NFC North
1. Minnesota Vikings (9-7)
2. Green Bay Packers (8-8)
3. Detroit Lions (6-10)
4. Chicago Bears (3-13)
Minnesota Vikings: I think Tarvaris Jackson (pictured, left) is terrible. This has been well-documented and I've never really seen anything to make me think otherwise.How bad is he? He's pretty much the only reason I have any doubt about the Vikings winning the division. He's also the main reason this team has "Wild Card Weekend loss in the Playoffs" written all over them. In his first full year as a starter last season, he didn't exactly inspire a ton of confidence — why else would the Vikings actively and (allegedly) illegally pursue Brett Favre in the offseason?
I actually would liked to have seen the Vikes go after someone steady like Chad Pennington (instead of Favre) because here's the thing — the QB of this team doesn't have to be great — he just has to not be bad (which has proven a tough task for him thus far). I get that Jackson has more potential, but this team is ready and able to win now.
That's because they still have an absolute monster offensive line leading the way for an absolute monster running game. Adrian Peterson returns for his sophomore season and he still has a capable backup in Chester Taylor for when he gets hurt (notice I didn't say "if"). The Vikes also added former Bears WR Bernard Berrian, who's a little overrated, but has plenty of experience catching deep passes from substandard quarterbacks.
What about their defense you ask? Well they've been the best against the run for two years in a row. Of course, they were dead last against the pass, but they added the best available pass rusher (DE Jared Allen) in the offseason.
This team made some good moves in the offseason, and is ready to make a strong playoff run. Now all they need is for their quarterback to not ruin it for them.
Green Bay Packers: Since I'm not exactly a fan of Brett Favre, it's not difficult to admit there's a little part of me that's rooting for Aaron Rodgers (pictured, right) to succeed (or at least not fall flat on his face).
He's got as good a chance as any, as he inherits a team that went 13-3 last year and was a game (and an INT by you-know-who) away from the Super Bowl.
So why don't I have them repeating as division champions. Well, there's still the matter of Rodgers having almost no experience as an NFL quarterback. There's also the fact that his health has been an issue and, if he DOES go down (a decent bet), all the Packers have to back him up are a couple of rookies and their season would probably be over. There's also the small matter of no player in the league having more pressure on him than Rodgers.
I expect the Packers' defense to continue to be very, very good, but I think their offense will take a step back. RB Ryan Grant played out of his mind last year, but, let's remember — his career so far really consists of one solid half of a season. He also got a nice fat contract as a reward, so there's a chance complacency might set in. I also don't think WR Greg Jennings and James Jones are quite as good as their performances last year and REALLY benefited from playing with Favre.
I think this year will be a learning curve for Rodgers and the team will probably come back stronger in 2009. By then, every Favre fan in Green Bay should be tired of booing every Rodgers incompletion and interception and throwing tomatoes at GM Ted Thompson in the streets.
Detroit Lions: With "offensive mastermind" Mike Martz gone (the Lions finished 19th in offense last season), head coach Rod Marinelli will look to remake his team into a defensive minded, run-oriented squad.
At least he'll try. He shouldn't ignore that he's got the best quarterback in the division (seriously!) in Jon Kitna and two of the biggest receiving threats in Roy Williams and Calvin Johnson. Marinelli will want to run the ball, but his two main options are Tatum Bell, who went into the witness protection program for the second half of last season, and rookie RB Kevin Smith as the likely starter.
Most importantly, Marinelli is going to HAVE to update the defense which finished dead last in yards per game allowed. To help remedy that, he's brought in a couple of former Buccaneer secondary players (Brian Kelly and Dwight Smith) Marinelli knows from his days as a Tampa assistant. Personally, I'd be more excited about those signings if this were 2003, but Kelly and Smith should help a bit (they can't make it worse).In a nutshell, the Lions won't be very good (what else is new?), but they'll be fun to watch (that IS new). Also, Matt Millen (pictured, left) will get to keep his job (file under: "what else is new?")
Chicago Bears: Is this team — with mostly the same roster — really just two years removed from a Super Bowl appearance?
With Kyle Orton "winning" the starting QB job over Rex Grossman (is there really a winner?), comes the end of the quarterback controversy involving the least amount of talent in recent NFL history. The only upside is that now my boy Grossman (Gator!) won't have to answer questions about when he'll be benched every week.
For added fun, they lost their entire receiving corps (Bernard Berrian, Mushin Mohammad) and replaced them with Brandon Lloyd (who was a huge disappointment in San Francisco) and Marty Booker (are we sure this isn't 2003).
Finally, All-Pro knucklehead Cedric Benson — who was arrested in the offseason for Boating
While Intoxicated and for the murder of my fantasy football season last year — is gone, making way for rookie running back Matt Forte, who I actually think will be a pleasant surprise this year. Then again, pretty much anyone will look pleasant by comparison after Benson stunk up the joint last year.The Bears defense, which bailed them out of many games over the last few years, started to show some cracks this season. Right now, with LB and leader Brian Urlacher coming off an injury, the defense is right on the brink of being over the hill.
Bottom line — it's rarely a good sign when the best player on your team (Devin Hester, pictured, right), is your kick returner.
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