In the past, the NFC North division has been seen as a one of the most competitive divisions in the NFL. But times have changed— will 2015 be any different?
Chicago Bears
To put it plainly, the Da Bears sucked last year and will continue to suck this year and it will be glorious. Gone is Brandon Marshall, Alshon Jeffery has been hurt and unable to practice most of the offseason, Matt Forte is staring down his 30th birthday this season (which has been the death knell for many a running back), Martellus Bennett is still in the fold but unfortunately (or hilariously if you’re a Packers fan), Jay Cutler is still under center. This team will struggle to score points this season due to its general lack of talent; Red Grange ain’t walking through that door, neither is Kevin White, Chi-City’s receiver drafted seventh overall, who is out indefinitely with a stress fracture in his left shin.
Defensively new head coach John Fox will try and make chicken salad out of chicken you know what. The cupboard is basically bare. In the secondary, second-year man Kyle Fuller’s got talent but Tim Jennings is gone, Antrel Rolle is 32 and last year’s starting free safety was sent to IR. On the D-line, Jared Allen is switching from defensive end to linebacker which will no doubt be a challenge for the veteran in his final act. Opposing quarterbacks, wide receivers, running backs and even fiesty offensive linemen must be salivating at the prospect of gashing this defense. After last season, George Halas must’ve been rolling over in his grave watching the lack of heart and competitive spirit shown by this unit.
At every position, with a few exceptions (guard Matt Slauson, for example), the Bears roster is either too old, too young or too ineffective to be competitive. The departures of Marshall and Charles Tillman means the heart and soul of this team may have also been vacated in the process. Another bad season awaits this once proud franchise; “Bear Down”, it’s going to be a bumpy ride in Chicago.
Detroit Lions
In 2014 the finished Lions 11-5 and had their best season since the ’90s, and their best defensive season since the early ’80s. They were top five overall in total points allowed thanks in large part to a large man named Ndamukong Suh, who has since taken his talents to South Beach. Without Suh, and to a lesser extent Nick Fairly and CJ Mosely (the defensive tackle, not the linebacker), the Lions D will be hard pressed to recreate the once every 30 year defense that Detroit showed last year. The football Motor City Kitties are looking for new additions Haloti Ngata and Tyrunn Walker to replace some of the production lost along the defensive front four.
The weakness of this defensive roster has been and continues to be the talent, or lack thereof, in the secondary. Even with the terror coming from the D-line, opposing teams completed 64% of their passes which ranked Detroit ninth worst. Furthermore this secondary ranked seventh worst by allowing 209 first downs through the air. Full disclosure here: The Lions did only allow 23 passing touchdowns, good for 11th best last season, but those numbers reek of fluke-i-ness. As far as the personnel, it’s also fair to ask how much do James Ihedibo (31) and Rashean Mathis (35) have left to offer outside of “veteran knowhow”.
At linebacker, the return of Stephen Tulloch will be a happy sight after he missed the last 13 games of 2014, and Kyle Van Noy’s rookie season was very impressive. Still, the newly re-upped DeAndre Levy will carry the load for this unit. Ngata may be able to help against the run but this defense will have a precipitous drop off from last year.
On offense, the Lions will look to create opportunities for Matt Stafford to improve upon his below average completion percentage. Stafford finished the 2014 season with 60.3% completion percentage, which grouped him with the likes of Geno Smith, Colin Kaepernick and Nick Foles. Only once in his seven-year career has Stafford had a higher completion percentage, which is a huge reason why the Lions can’t beat teams with winning records. There are just too many weapons, including this guy you may have heard of named Calvin Johnson, for such a paltry percentage.
Look for the Lions to once again revert to the Lions— a middling team that masquerades as good one.
Minnesota Vikings
Winter and the Minnesota Vikings are coming, y’all. They’ve played well in this preseason, for what it’s worth, and they’ve got an up and coming quarterback who might prove himself to be the second-best QB in the division this year. Additionally, they’re returning Adrian Peterson to this roster, who will be out to prove that he’s the best running back — or the LeBron James of football — even at 30 years old. The Vikings are the biggest threat to a Packers five-peat in the North.
Offensively, the Vikings will be able to balance a dominating rushing attack with a solid group of pass catchers for the rapidly improving Teddy Bridgewater, including newly minted Mike Wallace and sophomore wideout Charles Johnson. If teams want to put eight in the box to stop Peterson, they’ll risk getting sliced and diced on the back end, as well as punched in the mouth.
Head coach Mike Zimmer has brought over a decade of experience as a defensive coordinator to the Vikings and it showed last year when Minnesota ranked 11th overall in points allowed per game. This defense is full of talented players both young and still in their primes. Harrison Smith, Xavier Rhondes and linebacker Anthony Barr have what it takes to become household names, and Chad Greenway is still making plays week in and week out. Minny also went defense first with each of its first three draft picks, one at each level of the defense. The main question facing this defense is whether or not they can create turnovers. Last year the Vikings were in the bottom third for both interceptions and fumbles forced. For this defense to reach another level, they’ll need to figure out how to manufacture takeaways.
Were the Packers Super Bowl chances crumpled up on the grass of Heinz Field next to Jordy Nelson two weeks ago?
Green Bay Packers
Since winning the Super Bowl in 2010, the Packers have won this division each year as they’ve remained one of the upper echelon teams in the NFL. This season, the Pack is not only favored to win the division, but to also return to the NFC title game.
The conversation on Green Bay begins and ends with All-Pro quarterback Aaron Rodgers. The two-time (and reigning) league MVP, former Super Bowl MVP, Jeopardy! champion and the best quarterback in the business has an experienced offensive line and a deep group of skill players at his disposal. While Rodgers is fully capable of winning another MVP award, the team is also capable of raising the Lombardi Trophy in Santa Clara, even despite the loss of wide receiver Jordy Nelson for the season due to a blown out knee.
The Packers have a treasure trove of skill players including the newly reacquired James Jones, Randall Cobb, breakout candidate Davante Adams, tight end Richard Rodgers, dynamic rookie return man Ty Montgomery and former Offensive Rookie of the Year — and current blocker of Trent Richardson phone calls — Eddie Lacy. Barring a 2010 level of injuries, this offense will be nearly unstoppable once the machine gets going.
On defense, the Pack don’t lack for playmakers but have been dependent on creating turnovers to make up for lack of consistent pass rush or ability to consistently stop the run. In a lot of ways, the Packers play defense to compete against a team like the Packers. Last year defensive coordinator Dom Capers was forced, due to injury and ineffectiveness, to move Clay Matthews from outside to inside linebacker to help with the run defense. The move paid off and will continue this season. With Letroy Guion and Datone Jones serving suspensions of three games and one game respectively, this defensive front seven will be stretched a bit thin in the first quarter of the season.
On the back end, Sam Shields has gone from undrafted rookie to shut down corner, and will be roaming the secondary along with Morgan Burnett and Casey Hayward, the veteran leader for this young group. In the offseason, the Packers let go of cornerback Tramon Williams and didn’t match the Jags offer for Davon House and thus, will look for rookies Quintin Rollins, Damarious Randall and Ladarius Gunter to step up and step into the defense and make plays.
Put it all together and you have the makings of a team that is ready to make up for the epic collapse in Seattle last season that cost the Packers a chance at the title.
Justin’s NFC North Champion: Green Bay Packers
Kenneth’s NFC North Champion: Green Bay Packers