Team Outlooks: NFC North

These lists will go in order of last years division standings, and I will not be predicting standings here. This is just an objective view on what has happened with these teams over the offseason and a general educated guess of how they will fair in 2010.

The NFC North holds the divisions two biggest power houses, or does it? More after the jump.


Minnesota Vikings


Dem Purps had a wild season last year after they landing the Golden Child Senior Citizen that is Brett Favre. As he was surrounded by some of the best talent he has ever played with he, not surprisingly, had one of his better seasons. Unfortunately for Minnesota they fell short. Fans should feel proud though, they only lost to the Super Bowl Champion Saints.

Their best defensive player

Once again this preseason was all about Favre. He was "definitely" coming back. Then he "retired." Now he's back again but for how long? He says he can only play for as long as his ankle holds up. Given his age that could literally be until this afternoon. Now Sidney Rice is going to miss about half of the season, Percy Harvin is suffering from major migraines, Adrian Peterson still can't hold onto the football, and Brad Childress is still the coach. So they have a lot of questions for such a talented offense. Some believe they have a stout defense, but I am one of those who holds some doubt in it. They can cause turnovers and stop the run against a small offensive line, but all you have to do is pass against them and it's like running an offense through your mom, it's wide open.


Green Bay Packers


I used to hate the Packers. Now I realize I think I only hate Favre. Anyways, to me they are the new favorites in this division and in the NFC as a whole. Lets start with the good. Holy Nick Snowdon, Aaron Rodgers is good. He does has a slow delivery but that is probably his only flaw. His arm is a rocket with precision, he throws a near perfect spiral, and he can run. He's also throwing to a pretty talented receiving group. Greg Jennings is a certified #1, Donald Driver, though old, is still a reliable route runner and has good hands, and young Jermichael Finley is an up-and-coming star tight end.

Their defense is anchored by Charles Woodson, and though aging, is still one of the most physical and talented corners in football. Their 3-4 scheme has a great young linebacker core. Their biggest problem is they are all mullet wearing hicks. 


On the negative or questionable side is their running game. Their offensive line hasn't always been the greatest and it doesn't help that Ryan Grant is incredibly streaky. Overall this could be a great season for them anyways. 


Chicago Bears

Da Bears had a really disappointing season last year. After they nabbed Jay Cutler ESPN and SI orgasmed over the possibilities. They forgot that he throws picks like a blind Jake Delhomme, especially in the redzone. 


Their defense also got plagued by the injury bear. Most notably they lost Brian Urlacher in the preseason. This year their defense is fully healthy and they have new additions highlighted by sack specialist Julius Peppers. I think this year the Bears will go back to their old ways and play dominating defense. 


Offense is a whole different story. Jay Cutler is still Jay Cutler. Rumor is he is learning to play in the Bears scheme, aka not throwing the ball very much and just letting running, short passes, and defense win the game. They have a very young receiving group with potential but it has yet to be seen if Devin Hester, Johnny Knox and Earl Bennett are the real deal. It also remains to be seen if Matt Forte will play like he did his rookie year or if his sophomore slump wasn't just a fluke.


Detroit Lions


After another winning season, making that 23 winning seasons in a row for the Lions, they can look forward to another deep playoff run in 2010...

On offense I think the Lions actually have a lot to look forward to this year. Megatron is one of the best WRs in the game and there were many times last year where Matthew Stafford looked like a legit starting QB. Now he has a year under his belt and is fully healthy along with some other talent around him so he could have a good season. Jahvid Best has run the ball impressively this preseason, and running him in tandem with Kevin Smith could provide a great rushing attack for the Lions, provided the offensive line can open up some sort of hole. 


On defense they have a few great players. Obviously drafting Ndamukong Suh was a great 
move. He has all the talent and size in the world and we saw during the preseason that he has the fire and anger to play defensive line in the NFL. Kyle Vanden Bosch is a good defensive end, and Julian Peterson is a very underrated outside linebacker. Too bad they have absolutely no secondary.