NFC North Preview

For years this was one of the lost divisions in football. Outside of the third year bump the Vikings would always have, this division was more or less owned by Aaron Rodgers and the Packers ever since he won his sole Super Bowl in 2010 (reminder he's only won one Super Bowl).

While the Packers have seemingly turned around faster than Charles Leclerc on a 180 degree turn, this division is WIDE OPEN. The Lions lived up to last year's hype and have officially arrived. The Bears are currently riding one of the highest rookie QB hype waves we've ever seen. The Vikings would be in the mix if their whole roster wasn't on IR. And said Packers have the highest paid QB in football.

I can't wait to watch this division. Let's break it down (alphabetically).

Chicago Bears

Don’t buy the Hard Knocks hype, don’t buy the Hard Knocks hype, don’t buy th….

Ahh fuck it I’m in! Relatively. I know I know if you’ve crossed my path since Caleb was drafted, Keenan was brought in and D’Andre Swift signed, I’ve been the leader of the pump the brakes charge. I’ve at one point said they’ll win six games. But it’s hard to remember a rookie QB who’s come into a better situation in terms of surrounding talent. A good one-two punch at RB, three potential WR1s, and two above average TEs. Something no other rookie QB, or many QBs in football, can relate to.

But the offense isn’t why I’ve changed my tune. This defense was one of the best in football the back half of the year, letting up more than 17 points once post-Thanksgiving (20 points to Flacco’s Browns).  They’re one of the best run defenses in the league, and one can argue their strongest position group is the secondary with a snubbed top 100 Jaylon Johnson as the ringleader. Tremaine Edmunds mans the middle, so there’s no weakness at any level. Continuity on this side of the ball has me believing they stay a problem, and won’t be the reason this team struggles if they do.

I also look at the schedule, and while in a beast of a division, the last place finish in 2023 gave them two layups with the Patriots and Panthers where the rest of their division will play two playoff worthy teams from the AFC East and NFC South. I don’t think many people are, but don’t sleep on the Bears. Just not for the reasons most are talking about. Record: 9-8

Detroit Lions

Dan Campbell must be nutting daily at how little attention the should-be NFC champs are receiving this year. A true coach’s dream, especially one who’s changed the course of this franchise by playing the down-and-out, nobody believes in us expect me card (which was true for 50 years to be fair).

Everything I hear is about Chicago and their new star QB and the weapons they have and everything I outlined above. If it’s not that it’s the Packers and their new star QB who is poised to lead them to a Super Bowl and is the mirror image of Aaron Rodgers and everything I’ll outline below. Does this team feels forgotten, or am I just watching/reading the wrong things?

I think this team comes out with a vengeance to prove last year was no fluke. That the new kids on the block aren’t welcome and that the North starts and ends in Mo-Town. I’m getting amped just thinking about Danny’ C’s speeches to his team in training camp, sobbing telling them how much he loves them and that they proved so much last year but no one believes in them again. I sat down writing this with the full expectation I was going to pick Green Bay to win this division, but I feel like Dan Man is pulling my heart strings from 400 miles away.

If the expectations were higher I’d be more inclined to fade this team. But there’s so much bulletin board material I can’t go against them. Not this year. They might not lose a game until November. Run in back in the North. Fuck it. Record: 11-6

Green Bay Packers

I went outer-body on that Lions write up and don’t know where to go here. I still can’t believe Jordan Love is the highest paid QB in the league despite playing two good months of football in his career. But whether he deserves that is not the story for today. It’s whether the Pack can catch the lightning in the bottle they caught in the back half of last year.

Jordan Love was arguably the best QB in football, and their group of WRs who were barely old enough to drink a Coors Light played like seasoned vets. The Pack then uncharacteristically spent some mullah in free agency, swapping Aaron Jones for Josh Jacobs, and got Xavier McKinney out of purgatory (Giants). They have 18 (!!) returning starters and two rookies to pair with their two-star free agents. That’s less change than a retirement home’s YoY bingo schedule.

There’s no reason not to like this team, so I won’t continue trying to find one. I knew there was a reason I liked them to win this division before Dan Campbell hypnotized me with his love of football. Record: 11-6

Minnesota Vikings

I want to say this division is the best in football, and maybe next year I can. But the team the Vikings will be fielding, mainly due to injuries, is making me table the claim.

I don’t know if JJ McCarthy would’ve started, but I’d believe in him more than I do Sam Darnold. Jordan Addison is injured, so Jalen Nailor is their WR2. Don’t worry I haven’t heard of him either. TJ Hockenson is on the PUP and will miss at least the first quarter of the season, so it’s Josh Oliver who rises up the depth chart to TE1. Again, no I haven’t heard of him either. When this offense is healthy, they’re live no matter who the QB is, but I can’t buy any stock in this unit the way it’s currently constructed (again, not their fault).

I still like the coaching staff, including Brian Flores as the DC, but the talent isn’t there this year, on either side of the ball. The only joke I can think of is the amount of injuries this team has endured before a meaningful snap has taken place. This seems to happen to one team every year. Unfortunately in Minnesota, this year was them. Talk to me next year. Record: 6-11