1. Green Bay Packers
The Packers are still the best team in this division but that’s not saying too much. Last season the Lions, Packers, and Bears were close especially when it came down to the last few weeks of the season and who would win the division. The Packers won the division even with Aaron Rodgers out for most of the season with that broken collarbone. So having Rodgers for the whole season alone should keep them atop the division.
They also signed a rivals top sack guy in Julius Peppers, Peppers was the sack leader in Chicago last year and the Packers were able to bring him in when the Bears released him. The Packers already have a couple guys capable of rushing the passer. Adding Peppers to the mix will no doubt improve the Packers defense even if he is just in on passing situations. With guys like Jay Cutler and Matthew Stafford in the division getting to the quarterback is a focus on defense.
They also haven’t lost many of their key players from last seasons divisions championship team. They lost James Jones but with Randall Cobb coming back at full strength and Jarrett Boykin coming into his own Jones was expendable. The one loss that worries me was the is Evan Dietrich-Smith. He was a key on that offensive line so it will be interesting to see what their plan will be to replace him.
2. Chicago Bears 8-8
The Bears were second in the division last year even after Jay Cutler went down for five games. They also lost key defensive players like Charles Tillman and Lance Briggs. The team was able to claw its way to 8-8 and almost get into the playoffs even with their injury problems. A lot of it can be thanks to the emergence of one of the best receiving tandems in the league. Brandon Marshall and Alshon Jeffery took over last year, add in Matt Forte and Cutler for 16 games this offense is pretty deadly.
But this year they will battle to dethrone the Packers with the huge improvements to their defensive line. Last year they struggled at getting to the passer and in this division it can be tough to get wins without that aspect to your defense. Julius Peppers was the team leader last year with seven and a half sacks. This season they dropped Peppers and brought in to of the big name defensive ends from free agency. Lamarr Houston is a young gun with a lot of potential, he alone improves the defensive line. But the Bears took it a step further and signed Jared Allen from division rival Minnesota Vikings.
The Allen, Houston tandem drastically improves the Bears defensive line and the pass rushing ability. That in turn will no doubt create more turnovers from quarterback fumbles or interceptions from forced throws. The Bears have also improved the safety position and the competition for the two starting positions. They signed four safeties headlined by Ryan Mundy who has starting experience with the New York Giants. If another starter can emerge the Bears defense can get back to becoming one of the best in the NFL.
3. Detroit Lions 7-9
The Lions were in the driving seat last year and definitely should have won the NFC North last season. Unfortunately they went 2-6 after the bye week losing their last four games to finish third at 7-9. This was a surprise because most favorited the Lions and their beastly offense with weapons like Reggie Bush and the best receiver in the game right now Calvin Johnson. With star power like that the Lions had all the tool to win the NFC North and make a run at the playoffs.
The Lions will see another offensive playmaker added to their trio, Golden Tate signed with the team this off season after winning a Super Bowl with the Seattle Seahawks. Tate is an underrated receiver and pairing him with Johnson and Bush means trouble for the rest of the division. For one triple teaming Johnson is no longer an option with a guy across from him with the capability to take a short pass all the way to pay dirt. Also the addition of Jed Collins will expand the Lions offense and open some running lanes for Bush.
What we really will have to wait and see about is the Lions defense. Their defensive line is top notch and their linebackers are decent. The issue would be the secondary that lost Louis Delmas one of the teams top tacklers. The team was able to bring in veteran James Ihedigbo from the Ravens, but will he be able to anchor this secondary.
4. Minnesota Vikings
The Vikings bring up the rear as they did at the end of last season. The team has the best running back in football but after that it gets…..well, awkward. Last year the team struggled as the team started three different quarterbacks, each with just as much success as the last. I guess if you would have to pick one Matt Cassel played the best but best also usually means good. In this case its more like eh, ok it didn’t kill us.
The team lost their best defensive player in Jared Allen to the division rival Chicago Bears. This is worst than just losing Allen because he is now in the division and capable of revenge numbers twice a year. The team hasn’t really brought in any star power to replace Allen on the defensive line. Linval Joseph is a good player but there’s no way he can replace Allen’s production. However I like the pick up of Captain Munnerlyn to come in and strengthen the Viking secondary. He had a good season last year and at 25 years old he still has his prime years ahead of him.
What really kept them at the bottom of the division standing was the fact that they didn’t want to bring in a veteran quarterback. Even after Adrian Peterson’s plea to sign Michael Vick the team got nothing done. The fact that their quarterback situation is exactly where it left off from just makes me wonder if this team is any better than a five win group.