2011 NFC North Preview

For the fourth of our eight part 2011 NFL preview, we take a look at the NFC North. The teams are listed in order of where we expect them to finish.

 1. Green Bay Packers: Last year, the Packers won the Super Bowl despite getting decimated by injuries all over the place. With the loss of every down back Ryan Grant, they were forced to rely on Aaron Rodgers when a viable alternative never developed. Rodgers delivered, and immediately placed himself in the discussion of top three quarterbacks in the NFL. With a healthy receiving corps now that Jermichael Finley and Donald Driver are back, the explosive Greg Jennings, and the potential breakout candidate James Jones; the offense can only get better. Grant is now going to be in a time share with playoff hero James Starks, adding a top notch running game to the elite passing game.

Usually, when a team is so dominant on one side of the ball, they are deficient on the other (we’re looking at you, Indianapolis Colts). That is simply not the case here. While the losses of Cullen Jenkins and Nick Barnett will hurt, they simply have players waiting in the wings that they will plug in. The line is still deep and quite capable of pressuring the quarterback despite being a 3-4. The linebackers are still a group of playmakers, headlined by Clay Matthews Jr. The secondary can not only play man coverage with the best of the NFL, but are all quite capable at blitzing from the edge.

An already deep team actually got better in the draft, despite having the last pick. This could be another Super Bowl run.

2. Detroit Lions: In theory, the Lions will go only as far as Matthew Stafford can bring them. Unfortunately, Stafford has been injured in each of his first two seasons. Fortunately for the Lions, this simply shows that they may be the deepest of any team at quarterback, as the three Lions QBs totaled 4001 yards, 26 touchdowns, and only 16 interceptions. Of course, it helps to have an absolute stud receiver in Calvin Johnson to throw to, but he has help. Brandon Pettigrew is a solid tight end, and the selection of Titus Young allows Nate Burleson to work the slot, where he is better suited. The biggest question is whether or not Jahvid Best can put together a complete season. He showed flashes of pure brilliance prior to his turf toe injury last year, but he will need to be the playmaker the Lions front office expects him to be.

On defense, the Lions are much improved. Ndamukong Suh may very well be the best defensive tackle at getting to the quarterback since Warren Sapp was in his prime. Adding Nick Fairley along side of him just makes his job that much easier. The defensive ends, Cliff Avril and Kyle Vanden Bosch, are both solid, and will benefit from the one-on-one matchups they will receive. Linebacker, which was a major weakness for the past few years, has been dramatically upgraded. Stephen Tulloch, Justin Durant, and DeAndre Levy are the best trio of linebackers that the Lions have had in years. The secondary finally has something there aside from third year safety Louis Delams. Chris Houston was resigned, and Eric Wright, a very underrated corner, was brought in as the second starter. This defense could be dominant if they stay healthy.
We here at Mr. Dave’s Sports Blog are not afraid to go out on a limb, so here it is – the Lions make the playoffs as the number five seed AND win a playoff game. Get used to Detroit playing good football.

3. Chicago Bears:Last year, the Bears won the division and made the NFC Championship game. That may as well have been in a different century. Statistically, the Bears should have been a nine win team last year, and it is hard to see where they will be much better than that this year. Jay Cutler is back, but does he have the respect of the locker room and the offense after he seemingly quit on them last year? Their offensive line is still a work in progress, and may have more holes than the slice of Swiss cheese on my sandwich. The biggest acquisition on offense was Roy Williams, who did have success with Mike Martz in Detroit, but is still exceedingly overrated. The key to the offense should by Matt Forte, who is a solid runner and pass catcher. Lovie Smith likes to run the ball, and Martz likes to throw to the running back, yet there are times when Forte is forgotten in that offense.

The defense still have a lot of name recognition with Brian Urlacher, Juluis Peppers, and Lance Briggs; but are they really any good? The defense is old, and is more about executing their scheme than reacting and chasing down plays. While the Bears were the second best rushing defense last year, is it truly feasible to expect them to maintain that pace? There is absolutely no depth behind the starters anywhere on this defense, so any time lost to injury will be a major concern.

The Bears are going to drop to the lower half of the division this year, and, if they are not careful, may sink all the way to the bottom.

4. Minnesota Vikings: Coming off the debacle that was last year and Brett Favre, the Vikings are a team that has something to prove. By trading for Donovan McNabb, they not only got seven years younger at quarterback, but brought in someone that personifies that mindset. McNabb will have a chip on his shoulder and will be motivated to show that he can still play after being unceremoniously dumped by the non-genius Mike Shanahan. The passing game is going to be designed to play to his strengths, and feature rollouts, bootlegs, and have McNabb only scan half the field for plays. Sidney Rice was allowed to leave through free agency, making Percy Harvin the de facto number one receiver. Harvin is a playmaker, but may be better suited to his role in the slot, and occasional use out of the backfield. If that happens to be the case, expect the tight ends to get a lot of work this year. And, of course, having a running back the caliber of Adrian Peterson helps alleviate a lot of pressure on the passing game. Now that Peterson appears to be over his early fumbling problems, he is the best back in the game.

Defensively, there is a lot of flux. The entire defensive line is in disarray, as the only starter from Week One last year that will be playing on Opening Day is Jared Allen. Kevin Williams will miss two games from his long-awaited suspension, and Pat Williams and Ray Edwards departed as free agents. The players expected to take their spots are not nearly as talented as their predecessors. Chad Greenway and E.J. Henderson are playmakers at linebacker, and Antoine Winfield is one of the better cornerbacks in the game, but they are rather deficient on this side of the ball. The secondary will need the pass rush to re-emerge for them to avoid being torched frequently.

If everything breaks right, the Vikings may be in the hunt for a playoff berth late into December. However, it is more likely that December is all about seeing what Christian Ponder can do behind center.