NFC NORTH PREVIEW

1. Green Bay Packers (Last Year: 12-4)

Going into this season, the Packers are the favorites in the division and one of the favorites to land up in San Francisco for Super Bowl 50.  The biggest question the last few years has been keeping Aaron Rodgers healthy for a whole season, and that is going to be key for this year as well.  This year is rare because the Packers return all their starters on their offensive line thanks to Bulaga staying in Green Bay.  The bigger question however on offense is how they replace big play threat Jordy Nelson after he went down with the Torn ACL.  Randall Cobb and Davante Adams bump up to 1 and 2 on the depth chart, which makes Cobb more of a focal point for defenses, but also will allow Adams to get more touches.  As for replacing the production lost from Nelson, look for second year players in wide receiver Jeff Janis and tight end Richard Rodgers to have big years this year as well as rookie wide out Ty Montgomery.  Janis missed parts of last year and has similar build to Jordy Nelson.  Montgomery could take some attention off of Cobb as he is similar to what Cobb is and will play a big part in the Packers return game as well. With the loss of Nelson, Rodgers will have to spread the ball around even more between his receivers.  Eddie Lacy and James Starks could be even more of a factor with Nelson gone as it could also open up the running game.  As for the defense, one of the big questions is how effective will Casey Heyward as a starter along with the rest of the secondary with the losses of Tramon Williams and Davon House.  Some guys to look out for with Packers in secondary are the two draft picks: Damarious Randall and Quinten Rollins along with LaDarious Gunter. Gunter was one of the players who made biggest impression in preseason.  Another guy to watch out for is safety Ha Ha Clinton-Dix, who came out for the Packers at the end of the year last year.  Micah Hyde will play a factor the secondary as well as some pressure gets lifted off him with Montgomery taking off the return duties. In the Packers Linebacking corps., the question is who will step up on the outside.  Clay Matthews will be moving around a lot this year between inside and outside.  It seemed last year that the defense was better when he was inside.  So with that being said they need guys like Nick Perry and Sam Barrington to step up big this year.  Early in the year, the other question will be who can step up for Datone Jones and Letroy Guion with both them being suspended early this season.  As for expectations for the Packers, they should win the division and have deep run through the playoffs once again.

2. Minnesota Vikings (Last year: 7-9, Third Place finish in the NFC North)

Second and third place in this division could be a big toss up this year, but I think between the two I think the Vikings could be the most likely to challenge the Packers in the division.  Teddy Bridgewater had his moments last year, and this year he can build off that with Adrian Peterson actually on the roster.  With Peterson back on their roster, it will open things up for the Vikings passing game. Matt Asiata who filled in decently well for the Vikings in place of Peterson last year will kind of give them that one and two punch in their running game.  As for the Vikings receiving corps., there isn't much depth but for Bridgewater he'll have two solid receivers to go to with Cordarrelle Patterson and Mike Wallace.  As for the defense, there are some solid pieces defensively with safety Harrison Smith, cornerback Captain Munnerlyn, linebacker Chad Greenway, and newcomer Terrance Newman.  The thing I like about Newman is that he gives an experienced mentor for former Kenosha Bradford product Trae Waynes at corner. 

3. Detroit Lions (Last year: 11-5, 2nd Place in the NFC North, Wildcard team in 2014)

As I said, it will be a battle for second and third place in this division.  There are definitely somethings that set both of these two teams apart. The Lions have a more experienced quarterback in Matthew Stafford along with a more experienced receiving corps. with Calvin Johnson, Golden Tate, and Brandon Pettigrew. With drafting Ameer Abdullah, it gives them a one-two punch in the backfield.  Offensively, the Lions are going to be a good team.  Defensively, there are questions.  A guy who anchored their defensive line, Ndamukong Suh is gone (THANK GOD!!!) along with Nick Fairley.  Replacing Suh is former Super Bowl champions Haloti Ngata, who is reliable veteran to replace him. Exekiel Ansah will have to carry a big load defensively on their line with Suh gone. For the Lions, they could be a playoff team depending how good they are as a whole. 

4. Chicago Bears (Last year: 5-11, last place in the NFC North)

As much as I would like to put the Bears in this discussion for the division with John Fox as head coach now, I just can't.  Yes, I agree John Fox has won everywhere else he's been, but it is a few years away at all until he does anything in this division with how good the Packers are and how good the Vikings and Lions are as well. This team needs to just move on from the crybaby in Jay Cutler. Yes they have some good pieces offensively with Forte in the running game and Alshon Jeffrey and Martellus Bennett along with seasoned veteran Eddie Royal in the receiving game.  Jared Allen along with Lamarr Houston to the anchor the front seven.  Tracy Porter will give them a bit of a lift in the secondary especially with some experience there and no more Charles Tillman as their ball hawking corner. But this team isn't going to go too far with Cutler at quarterback, they have to move on next year from him if they are going to make any push towards being a challenger in the NFC North or yet alone be a Wildcard team.