The Green Bay Packers overcame a multitude of injuries and having to win all their playoff games on the road to become Super Bowl champions. With their injured guys returning and most of the team in tact, the Packers seem to be the prohibitive favorites to repeat as Super Bowl champs. The NFC North doesn't figure to bring much of a challenge this season. The Minnesota Vikings are in a sort of purgatory between complete rebuilding and trying to win now. The Detroit Lions seem on the precipice of being an actual contender but are probably still a year away. The Chicago Bears defied all laws of football to make the NFC Championship last season but I expect a heavy fall from grace this year.
1. Green Bay Packers
2010 Record: 10-6, 2nd place NFC North, Super Bowl champions
Head Coach: Mike McCarthy (6th season Green Bay, 53-34 career)
Key Additions: OL Derek Sherrod
Key Losses: RB Brandon Jackson, DE Cullen Jenkins
2011 Outlook: The Packers built their team through shrewd drafting. Because of that, they once again were barely active in the free agent market. When you have a team that can withstand the amount of injuries the Packers did last season, there is no reason to change much. QB Aaron Rodgers has evolved into a Top 5 NFL quarterback and he has an absurd amount of offensive firepower. RB Ryan Grant returns and the Packers hope he can team with James Starks to provide an effective 1-2 combo. At wide receiver Rodgers has more options than he will probably know what to do with. Greg Jennings, Donald Driver, Jordy Nelson, and the surprising return of James Jones give the Packers a lethal stable of wide receivers. TE Jermichael Finley is returning from injury and he will be backed up by promising rookie D.J. Williams. Defensively, the Packers return everyone but Cullen Jenkins. They struggled some against the run last year and with the loss of Jenkins that could be something to watch. The schedule isn't as challenging as you would expect for a team coming off a Super Bowl win. With most teams you would say watch out for injuries but the Packers showed last year that the norm doesn't apply to them. The Packers will once again be one of the league's best.
Prediction: 12-4
2. Minnesota Vikings
2010 Record: 6-10, last place NFC North
Head Coach: Leslie Frazier (1st season Minnesota, 3-3 career)
Key Additions: QB Christian Ponder, QB Donovan McNabb, WR Michael Jenkins, WR Devin Aromashadu, TE Kyle Rudolph, DT Remi Ayodele
Key Losses: QB Brett Favre, QB Tavaris Jackson, WR Sidney Rice, OT Bryant McKinnie, S Madieu Williams, DE Ray Edwards
2011 Outlook: The Vikings thought bringing everyone back last season, including once again coaxing Brett Favre out of Mississippi, was what would bring them a Super Bowl. Instead, the season turned into a nightmare. Favre was injured and awful, a trade for Randy Moss was a disaster, and Brad Childress was the fall guy and axed with 6 games left in the season. The Vikings played .500 football under Leslie Frazier, and that was enough to earn him the permanent job. The Vikings are seemingly thinking that last season was an aberration as they are once again hitching their wagons to an old quarterback, this time Donovan McNabb. McNabb was awful in Washington, and it remains to be seen if that was an aberration or if McNabb is really done as a quarterback. RB Adrian Peterson remains the one guy on offense that can be counted on and he seemed to solve his fumbling problems. Percy Harvin is now the number one wide receiver with Sidney Rice's departure. There isn't much behind him, but the Vikings hope the signings of Michael Jenkins and Devin Aromashadu prove better than they look on paper. The offensive line is going through a number of changes, as it started to look old and creaky last season. The Vikings have a ton of questions on defense. The Williams wall has finally crumbled as Pat Williams is gone, and Kevin Williams will probably be suspended for the first four games. The secondary is a big question mark and despite the stats saying otherwise, the Vikings were having trouble slowing down teams passing games last year. The Vikings have no real identity right now and they look like a team that is good enough to be competitive, but not good enough to make any real noise this year.
Prediction: 8-8
3. Detroit Lions
2010 Record: 6-10, 3rd place NFC North
Head Coach: Jim Schwartz (3rd year Detroit, 8-24 career)
Key Additions: DE Nick Fairley, LB Stephen Tulloch, CB Eric Wright
Key Losses: LB Juian Peterson, DE Turk McBride, RB Kevin Smith
2011 Outlook: At 2-10 it seemed like another year to forget in Detroit. Then, despite being without QB Matthew Stafford, the Lions closed the season with four straight wins. Now, for the first time in what seems like an eternity, Lions and playoffs are being discussed in the same sentence. The question is, can Stafford play an entire season? He has been dogged by injuries his first two seasons, stopping him from fulfilling the potential he has shown. The Lions are hoping that RB Jahvid Best can remain healthy this season. He got off to a blazing start last year, before injuries slowed him down considerably. The Lions also have major questions at wide receiver once you get past Megatron, Calvin Johnson. On defense, the drafting of Nick Fairley to team up with Ndamukong Suh gives the Lions a fierce defensive front. They struggled against the run last year but I expect them to have considerable improvement this season. Three out of their first on the road is not the beginning to a season Lions fans want to see. Their problems playing on the road have been well documented. However, if they truly are ready to take that next step, the first four weeks will be a good indicator of whether that is the case or not. I think the Lions are still a year or two away.
Prediction: 7-9
4. Chicago Bears
2010 Record: 11-5, 1st place NFC North
Head Coach: Lovie Smith (8th season Chicago, 66-52 overall)
Key Additions: T Gabe Carimi, WR Roy Williams, RB Marion Barber III, WR Sam Hurd, TE Matt Spaeth, DT Amobi Okoye
Key Losses: C Olin Kreutz, TE Greg Olsen, WR Devin Aromashodu, TE Brandon Manamaleuna, DT Tommie Harris, S Danieal Manning
2011 Outlook: The Bears followed their usual script last season of being awful on offense but having the defense carry them farther than anyone would expect. However, the Bears being a win away from the Super Bowl was largely forgotten due to QB Jay Cutler and his mysterious injury that caused him to leave the NFC Championship game. His teammates had his back but many around the league questioned Cutler's toughness. Cutler has some skill but I don't know if he is built the right way mentally to lead a team to a Super Bowl. RB Matt Forte thrived in Mike Martz's system, becoming a Marshall Faul like player, where he was contributing running and catching the ball. He now has Marion Barber behind him, as the Bears hope he can solve their goal line issues. Wide receiver still remains an area of weakness despite the signing of Roy Williams. Williams was a massive bust in Dallas, and has already started causing some headaches in Chicago. Cutler's security blanket, Greg Olsen was traded away so it will be interesting to see who Cutler relies on this season. The Bears had shown signs of slipping on defense but seemed to right the ship last season. They were especially stout against the run but did have problems with stopping the pass. The first three games for the Bears are pretty brutal, as each one is against a 2010 playoff team. I think that slow start will kill the Bears and a rough, brutal season is ahead of them.
Prediction: 5-11
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