Reply #47: You must have been smoking some good stuff [View All]

[MKR]

4 teams finishing 2-14? With the possible exception of the 49ers, I don't see anybody finishing that poorly this year. Certainly not the Dolphins and the Bears.

2 teams finishing 3-13? Maybe the 49ers or the Bucs, and that's about it.

3 teams finishing 13-3? Two of them from the same division? I like the way the Steelers play, but 12-4 would be an amazing season for them given their schedule. Same for Baltimore. Philadelphia might hit 13-3 because they have an easy schedule, and that's about it.

1 team finishing 14-2? Even after losing both their coordinators and interior linebackers, and given the schedule they play? If Beisel and Brown can't step it up inside, good running teams are going to eat them alive. I bet they lose 2 of their first 4 games, then drop a few more as the season goes on.

For the record, I see the NFC North shaking out like this:

The Vikings are without Birk for most of the year, and so are playing a couple guys out of position and starting a rookie on the line. That will hurt them against teams with good defensive lines, which includes Chicago and Detroit. I see them going 9-7, maybe 10-6 if they can avoid their trademark late season collapse.

The Bears are without Grossman, which means the quarterback carousel is back at full tilt. I'm guessing they settle on Kyle Orton as their man sooner rather than later. Provided they can sign Benson, Orton will be fine because they'll run the offense like Pittsburgh or Carolina. Which is fine, because their defense is of the same caliber...that's right, last year they won games on the strength of their second string defense. This year, that defense is getting their star linebacker, safety, corner, and end back from injury. I see them going 9-7, maybe 8-8.

The Lions have put together an almost respectable offense, now they just need a quarterback who can make it work. Their line, at least the interior 3, should be able to spring Kevin Jones regularly, which should take pressure off of Harrington. And when he's not pressing, he has plenty of talented receivers to throw to. Their defense is better than people think. They can stop the run, and depending on how fast Shaun Cody acclimates, they should be able to get a decent rush from the nickel. 9-7 or 8-8.

The Packers will bring up the rear this year. Oh sure, they still have Favre and Green in the backfield, but they lost both starting guards. If you watch them much, you'd understand that their line makes the offense go, and their guards were their best linemen. Considering the kind of defenses they'll face in the division alone, I expect Favre and Green to have possibly the worst seasons of their careers. Their defense is down a run stuffing tackle, a starting linebacker, a stud safety, and has two young corners who can't defend much. This will be the "surprise" team of the year for anyone who thinks Favre is invincible. 6-10, maybe 5-11.