Poll: Who Wins the NFC North?

Why do I think the Vikes are going to win the division? Well, I admit, there is a fair amount of fanboy in that decision, but let me start by eliminating the other two teams.

Why is Detroit not going to win the division?

Short of a catastrophic collapse of all three remaining teams and the hand of god intervening on behalf of the Lions for the better part of the season, Detroit is still picking up pieces from the worst season in NFL history. I’m not considering them a contender until 2011 at the earliest, and that’s the most optimistic I can be.

Why is Green Bay not going to win the division?

With the implementation of the 3-4 this year, I don’t think Green Bay’s going to be running on all cylinders until the second half of the season. And that slow start is going to hurt them.

And that leaves the Bears and the Vikes. And with the situation as it is now (no Brett Favre), I see the teams being evenly matched. I think we’ve got a better WR group and a better RB group. You’ve got better TE and a QB. The O-lines are similar. I think we have a better D-line. And I think the LB and CB groups are similar. You have better Special Teams, and better coaching. So, in that case, it’s a coin toss. A coin toss that I’m rigging in favor of the Vikes.

Who else will be this year’s Dolphins? They have a complete turn around in management and coaching, a new young gun at QB, an electrifying wide receiver that can put serious doubt in the whole “It’s the QB that makes the receiver” argument, an exciting young running back, and, oh, wait, it IS Detroit after all. Never mind.

Back in ’97 the Broncos ended up, because of two very close games, as a Wild-Card. Consequentley, with all odds against us…we set out on what we call in Denver, “The Revenge Tour,” with Jacksonville, KC, and Pittsburg in our sites.

Every fan should experience a "Revenge Tour’

I’ll never forget it.

If the Bears end up at 13-3—then just count on it—the Vikings will be 14-2.

Thus begins a need for revenge.

Last year, the Vikings and Bears were almost equal, with the Vikings pulling out the division at the end. Now, look at what has happened in the time since. The Bears have certainly gotten better, adding Jay Cutler, Orlando Pace (and others on the OL), and Pisa Tinoisamoa.

Compare that with the Vikings. They didn’t really add anyone in free agency. Their biggest two acquisitions this offseason are Percy Harvin and (presumably) Brett Favre, and I doubt either will be effective. I think Favre has had it and won’t be appreciably better than Frerotte was. And I see Harvin as Troy Williamson 3.0, and in any case I doubt he has an impact this year. I do think Phil Loadholt was a good pick at OT, and will be solid or better for years, but I don’t know if the OL will be better with him and without Birk.

So that’s why I think the Bears have passed the Vikings in this division. The rest? Well, the Packers picked an odd time to completely overhaul the defense, seeing as how the coach is supposedly on the hot seat. I don’t expect them to be serious contenders. And Detroit is Detroit. Even if this is the right regime, it will take more than one offseason to fix what happened there.

Which makes the Bears the clear favorite. IMHO (biased though it may be).

But of course there is a lot of fanboyism in my decision. It was tough for me to pick a team because I really could see us winning, the Vikes, or the Bears. Here is why I think each team could or could not win it…..

Packers- Our offense should be very, very deadly this year. Rodgers should only improve his second year, and will have a lot more freedom with the playbook. We’re going to run more of our 5 wr sets, and in 07’ that absolutely killed teams. Yes, we had Favre running it, but I am confident Rodgers will be able to run it just as well as Favre. We will also have a healthy o-line and healthy Grant. Grant struggled early last year, while dealing with a hamstring injury. After he got over that, he posted the 2nd most rushing yards in the league from week 9- week 17. I really feel like our offense should be top 5 in the league this year, but offense isn’t our concern…defense is. The transition to the 3-4 will be a difficult one, there is no denying that. I think it will take us 8 or 9 weeks to get going a little bit in it, but luckily for us the front half of our schedule is by the easier half. (Bengals, Rams, Browns, Lions, Tampa Bay) MM has also said were going to run a “hybrid” defense, meaning we’re still going to be in the 4-3 a fair amount. (at least 35% of the time, according to Capers) Which I think will help the defense, because we have proven we can run it well, when we have all our players healthy, which we should have. But ultimately the defense is a question mark right now, and who knows how well we’ll adjust.

Vikings- The run game and their defense. The run game is going to be great like always. I kind of think Birk could hurt it a little, but I think more so that will hurt the pass blocking. They could potentially have a top 3 defense this year, with Henderson coming back, and Griffin improving at CB. The loss of Sharper could hurt, but Johnson does have some good potential. If Favre signs, I think that it will make a big difference. (As long as Childress can get him to play the way you need him too, which is a game manager). The Williams’ suspensions could make a difference too. If they get suspended that could hurt your teams chances. I think if their out for your game against us, we will win, and 1 game can make a difference.

Bears- I feel weird saying this, but your offense is not the problem. You have a great young QB in Cutler. One of the top RB’s in the league with Forte, and what I think is an underrated WR corps with Hester, Olsen, Clark, and Davis. A lot of people are concerned that Cutler has no WR’s to throw too but I disagree. Hester had a decent year last year at WR, and he didn’t even play WR full time. This year with him being #1, and improving I think he will put a very good numbers. (70-80 receptions, 1,000+ yards, 5-8 TDs. Olsen is a very good TE, and should prove himself as an elite one this season. Now to the defense, which I think will be the difference in how your season turns out. If they return to 06’ form or near it, I think you guys will win the division. If they are mediocore, like the past 2 years, I think you guys will be an 8-9 win team. From looking at it I think it comes down to 2 things, the d-line play, and Urlacher’s play, with the d-line being the most important thing. Harris, Ogunleye, Brown, Anderson are all very skilled players, but for some reason they didn’t produce last year. You hired Marinelli, who is supposed to be a d-line “guru”, so maybe that will result in the dominant d-line play that we all saw in 06’. I didn’t mention your secondary, because I feel a lot of the reason they struggled was because they were having to cover people for a much longer time, due to your lack of pass rush. I think if the old d-line comes back, so will the great play in the secondary.

That’s how I feel about it. If the Bears defense of 06’ comes back, or at least near that level, I think you guys take the division. If not I think it’s up for grabs and could really see anyone taking it.

The winner of the NFC North?

The team with the most wins. Seriously.

Any and all talk about ‘who added who’ and ‘how much a team should improve on last year’s record’ means nothing.

All that matters is how each teams players play on the field (not who they have on paper).

In 2007 the Cowboys were 13-3. Last year 9-7. Basically the same team.
In 2007 the Packers were 13-3. Last year 6-10. They lost Favre but by all accounts their defense was the problem, not so much the offense.

There’s absolutely no way to predict this stuff. The team that wins the division will be the
team that does enough good things to pull out the most victories (and does the least amount of stupid things to cost them some victories).

Bears have the tools this year. We have to add some defensive backs before we make a playoff run though.

The Bears will be 10-6 and the Pack and Vikes are 9-7. To me, I honestly see the Bears and Pack fighting it out in the end. I have serious questions about the Vikes LBs and DBs and I am not sold on Favre making the passing game any better. Favre will throw a few picks that will lose games and drop Minn to 9-7. Had Favre joined them last year, I see the Vikes in the SB. Now it’s simply a year later and the Bears and Pack got better.

this poll is going about how I expected here on WCG!

Let’s be honest here it is between Minnesota and Chicago. I chose the Vikings not because I’m a Viking fan but because I’m a football fan.
 The Bears have more holes than the Vikings. The Bear’s D has been on decline, and Maranelli didn’t bring any improvement to Detroit’s D-line. Tommy Harris coming off injury again, Orlando Pace same thing and getting up in age. They addressed their WR problem by drafting a slow possession WR and one who is fast and can’t catch (see Troy Williamson), and they brought in who at safety? Yes they did bring in Cutler who is a great player and they have Olsen, Forte, and an improving Hester (at WR) but is that enough?
 The Vikings addressed their horrible STs, drafted replacements LAST year for the departures of Birk and Sharper, drafted the explosive Harvin who can play all over the field, drafted Loadholt to sure up the RT spot and added depth where it was lacking. Yes an upgrade at QB is needed or major improvement by TJack or Sage. Favre could be the missing piece to push the Vikings through to the SB.
 I am looking forward to both showdowns, should be an interesting year with both teams having a soft schedule on paper. Go Vikings!!!

u think its the Vikings, just remember who’s coaching that team ill take my chances with Lovie then RAY any given Sunday.

The Bears and Vikes had the same record last year. The bears got upgraded this off-season, significantly. The Vikings and Packers are pretty much the same as they were so that translates to Bears NFC North Champions. Oh did I mention the Lions? Ha Ha Ha.

Lighten Up, It’s all in off-season fun.

but I really don’t have a clue who is going to win the division. I want to choose the Vikings but it really is a coin toss(between Bears and Vikes).

I am pretty sure that both these team are going to the playoffs with one being the division winner and the other a wild card winner.

Wouldn’t it be awesome if we faced each other in the playoffs to determine who really is the king of the NFC North.

i am booking a hotel in chicago to cover superbowl weekend. i am that confidant of the bears going to the big game i want to see the homecoming down the michigan avenue

It comes down to between them and the Vikes and it’s going to be a fun battle so of course I will side with my Bears.

Jay Cutler

If you are going to create it at all, put it on a more neutural blog. If you put this on the Vikings blog, for example, the vast majority of them will choose the Vikings.

I’m not a big fan of these types of questions. The Vikes and the Bears have the two best teams in the division, but the difference between winning the division and not winning the division are injuries. No one here can predict who’s going to win, or who’ll have a better offense/defense.

Cutler can carry the less-than-stellar monsters.