ATLANTA — The NFC South should change its name to the OAD: Overcoming Adversity Division.

The Carolina Panthers fought with each other in training camp, but now they're oozing with camaraderie and chemistry. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have played through injuries and a game of musical chairs at quarterback. The New Orleans Saints are hanging on, despite Reggie Bush's ailing knee and several top players testing positive for a banned weight-loss drug.

And the Atlanta Falcons? Well, Michael Vick's in prison and Bobby Petrino's coaching college kids again. 'Nuff said.

But the Falcons — and everyone else in the NFC South — have battled through their own unique set of hardships to form one of the league's most imposing quartets. Midway through the season, each of them has at least a .500 record and some degree of hope to still be playing in the first month of 2009.

"Someone's gone down, someone's stepped up," Bucs coach Jon Gruden said a couple of weeks ago, reflecting on his own team but really speaking for the entire division.

The Panthers have surged into first place, which hardly appeared likely after star receiver Steve Smith attacked teammate Ken Lucas during training camp. Lucas was on one knee when Smith sucker-punched him, breaking his nose. Coach John Fox handed Smith a two-game suspension and implored everyone else to not retaliate against the fiery Smith.

Carolina could have fallen apart, especially after going 15-17 the last two seasons. Instead, the Panthers seem to have taken the ugliness of the preseason and forged a closer bond. Smith apologized. Lucas accepted. The team moved on — right to the top of a plucky division.

Carolina Panthers (6-2)

The biggest question for the Panthers heading into what many felt was a make-or-break season for Fox and general manager Marty Hurney: Was Jake Delhomme fully recovered from reconstructive elbow surgery?

Carolina gambled that he was, choosing not to sign another quarterback, and Delhomme quickly proved it was the right move. He threw a winning touchdown pass as the clock ran out to beat San Diego in the opener. Then he rallied the Panthers from two touchdowns down against Chicago — giving the Panthers a 2-0 start without Smith.

Once he returned, Smith quickly defused any hard feelings by awarding the ball to Lucas after his first TD. The offense — anemic a year ago without Delhomme — has been much more effective with a rebuilt line and the return of Muhsin Muhammad, who lured coverages away from Smith.

But a word of caution: After starting the second half of the season with very winnable games against Oakland (2-6) and winless Detroit, the schedule gets a whole lot tougher. Carolina plays four of its last six on the road, and the two home games are against Tampa Bay and AFC West leader Denver.

Grade: A.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers (6-3)

Gruden started the season with Jeff Garcia as his starting quarterback, benched him after the opener in favor of Brian Griese, then decided that Garcia was, indeed, the man.

Well, for now anyway.

No matter who's taking the snaps, the Bucs deserve props for the way they've dealt with a rash of injuries. Antonio Bryant and Michael Clayton stepped up at receiver after Joey Galloway went down. The defense carried on with linebacker Derrick Brooks slowed by a sore hamstring. Rookie Jeremy Zuttah was pressed into service at two positions on the offensive line.

The Bucs had to be feeling good about themselves after pulling off the biggest comeback in team history heading into their bye week. Trailing 24-3 at Kansas City, they rallied for a 30-27 overtime victory behind Garcia's 339 yards passing, Clifton Smith's 97-yard kickoff return and a fortuitous penalty in OT that gave Matt Bryant a second chance at the winning field goal.

The remaining schedule looks pretty favorable, too. Beyond games against all three division rivals, the Bucs face four teams with a combined record of 9-23.

Grade: B-plus.

Atlanta Falcons (5-3)

No team has battled through more adversity than this one.

The Falcons were forced to start over after Vick's passion for dogfighting left him wearing prison stripes instead of a helmet and shoulder pads. Petrino didn't bother hanging around to see how it turned out, bailing out on last season's 4-12 debacle as soon as anyone (Arkansas, it turned out) came to him with a better offer. Never mind he had coached only 13 games for the Falcons.

Classy move, Bobby.

Instead of feeling sorry for themselves, the Falcons cleaned house. Youthful Thomas Dimitroff took over as GM. Career assistant Mike Smith got his first shot at a head coaching job. And, most important, Atlanta used its top draft pick on Vick's replacement, quarterback Matt Ryan.

Dimitroff dumped popular veterans Warrick Dunn and Alge Crumpler, traded stir-the-pot cornerback DeAngelo Hall and assembled one of the league's youngest rosters. Smith brought the locker room together after Petrino's slash-and-burn tactics. Ryan has combined with another newcomer, running back Michael Turner, to restore respectability to the offense.

Then there's John Abraham, who's been a one-man wrecking crew at defensive end. Despite constant double-teaming, he already has 10 sacks.

Granted, three of Atlanta's wins have been against teams with a combined record of 3-21, so it might be tough taking this comeback of a season all the way to the playoffs. Still, the Falcons get high praise for having already won more games than all of last season.

Grade: A-minus.

New Orleans Saints (4-4)

Drew Brees is keeping this team on the fringe of playoff contention, completing 60 percent of his passes for a league-leading 2,563 yards and 15 touchdowns.

But the Saints will have to be more consistent over the second half if they want to have any chance of reaching the postseason. They have yet to win consecutive games, largely because of a devastating series of injuries, and they've been tarnished more than any other team by a doping scandal.

Deuce McAllister, the team's leading career rusher, faces a potential four-game suspension after taking a weight-loss supplement that apparently contained a diuretic banned by the NFL. The cloud also hangs over defensive ends Will Smith and Charles Grant. Offensive guard Jamar Nesbit already had to sit for the same violation.

But if appeals work out, and Bush returns from knee surgery with his same explosiveness, the Saints may have a chance to turn things around. For now, they deserve the appropriate mark for mediocrity, with a slight uptick as extra credit for perseverance.

Grade: C-plus.