN's "NFL Matchup," and talk about the NFL by division. Who did themselves the most favors in the draft, and who came up short when addressing their roster deficits?

We started off with the NFC West two weeks ago, and then jumped to the hyper-competitive AFC North last week. Now, it's time to turn our attention to the NFC South. Appropriate, given Greg's recent post on the NFL Films Blog about division quarterbacks Matt Ryan, Cam Newton, and Josh Freeman. With that in mind, we asked Greg what he thought the Atlanta Falcons, Carolina Panthers, New Orleans Saints, and Tampa Bay Buccaneers did to bolster their teams.

The Shutdown Corner Podcast: Greg Cosell on the NFC South Draft

Related: [Cosell on quarterbacks, running backs/wide receivers, tight ends/offensive line, OLB/DE/DT stars, the ILB/DB class, and overall draft review]

On Atlanta Falcons second-round G/C Peter Konz: "I looked at him more as a athlete than as a strong, physical player. Not that he was a weakling -- I thought he had a nice combination of movement and strength -- but I certainly wouldn't call him a road-grader. But in tandem with his active feet, he was effective. He is an efficient player -- very assignment-disciplined. Do I think he could fit right in? Yes I could, and I did make a note that I thought he could play either guard or center.

On Carolina Panthers first-round linebacker Luke Kuechly: "I absolutely loved him, and the more I watched him, the more I loved him. I thought he played with his eyes as well as any linebacker I've ever evaluated. He beat blocks with play recognition. Now, the question is, will he do that in the NFL? I think he probably will, because I'm sure that comes from film study, and I don't think he'll be a slacker al lot a sudden. I thought he was the best linebacker in this draft without question, I think he's far more athletic than he's given credit for -- as I watched each game, I was actually more and more impressed with his athleticism."

The Shutdown Corner Podcast: Greg Cosell on the NFC South Draft

On New Orleans Saints fourth-round receiver Nick Toon:

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Add the voice of San Francisco 49ers quarterback Alex Smith to those decrying the increasing use of stats to evaluate football performance. Usually, it's former head coaches unhappy about the numbers (used, as they sometimes are, to help describe why said former head coaches lost their jobs), but in Smith's case, he's tired of the stats despite his 2011 season, in which he finally played with some of the efficiency and consistency expected of the first overall pick in the 2005 NFL draft.

When asked before the 49ers' divisional playoff win over the New Orleans Saints if he might someday throw for more yards in a season than Drew Brees, or some of the NFL's other more high-octane quarterbacks, Smith was quite defiant.

"I really don't care," Smith said. "I'm looking to outscore him. He can throw for as many yards as he wants."

So there! The 49ers did indeed outscore the Saints on their way to a close NFC championship loss to the eventual Super Bowl champion New York Giants, and in the 2012 season, more will certainly be expected of Smith. He played the caretaker role for Jim Harbaugh in 2011, throwing just five interceptions and helping San Francisco's unflashy-but-effective offense as the 49ers shocked the league with a 13-3 record. He also had career highs in pass attempts (445), completions, (273), passing yards (3,144), and his second-highest touchdown total (17). Now, Smith is being asked if he's ready to bust out with bigger numbers ... and the answer is, he really doesn't care.

"I could absolutely care less on yards per game," Smith told Eric Branch of the San Francisco Chronicle on Wednesday. "I think that is a totally overblown stat because if you're losing games in the second half, guess what, you're like the Carolina Panthers and you're going no-huddle the entire second half. Yeah, Cam Newton threw for a lot of 300-yard games. That's great. You're not winning, though."

Well, hold on there, Huckleberry! Cam Newton smashed many of the NFL's rookie passing records in 2011, and I would argue that he did do a lot of winning -- he took the worst team in the league and helped pull it to a six-win season. Now, the Panthers are rightfully seen as a fringe playoff contender, and Newton is the primary reason. In fact, it could be argued that Newton did everything Smith could not in 2005 -- take a horrible team to the next level with his own play as the first pick in the draft.

It's a bit easier for Smith to say these things now, buttressed as he is by a dynamic rushing attack and supported by one of the NFL's best defenses. Joe Flacco has tried that whole "I'm just winning" thing as well, but he's very much in Smith's camp -- aided severely by his defense and running game.

Total yards may not matter, but can Smith become the kind of quarterback capable of transcending the average and putting a team on his back? That's the real question for any quarterback looking to find that mysterious "elite."

"We're up in the third and fourth quarter and naturally you're going to be in four-minute offense," Smith said of the wisdom behind the 49ers' more conservative game plan. "You're going to be grinding it out. You're going to be running the ball a lot more and you're not going to have as many 300-yard passing games."

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The question we were asking all along when it came to the "spirit of the salary cap" penalties handed down to the Dallas Cowboys, Washington Redskins, Oakland Raiders and New Orleans Saints was, of course, "How on earth can teams be in violation of salary cap rules when there is no salary cap in place?"

Turns out, the NFL Players Association was asking the same question, and now, they will do so in court. On Wednesday morning, the NFLPA released this statement in part:

The Class Counsel under the Reggie White settlement agreement and the NFL Players Association today filed a complaint, on behalf of the NFL players, charging the NFL, its clubs and their owners of collusion during the 2010 NFL season. The complaint details a conspiracy to violate the anti-collusion and anti-circumvention provisions in the White Settlement Agreement (SSA) by "imposing a secret $123 million per-Club salary cap for that uncapped 2010 season."

The written claim is filed with the United States District Court of Minnesota, which oversees the SSA and alleges that the league and owners acted illegally and "solely by self-interest, unconstrained by their clear and unambiguous SSA obligations."

The claim was filed just one day after Special Master Stephen Burbank dismissed the appeal filed by the Redskins and Cowboys. Clearly, the NFLPA had this one on a tripwire.

The Cowboys and Redskins were the hardest-hit by the league; the Redskins were docked $36 million in salary cap room over two seasons, and the Cowboys $10 million, for the offloading of onerous player contracts during the uncapped year of 2011. At that time, there was no official rule regarding just how much salary and other player income a team could dump during that time, but as it turned out, the NFL had verbally warned all teams that any nebulous violation of the rules that could be perceived during a capped year would be dealt with severely.

Of course, the uncapped year occurred during the lockout, after the old collective bargaining agreement ran out, and the salary cap with it. Until a new agreement could be struck, the NFL could not possibly send out written instructions for teams to avoid either offsetting or "overpaying" its players without providing the NFLPA with a boilerplate collusion case.  According the NFLPA, the penalties handed down, and the language used by the league and the Management Council, is enough to warrant the complaint.

"When the rules are broken in a way that hurts the game, we have an obligation to act. We cannot stand by when we now know that the owners conspired to collude," said NFLPA Executive Director DeMaurice Smith.

"Our union recently learned that there was a secret salary cap agreement in an uncapped year. The complaint today is our effort to fulfill our duty to every NFL player. They deserve to know, above all, the facts and the truth about this conspiracy," added NFLPA President Domonique Foxworth.

''The claims have absolutely no merit and we fully expect them to be dismissed,'' the NFL said in a statement. ''On multiple occasions, the players and their representatives specifically dismissed all claims, known or unknown, whether pending or not, regarding alleged violations of the 2006 CBA and the related settlement agreement. We continue to look forward to focusing on the future of the game rather than grievances of a prior era that have already been resolved.''

The complaint centers around one very damning quote from New York Giants owner John Mara, who also serves as the Chair of the NFL Management Council Executive Committee. When the penalties were handed down in March, Mara was asked about the reasoning.

"What they did was in violation of the spirit of the salary cap," Mara said. "They attempted to take advantage of a one-year loophole … full well knowing there would be consequences."

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Despite having once teased us with promises of a merciful killing of the Pro Bowl, the league is talking now about keeping it alive. According to this report at nola.com, New Orleans, also the host of the 2013 Super Bowl, is a likely destination for the NFL's next three-hour tribute to apathy.

Here's a snippet from Nakia Hogan's report:

[NFL spokesman Greg] Aiello also said the league "does not have a venue for the game at this time. No decision has been made yet on whether to play the game this season. We have been discussing the future of the Pro Bowl with the union."

But league sources have said if a game is played, then New Orleans is a leading candidate to host the event. The idea of New Orleans double hosting the Pro Bowl and Super Bowl began floating around following last season's Super Bowl.

The people of New Orleans must be on pins and needles over the decision, as surely the Pro Bowl would be the most fun thing to ever happen in that city. Don't do anyone any favors, commish. What is this, an apology to the people of New Orleans for suspending Sean Payton and Jonathan Vilma? "Hey, sorry for wrecking your 2012 season guys. Here, how about a nice Pro Bowl? Now we're even."

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If things like this keep happening, I'm going to start believing all the people who tell me that football is a violent game. When the Detroit Lions took the field for their OTAs on Monday, receiver Titus Young was conspicuous by his absence. Turned out that Young, the second-year player taken in the second round out of Boise State, had a "confrontation" with veteran safety Louis Delmas during last week's voluntary workouts. What kind of "confrontation"? According to Anwar Richardson of MLive.com, Young punched Delmas when the safety wasn't looking after the two players got into a little barking.

After that fracas, the Lions punished Young by barring him from OTAs and minicamps until further notice. Delmas was on hand Monday and practiced, which tells you who the coaches are most likely blaming in this case.

"This is the voluntary part of our offseason program," head coach Jim Schwartz said after practice. "There is no need to comment. It sort of entails that it is not voluntary. I'm not going to comment on any other thing."

As our buddy Ian Rapoport of NFL.com pointed out, it's a good thing teammates pulled Young away, because Delmas has a well-deserved reputation as a guy you wouldn't want to mess with.

[Related: Matt Stafford spends $15K on auction, donates prize to fan's family]

Young caught 48 passes for 607 yards and six touchdowns as a rookie, and that touchdown total was the fourth-highest in franchise history for any first-year player. But concerns about Young's attitude have dogged him since his college days. As the Associated Press put it in 2010,"Titus Young was once so deep in [Boise State head coach] Chris Petersen's doghouse that just seeing the football field again was going to be an accomplishment."

He was benched for most of the 2008 season, but fought his way back (in a figurative sense) and excelled through his last two collegiate seasons. It's clear that Young has the talent to make the NFL work for him, but will he learn that you have to keep your head straight?

In a game against the New Orleans Saints last season, he incurred a personal foul penalty that had teammate Dominic Raiola getting in the rookie's face and telling him to grow up -- with several stronger words mixed in.

"I'll take a setback as a setup for a comeback," Young told the AP in 2010. "I learned from my mistakes and it's unfortunate I wasn't on the field for that time, but I still have the opportunity to play right now and I'm looking forward to the future. That was the past, just keep on building, keep on playing, keep on practicing."

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The Monday morning news came straight from the mouth of Tampa Bay Buccaneers tight end Kellen Winslow when he told Ross Tucker of SIRIUS NFL Radio that his current team was looking to trade him -- and if that didn't work out, a release could be imminent.

"It's kind of shocking, but that's what it is," Winslow said. "He [referring to head coach Greg Schiano] said he was upset that I wasn't working out with the team in the offseason, and then, the first week of OTAs. But, look -- I've been there the last three years, and I've had a successful career so far, and you just don't get rid of one of your best players because of that. That's just what I was told, but I have nothing bad to say about coach Schiano -- it was just a disagreement on why I'm not there yet. I was training in San Diego, and I was going to start [in OTAs with the team] today, but I got the call on Saturday that they're looking for somebody else."

Winslow was especially surprised, given his claim that he has participated in a team event before in this preseason. "There was a previous minicamp -- I went to that. It was a three-day minicamp and then, I came back down to San Diego to train, and I was going to start [back with the team] today."

According to Winslow, he flew cross-country from San Diego to Tampa to hear that he was going to be gone. "They tried to catch me before I left, but that didn't work out."

So, there it is. The Bucs were apparently trying to swing a trade with the Bears involving Winslow a while back, but that never came to fruition. We know that Schiano has said a great many things about creating a new culture of accountability and responsibility for the Bucs (how he does that with a straight face after the circumstances surrounding the Butch Davis hire is another matter), but the plan to just jettison Winslow is a curious one, at best.

Winslow regressed in 2011, but he did so along with the rest of the Buccaneers' offense, and he played often despite a balky right knee weakened from six different surgeries through his career. In October, he leaped over New Orleans Saints cornerback Jabari Greer in a move that showed that he still has at least enough athleticism to help any team that's weak at the tight end position ... like the Buccaneers after Saturday night. Luke Stocker and Chase Coffman are now the relatively unproven incumbents.

"Honestly, I don't even know where that came from," Winslow said after a 26-20 Bucs win in which he caught five passes. "I didn't know I could do that anymore. I'm on one leg out there, but it's all about helping your team out there. You can hurt later."

Does that sound like a malingerer to you? Look -- Winslow has clearly gone through his share of off-field issues, and he's been tagged as a "character risk" as a result. But it isn't as if he's been "lollygagging around the field," to paraphrase the skipper in "Bull Durham."

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If you thought that New Orleans Saints linebacker Jonathan Vilma was going to take his year-long suspension for his alleged part in the Saints' bounty scandal lying down ... well, think again. Just one day after the Saints got their day in front of an arbitrator to appeal their penalties, Vilma filed a lawsuit in the United States District Court, Eastern District of Louisiana against NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell (and not the NFL as an entity).

[Rewind: Jonathan Vilma suspended for '12 season for role in Saints bounty system]

The suit claims that "Goodell, speaking publicly about certain Saints executives, coaches and players, in relation to  purported efforts designed to injure opposing players, made public statements concerning Vilma which were false, defamatory and injurious to Vilma's professional and personal reputation."

The suit reviews the public statements Goodell has made about Vilma and other Saints players, coaches and executives, and it gets specific about statements made about Vilma.

Goodell, in the March 2 Club Report, also alleged that "prior to a Saints playoff  game in January, 2010, defensive captain Jonathan Vilma offered $10,000 in cash to any player  who knocked [opposing quarterback Brett] Favre out of the game." ("Favre Allegation.")

Goodell knew and intended that the contents of the March 2 Club Report would be disseminated publicly.

The contents of the March 2 Club Report, including the Favre Allegation, were reported, and continue to be reported, by essentially every major news organization, as Goodell intended.

Upon information and belief, Goodell told others that Vilma placed $10,000 in cash on a table during a team meeting in making the alleged offer concerning Favre.

The suit then goes on to claim the lack of evidence made available by Goodell and the league, despite repeated requests by the Saints organization, Vilma's attorney Peter Ginsberg, and the NFLPA.

Goodell did not reveal, and, despite repeated requests from among others, Vilma, has never revealed, any evidence purportedly corroborating that a Bounty Program existed, that Vilma participated in any such Bounty Program.

And if that is true, that's where things could get sticky for the NFL, especially since Goodell has said that he may make some of the evidence public record at some point in time. The players and NFLPA are clearly frustrated by what they perceive to be Goodell's continuing efforts to try this case in the court of public opinion, while denying those accused and penalized the right and ability to review the evidence and statements against them.

In an interview Shutdown Corner conducted with NFLPA lead outside counsel Richard Smith on May 4, Smith's frustration with the process was palpable, leading us to believe that as much as this lawsuit may actually be about implied damages to Vilma's professional and personal reputation, it's also an attempt to facilitate the discovery process the players and NFLPA has claimed to want all along.

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"We wanted something a little more modest," New York Giants captain Zak DeOssie said of the team's Tiffany diamond and sapphire encrusted Super Bowl XLVI rings, which players received in a private ceremony in Manhattan on Wednesday night.

Justin Tuck wasn't into humility.

"Stray [former Giant Michael Strahan] talked about the 10 table ring," Tuck said in a statement released by the team. "He wanted a ring you could see from 10 tables away. I talked about the restaurant ring. I wanted one that was big enough to see throughout whatever restaurant you go in and see it from each corner."

Tuck wins.

[Related: Former Giants linebacker Lawrence Taylor's Super Bowl ring up for auction]

Each ring features four Marquis diamonds in four Lombardi trophies (to represent the franchise's four titles), 37 blue sapphires and the dates of each Super Bowl title in franchise history. The inside of the rings include the words "finish" and "all in," psych-up words used by the team during its 2011 title run. The shanks have the score of this year's victory over the New England Patriots, the player's name and number, and the dates of New York's other Super Bowl triumphs.

The team had some input in the design of the ring. Most specifically, players wanted the color blue to be incorporated. Their last Super Bowl ring was white gold and diamonds and looked like it could belong to the New Orleans Saints.

"The blue makes it a little different," Eli Manning said. "We wanted some blue -- the Giants are Big Blue. We definitely wanted to get a little blue to spark it up a little bit."

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The New Orleans Saints will honor Sean Payton this season by leaving an empty seat for the suspended head coach in their locker room and on team buses and planes.

Payton, who is in exile in a downtown New Orleans skyscraper after his season-long ban, won't rejoin the team until after next year's Super Bowl. The Saints will compensate for his absence by acting like he died, rather than looked the other way during a pay-for-play bounty system. This is sort of like leaving an empty chair for grandma at Thanksgiving because it's her year to eat at your uncle's house.

[Related: Saints rookie CB Corey White gets reality check from Drew Brees]

This information comes from Jeff Duncan of The Times-Picayune. We've pulled some of the quotes from his article to highlight the Saints' deep love of their banned coach.

"How would Pittsburgh react if Chuck Noll was gone? Or how would Dallas react if Tom Landry wasn't there? Or San Francisco without Bill Walsh? Sean's put those kinds of numbers up. He has that kind of recognition in the league." -- Joe Vitt, interim head coach

Super Bowl victories

4 -- Chuck Noll

3 -- Bill Walsh

2 -- Tom Landry

1 -- Sean Payton

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Sometimes, the best way to deal with a problem is to pretend that it doesn't exist. At least, that's the impression put across by former NFL running back Ricky Williams when he discussed the recent concern about concussions in football with ESPN's Dan Le Batard. Williams, who played for the New Orleans Saints, Miami Dolphins and Baltimore Ravens during an 11-year career in which he gained over 10,000 rushing yards, retired in February. And when it comes to the possible effects of the game as he enters a new phase of his life ... well, Williams can't really be bothered.

"I have no idea, and I'm not a really big fan of the way the NFL is handling concussions," Williams said on Tuesday. "Maybe I'm stupid or whatever, but if I got a concussion, and I could see straight and I could carry a football, I'm not telling anybody ... From what I've seen, [the NFL is] all about prevention -- but can you prevent a concussion? I mean, you can definitely have safer helmets, and I had what I think was the safest helmet when I played, and I think you can definitely pay more attention. But ultimately, it's about the players. And I think all this attention given to prevention -- it seems like they haven't done anything, because they don't believe they can actually treat a concussion."

[Related: Concussion worries lead Andrew Sweat to choose law school over NFL]

When Le Batard said that he didn't understand Williams' statement (put us in that camp as well), Williams elaborated.

"Most of the research around concussions is to find that 100 percent of football players have brain trauma. Well -- I don't want someone to tell me that, right? I don't want someone to tell me that, because if it's a 'doctor' [Williams used air quotes when he said the word 'doctor'], I don't buy it."

The now incredulous Le Batard asked Williams to clarify his stance -- did he believe that there is not a link between football and concussions?

"I don't buy it. I'm only speaking from my personal experience, because I haven't allowed myself to buy it, and I haven't been affected. Yes, I'm aware that football is a rough sport, but instead of saying, 'Oh -- I'm doomed to brain trauma,' I said, 'What can I do about it?' And I just started taking care of my body. I found people, places and things that really helped me -- again, I don't know what's going to happen to me in 10 years, but I look at the other things I've learned about, and the way I see the world.

"And to me, it's like -- OK, yes. If we're going to spend six months brutalizing our bodies, I said, 'That makes sense. I'm going to spend six months taking care of my body.' I started to equip myself with tools. I started practicing yoga, and I started learning some hands-on healing stuff. I found really good chiropractors and massage therapists, and I found that I was able to peel off layers of trauma on my body. I actually move better now than I did [when I played]."

When asked about the science of brain trauma, Williams passed it off. "Science is the deity, but should it be?"

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