Mike Morbeck-flickr
With Week 1 in the books and Week 2 already partially started, it would seem that the two teams that were predicted to win the NFC North are at the bottom, while the Minnesota Vikings and Detroit Lions are at the top. Is it just a minor hiccup, or do the Green Bay Packers and Chicago Bears have reason to worry?
Chicago Bears: With Jay Cutler as your QB, its hard to tell what you’re going to get. He has two amazing weapons in Alshon Jeffery and Brandon Marshall. However both seem to be a little banged up to start the season off, and you already lost to the Buffalo Bills at home. How do you respond? A game against the San Francisco 49ers is probably not the best follow-up scenario.
This defense is not your father’s defense of the past. This is a defense that looks almost polar opposite that of the Seattle Seahawks‘ defense. There are only a couple of defenses worse than the Bears, and one even happens to be in the same division. The only sparkle of hope for the 2014 Chicago Bears is a three-game stretch where they play the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Lions and Dallas Cowboys at the end of November. However the Detroit Lions may not be such an easy task.
Detroit Lions: Calvin Johnson Jr. That is basically all one has to say about the Detroit Lions? However they also have what seems to be a resurgent Reggie Bush. Has the NFC North truly become an arms race? You got Matthew Stafford and Aaron Rodgers in the same division. Not to mention Cutler, who more times than not looks like a great QB. So who do you pick as the NFC North favorite?
On paper, the Lions look like a good pick. Dare I say even a better pick than the Packers? Sure why not? Their defense is more explosive than that of the Bears and Packers, and their offense has more weapons than just Megatron now. How are they not in the conversation for NFC North Champions at the end of the year?
Green Bay Packers: You really only have to say one players name when it comes to the Green Bay Packers. This is who their season rides on, and their success solely on his shoulders. Yep, you guessed it, Eddie Lacy. Oh? You thought I would say Aaron Rodgers? Sure as long as you have Rodgers as your QB, you have a chance to win any game. However Lacy is the bell cow that the Packers have been looking for ever since before their Super Bowl run season.
As long as Lacy is healthy and performs like last season, the play-action plays will work better and the defenses on the other side of the ball will actually have to play honest against one the best Quarterbacks to play the game. Will that be enough to overshadow what is looking like another terrible defensive unit? Dom Capers has to do something, or else Mike McCarthy is going to look like a fool for keeping him on the staff.
Minnesota Vikings: Out of all four teams in the NFC North, the Vikings are the only ones who actually dominated their opponent. With Green Bay being dominated by the Seattle Seahawks, the Bears losing at home to Buffalo, it left the other two teams in the North for a chance to shine. Detroit pulled it off by convincingly beating the New York Giants. However Minnesota literally controlled the St. Louis Rams, a team that many predicted to be a surprise this year, and made them look like a 2-14 team.
How is it a team led by Matt Cassel, a team that drafted a Quarterback in the first round of the 2014 draft was the only one that looked like they were a full team out there? Adrian Peterson wasn’t even a factor in the game. His stats were less than noticeable. So even without the spectacular stats of one of the greatest Running Backs of our time, the Vikings still managed to put a 34-6 score up on the Rams.
Is there a power shift in the NFC North? The Detroit Lions have been on the radar for that NFC North crown for some time now. The Green Bay Packers have won the division the last three years and won the Super Bowl 4 years ago. The Chicago Bears missed the playoffs two years ago with a 10-6 record and are the last team not named the Packers to win the NFC North. How about the Minnesota Vikings? Two years ago they were a surprise as they made the playoffs, but not since the 2009 season has anyone even considered the Vikings a threat.
Come January, one of these teams will have to be number one, and one will be at the bottom. I believe many will be surprised by who the bottom feeder of this division will be. Don’t be surprised if one of the wild card teams this postseason comes from the NFC North.
Michael Craig is a Writer for Couch Rider Report. Follow him on Facebook.