Green Bay- 11-5 (division winner) Da Pack are very talented all across the board. They have a young defense that is fast and can control play. I expect them to perform even better then last year and force more turnovers Rodgers comes in to take the helm but i do not think Green Bay loses too much there. Favre was one of the best ever, but it was not just his show last year. A very deep, talented recieving corp will take the pressure off Aaron. Ryan Grant's sudden emergence last year boasts well for the running game. He hits the hole with no nonsense and is fast, great runner. If they get Taylor add a win or two because that will be the best D-Line in the league... Kampman....Taylor....Jenkins....Pickett. I can not see more then 10 or 11wins with the schedule G.B. has, toughest in league. Expect, with a newly found running attack, the not so friendly confines of fridgid Lambeau will be to the Packers benefit again. Can it be another undefeated December at home? Will they make a trip to Raymond James stadium in Early February? I think a matchup in late January at Big D for the NFC crown will determine that. (also looking at adding RB Kevin Jones via FA, could be huge) I believe the Divison is decided week 10 @ Minn. I think the Packers come into Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome and steal a win with a late T.D. from Rodgers to Jennigs to seal the deal. It is revenge from the opening night loss to the vikes that will be handed to them at Lambeau. BOLD PREDICTION- #1 Da Pack represent the NFC in the super bowl!!!......next season.... not yet Packer fans...not yet #2 Brohm will be starting QB in 2010.
Minnesota - 10-6 (N.F.C. wild-card) A huge year by A.P. will be duplicated this year. A healthy Chester Taylor will do great wonders for Minnesota, with a one two punch like that many teams will cringe. A great runner(helped me win my fantasy league). But i can not be set on a team with Tavaris Jackson at the Q.B. postion. He has not proved anything to me yet, a few good offseason pickups will help the recieving corp but not as much as they would like. A very good defense just as good if not better then division foe GB. Udeze out with illness hurts , they were expecting a breakout year but he was diagnosed with Cancer a terrible turn for him ( kudos to Zygi Wilf for paying him his full 807,000 salary for the year). I do not see the offense scoring enough points. Love the Tyrelle Johnson pick, fast talented safety should helped the DB corps. Berrian has to have a big year for Minnesota, if he does, they could easily take the North and make the Super Bowl, if he does not, i thin AP will not produce as much. BOLD PREDICTION- #1 Vikings lose in Divisional Playoffs @ Big D. #2 Vikes regret not taking Brian Brohm in draft. But Booty starts same year as Brohm(2010) . #3 A.P. breaks single game rushing mark week 5 @ NO.
Detroit 6-10
Oh the Lions! No Kitna guarantee this years, Means no spirited start. Means no chance. What were they thinking letting Jones go. ( now if they resign him for cheaper i will eat my words.) But now what Tatum Bell??? Aveion Cason??? newcomer Kevin Smith??? "Welcome to Detroit City" Even Eminem wishes he could help the Lions at RB. Now all is not terrible in Detroit. THEY HAVE TO BE ABLE TO THROW!!! I mean how could they not. If I owned a team, and drafted WR's every year since the Second World War I would be mad I can not throw for the best marks in the league also. Granted that may change this year, finally. (i know kitna had two good seasons, not good enough though.) Cherilus will bolster a bad line, giving Kitna a throwing chance...maybe... he has thrown for more then 4000 yards the past two seasons, but without a rushing game, the aerial attack may suffer from the above decent marks they put up last year. One thing that won't suffer in high numbers is Kitnas INT's...UP UP UP... They have to throw, Grab Roy Williams on your fantasy squad. Kudos for drafting Campbell as well im pulling for ya buddy 100%,hope more follow from the Acadamies, if anyone deserves it, it is them. Teams can run all over Detroit, best d-lineman Cory Redding or Shaun Cody, ouch. watch Cody's toe to limit him to 11-13 games this year. Welcome to Detroit City. BOLD PREDICTION-#1 Detroit goes to Minnesota in week 6 and knocks off Minn. #2 Jon Kitna does not make any predictions about playoffs #3 Kevin Jones runs for almost 750 yards, HOW IS THAT A PROBLEM FOR DETROIT??? It is for Miami.
Chicago - 5-11
DA BEARZ!!! These Bears would make Ditka cringe. A lock of any resemblence of an offensive assault leaves one to wonder, alongside what the heck is J. Angelo doing? how will they score? answer (two parts) #1 HESTER HESTER HESTER #2 They wont score if it is not Hester. Well they still have a decently good defense, although aging they are still very talented. Why they let Bernard go in the offseason, I may never know. Wr's now... Brandon Lloyd, Mark Bradley, Marty Booker, and MONK!!! no not Art Monk rookie Marcus Monk from Arkansas. Looks like the bears will have to wait another year. Well the Bears will still be hungry for another championship (at least they are not the cubs). Chi-town will be looking for the Cubbies to win in October, when the Cubs fail, they will be looking right past the bears this year. Hey the Blackhawks just signed D Brian Campbell and G Cristobal Huet. BOLD PREDICTION-#1 Devin Hester will be second on the team in scoring behind Robbie Gould #2 Because of Hesters return ability, he will put CHI in good field position and Gould will break the all time FG made in a season record of 40 held by Neil Rackers set in 2005. # 3 Gould will sell as many jerseys as any offensive player on the team. #4 NEXT CHICAGO CHAMPIONSHIP----- BLACKHAWKS 2010 Stanley Cup Champions.
Let me know what you think... agree disagree strongly disagree just comment
Every blog i've seen from Packer fans on fox, or wherever, in regards to NFC North prediction says something to the effect of: "But i can not be set on a team with Tavaris Jackson at the Q.B. postion. He has not proved anything to me yet". Then when evaluating Rodgers say something like "Rodgers comes in to take the helm but i do not think Green Bay loses too much there"
Do I disagree with Jackson not showing anything last year, no. What I disagree with is that Rodgers will come in and the packer offense won't miss a beat, and here's why.
Rodgers hasn't had to counter prepare for in game situations. What I mean by that is say he starts out well in a game, gets in a groove, gets comfortable as he did in his one half of play that he didn't get hurt in Dallas. Defensive coordinators are obviously going to make adjustments, can Rodgers make the adjustments not only at halftime, but on the fly by calling audibles correctly especially when d's are hiding coverages and assignments. Not only that but can he look off safeties and not stare down receivers. He did show solid pocket presence in Dallas, but what remains to be seen is, after he takes a couple of hits from Defenses that are going to come with a lot of blitzes as they do with every young starting QB, can he maintain that confidence in the pocket and not get gunshy. Will he be able to read the defense quick enough after the snap to get the ball out of his hands, so the defense can't get to him in those blitzing situations.
Last edited by scramblinfran on July 2nd at 2:10 PM.
Apparently I can only post so many words, so in conclusion, Rodgers has just as many question marks as Jackson does, only difference is Rodgers looked good in a half of football, and Jackson did not look good for most of the twelve games he played in last year, but did show he improved from being a terrible QB to at least being average to below average.
Good Blog had to look at your profile to confirm my su####ions that you were a packer fan.
i understand your point there but i didnt write this as jsut a packer fan. i gave you guys credit when needed i also said depending on which way that one game goes you could take the north. i just think the offense is still ok with rodgers. he has so many weps i can see him doing too bad. jackson isnt terrible i agree he just needs work and maybe bernard is his big target now.
Thanks for the reply, don't misunderstand me, I thought it was a good read, and made very good points. As I said I had to check your profile to confirm you were a Packer fan, which is saying something :-)
Guess I'm just sick of the assumptions that Rodgers will automatically come in and not struggle when in reality he has proven nothing either, so feel compelled to post whenever I see something even close that comparison.
ha yeah i do not believe one game proves anything either thats why i can not be set on him yet. i like rodgers i think he has potential, but i also like brohm who i really think could start in a few years. but yeah i don't know how good he is because well i have not seen him except for one game, that he played a half. now there is tape on him, so teams can gameplan for him. dallas planned for favre, so i can not be too high on that game although he did show promise. and i think jackson can be very good with time i really do, and you guys will be helped a lot by a.p. obviously that helps a developing QB tremendiously. same to you & happy 4th everyone
I think the Pack will be better with Rodgers than with Farve. The cowboys game is a perfect example of why I think this. The Pack would have won the game if Rodgers was at the helm from the start. Farve trys to make plays that no one else would think of attempting. Sometimes it pays off and other times its an interception. Also last year there were times Farve was great and there were times he was really bad. When he was bad he was really bad and the Pack would lose the game. Green Bay will do better with more stabiltiy at the QB postion. I think the Pack will take the division and my Bears will be lucky to make 8 wins
My problem with the Bears is not the Quarterback its the defence who has two starters that can't seem to stay healty. But with that being said the O-line is the major problem. They cut their starting guard from last year. When he was replaced after his season ending injury, his replacement was ok at best last year. most of the O line is in there upper 20s to low 30s. So they are all getting older and all they draft is one tackle and one gaurd. I need to mention that the guard was a 7th round draft pick and did not always start as a guard last season. then there is running back situation. Forte might be good but no team in the NFL who runs the ball well has only one feature back. Why are the bears trying to go with one feature back is beyond me.
so let me recap. The defence is probably going to have a few starter get hurt. but they did draft a few players. So D should be better than last year but by how much is a question. The o-line i
Last edited by bearsfanindenver on July 10th at 8:02 PM.
yeah good point i think they very well can be... and sorry abotu your bears its just one of those years... everyone goes through it in the NFL sooner or later... they will be ok when they get a QB
You need to give the Bears a little more credit than that. If the Bears Defense can endure an entire season without any extensive key injuries they should be a lot more competetive than you think. That defense at full strength potentially can be the best in the league. The defense has single handedly won several games for them in the last few years. That defense you saw last year was plagued by key injuries. The Bears made it to the superbowl with only a slightly better offense so who knows what they're capable of. There is no way they finish last in the division this year although I can't believe they did next to nothing to bolster their offense. They are relying solely on Hester and a rookie Rb to take the pressure off the defense and whichever frighteningly inconsistent QB that ends up starting this year.
Schmitty: Bears offense is even worse off than when they made it to the Super Bowl! They lost there best 2 offensive players in 2 years...Thomas Jones and Berrian...now that Benson Bust is gone you are in the same boat as the Lions! You OL is serioulsy aging and your defense is too...
This team will struggle mightely to score on offense...not special teams, but thats just not enuff to compete
I could possibly see both Minny and GB with at least 10 wins apiece because both Detroit and Chicago are pathetic. Minny will win based on their defense and AP. GB will win because they can move the ball and have a strong defense. When Minny and GB play each other twice, it will be a split, both teams winning at home. That's five wins right there.
They each beat the ATL. (6 wins total) Minny goes 2-2 against the NFC South. GB goes 3-1, losing to Tampa Bay. GB beats Dallas, loses to Seattle. GB goes 2-2 against the AFC South.
Overall: GB goes 11-5, Minny goes 10-6. That could be enough for Minny to get a wild card.
schmitty thats true they did but i think they will get a few injuries early.... i hope they cna prove me wrong i would love packers vikings and bears to go down to the wire bring back the old NFC central days... but i sjut dont see it but u did make some good points thanks
i personnally cant see the pack taking the division over the vikes
#1. yeah the vikings are lacking in the QB section with tarvaris at the helm but now with drafting tyrell johnson and picking up bernard berrian being speedy threats and actually being able to catch a ball it will open tarvaris up to use that cannon hes got strapped to his arm, be it not the most accurate but he can still hit recievers deep which in turn should let him relax and play like he has potential to.
#2 with a downfield threat, it should open up more running room for AP because defenses wont be able to stuff 8 men in the box anymore. Even when they did, AP still ran over great defenses like the chargers and the bears twice.
#3 with aquiring Jarred Allan the vikes now have a legitimate pass rushing threat added to their dominating run defense.
#4 Yes Aaron rodgers is a hell of a player but you can just step in and fill the shoes of one of if not the greatest quarterback of all time. he will do well but not as good as hes all hyped up to be.
i think the division will be close between the 2 teams but i think the vikings will take the 2 games vs the packers to win the division with GB getting the wild card
yeah i honestly could see that happening i think berrian was a great pick up for minnesota and with AP that takes a lot of pressure of jackson.
and it will be tough for rodgers to step in and click with GB, it should be close.
now with favre, i dont know. IF he comes back i think GB is the best team in the division by even more, but gets hurt bad in the long run. i think i am against his return.
I love how the Bears are just cast aside. Berrian has potential, but has not proven anything to equate to what Minnesota paid for him. Moose and Booker are a wash. This same joke of a team with no offense, has won the division two out of the last three years. This same same joke of a team, accounted for two of GB's three losses last year. This same joke of a team nearly fought back to beat Minnesota last year, with Brian Greasy granny at the helm, and 5 defensive starters on the sideline. If not for an out-of-this-world performance by AP, they would have beaten them. The Bears finished 7-9, despite being decimated with injuries on the defensive side of the ball. Minnesota had one more win, with a healthy team.
Keep up the disrespect though, as I think it's a great motivator.
Chi-town will be looking for the Cubbies to win in October, when the Cubs fail, they will be looking right past the bears this year.
Wow, not sure how to react to that statment, you truly dont know the Bears fans If you think they would look past thier team, win or lose Bears fans are Bears fans, Green Bay will not finish on top of Minnesota, the purple will be tough this year, Detroit will be the basement, and if Chicago stays healthy there isn't anyone in the division that will stop them. Love everybody slamming the Bears this year, yall have fun watching us in the playoffs this year. GO BEARS
if u really think the bears will make hte playoffs im sorry... i know some good treatment centers near the chicago area... maybe i cna get you in one.... the bears are horrilbe on offense ... and now aging defense.... tehy were bad last year green bay handed them a win.. and the other game was with 45 MPH wind gusts... they were 7-9 and on the downfall so 5-11 or 6-10 is more realistic then the playoffs... haha if chi makes hte playoffs come back and make me eat my words... cause we both know that even the lions are better
if chicago stays healthy nobody in the division can stop tehm... STOP WHAT??? the packers were 13-3 the vikes were 8-8 with a very improved squad this year.... chicago fans are just in their own world no way around it
and by looking past the bears i mean... when teh Cubs lose in the world series it will be late october early november.... so that means teh bears will be about idk 2-7 ish by then haha thats looking past
I wil not go as far to make predictions, but I will say that opposing teams had better not underestimate them. By the way, how exactly did GB hand that game to them? I seem to recall Tillman just flat-out working a particular GB receiver. Forced two fumbles on the guy. I love when a good team loses to an "inferior" team, how its always "they handed it to them". The only thing that was handed, was GB's arse to them by the Bears.
Could you also tell where the "vast" improvement comes from when speaking of Minnesota? They already had a top 5 defense, so Jared Allen is what, gonna make them a top 3 defense? Whoopty-doo. Or is it Berrian? So a number two receiver whose only route is the deep route is gonna make the difference huh? I don't think the NFC North is as cut and dry as you would like to believe it is. I personally feel it will be one of the toughest divisions this year, and is truly up for grabs, with all four teams having a legitimate shot.
i think berrian adds a deep threat which they needed ... and it may be one pattern... they needed it cause htat will cause efenses to stretch and fall right into AP's hands...
I actually was referring to the first game between them. Tillman forced two fumbles against the same receiver. Yes the score was much closer, but the score was not truly indicative of how the game was. The Bears Defense worked em'. Urlacher had a pick in each of their games. In the second game, which was the blowout, he returned it 85 yards for a TD. That game was priceless, because Favre looked like he was going to cry. His face was as red as a tomatoe, with frozen snot on it. I thought he was going to retire right there on the spot.
I do think Berrian is a good pick up for the Vikes, I personally would not have paid as much for him as they did, but that's me. AP is amazing, but he is destined to get clobbered. His running style almost guarantees a short career.
I do feel that the Bears get no respect, because of their style of play. They are not a prolific offense, so in the eyes of many, they s..uck. But the fact is, they have not been a prolific offense for some time, yet manage to be competitive. When healthy, their D is as good as any. People want to believe they are aging, but really, their D is still young. I think they will be back to form this year.
C'mon Brnxbm,
I like the boldness of your prediction, but I have to agree w/ beardown that it is going to be much closer than you think. Unfortunately injuries may solve the riddle in the end. I look forward to seeing these teams knock heads. Will the Pack be back? Will the hype of the new Vikes come true. Will the Bears feed on the disrespect? Will Detroit EVER get any respect (no)?
haha the detroit answer was key haha...matt millen.... but i had to take a bold spot if i had too obvious picks hten it wouldnt be grat picks.... im jsut saying... i do not think chicago did anything... and even after jones...its not enough may add a win or too...hes a huge ? ...i give chicago a lot of credit last year ofr beating green bay... but not for faltering everywhere else.... u can say all u want about who they beat but...its who chicago DIDNT beat that makes the fdiffernece
