Today we move from the most competitive NFC division to what I believe is the most talented division (sorry NFC West, the Cards and Rams don't stack up to the Lions and Vikings, both of whom have made the playoffs once in the last two years). The NFC North is stacked with the league's best players at RB, WR, AND QB. Seriously, they house the best player at each of those positions; what's not to love. Regardless, I think the rankings should be a little easier to predict. There's an alpha dog, a team that really (I mean really) outperformed expectations, a team that choked, and a talented misfit. Let's take a look.
4. The Minnesota Vikings-Fans of this squad will probably site their possession of the best player in the league as enough evidence to not be a basement team. I'm sorry, but as long as Christian Ponder is your field general I cannot put you higher than this. Adrian Peterson literally put the team on his back last year, and he will regress. He'll probably still run well over 1500 yards, but it is nearly impossible to repeat the 2000 yard performance he shocked everyone with last year. Greg Jennings is certainly an improvement for the receiver corps, but he has struggled with health and no longer has a certain Aaron Rodgers chucking him the ball. I still have faith in him, but not enough to make Ponder look like a stud. The defense is always solid up front, but the secondary and linebackers are nothing to write home about. In the AFC this team would probably be a wildcard contender, but not here, so sit back and enjoy the AP show like the rest of us. Seriously, just hand it off every play and let him go for the record. Please?
3. The Detroit Lions-This team suffered some misfortune last year. Fresh off their first postseason appearance in....um...forever?, they lost a ton of close games and struggled to a 4-12 record. This team is better than that. They added Reggie Bush who, I believe, will turn out to be the perfect piece for them. Mikel Leshoure is decent for the goal line, but Reggie is a talented between the tackles runner, and will be great out of the backfield. Stafford to Megatron will continue to produce, and I believe he finally cracks 2k yards this year. The rest of the receiving corps is solid, and the defense will do fine (even though Ndamakong Suh is an ass). I see 8-8 in this team's future.
2. The Chicago Bears-A 10-6 team last year, I believe the Bears won't choke away a playoff berth this year. They looked fantastic the first half of the season last year, and then suffered losses to Seattle, SF, GB, and Houston. Not exactly an easy back half. Their schedule shouldn't be as difficult this year, and the defense is always top 10. They produce an insane amount of turnovers, although that is a little hard to duplicate. They have a top 3 receiver, and somehow they were still only the 29th best passing team last year. They can only improve in that department, and as long as Forte stays healthy they will run the ball well. If only they didn't have to play the number one team twice a year...
1. The Green Bay Packers-Last I checked they still have Aaron Rodgers. The best quarterback in the league, he continues to make any receive he comes across a stud. Last year it was Randall Cobb and James Jones, so who knows who may come out of nowhere this year. Jones's TD numbers are probably not going to be quite as high, but that just means more for Cobb and Nelson. They picked up two solid RBs in Eddie Lacy and Johnathan Franklin, so their running game will improve. Clay Matthews is the foundation of a top ten passing defense, but really there isn't too much need for defense here. This team is going to put up points. Lots of points. They have been brought down to earth recently by defensive studs such as the Niners, but they aren't in this division, so GB isn't too worried. Another great year for the Pack coming.
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