8 Divisions in 8 Days: NFC North
1. Minnesota Vikings - Second year QB Christain Ponder is coming back as the starter. Is he the answer? Percy Harvin and Michael Jenkins are the big names at WR. RB Adrian Peterson is getting into to legal trouble while Toby Gerhart is waiting for playing time. TE John Carlson will be the man there. First round draft pick OT Matt Kalil will get the start there. Defensive veterans DE Jared Allen and CB Antoine Winfield will both be back as starters. The Vikings are improving, but not dramatically being in the hardest division in the NFL. I have the Vikings going 6-10.
Fantasy Favorite: RB Toby Gerhart (Very late. 12th round?)
2. Chicago Bears - A good team missing the playoffs last year. QB Jay Cutler and RB Matt Forte were both injured by the end of the year. Forte is my #7 RB on my big board. Former Raiders RB Michael Bush will back-up Forte. WR Brandon Marshall should make a huge impact from the moment he steps on the field. Marshall is a tall, high-jumping receiver. He will get a lot of looks, but, he is known to drop. TE Matt Spaeth will possibly be getting the start, but, there will be competition. Defensively the Bears are very good. LBs Brian Urlacher and Lance Briggs will be back, and tough for other teams. Bears will go 9-7.
Fantasy Favorite: WR Brandon Marshall is bound to have a breakout year. Last time Cutler and Marshall were together was in Denver, and Marshall had one of his best seasons ever.
3. Detroit Lions - All I did was shake my head at the Lions this offseason. Cliff Avril, Mikel Leshoure, the ex-Lion Berry. So much legal trouble, DUIs, domestic abuse. Ridiculous. Something to watch is the Stafford-Johnson Jr combo. Best combo in the NFL in my opinion. The Lions have a big chance to win the division, as long as they are as strong defensively as they are offensively. DE Cliff Avril is good, but, he's been arrested twice this offseason, so the consequences could be big. DT Ndaumakong Suh is the best at his position. DT Corey Williams will also see the field a lot, next to Suh. LB Justin Durant, I love his chances of being a big playmaker. Durant just needs to be an oppurtunist and he could be playing in the last Pro Bowl. At DB is where the shortage for the Lions is. CB Chris Houston is going into his 7th season. We shall see. The Lions could be going any where from 9-7 to 12-4.
Fantasy Favorites: QB Matthew Stafford will be the 5th or 6th QB selected, and that is a great snag late. WR Calvin Johnson Jr. was the top scorer on my team last year. He will be selected in the first round. Probably early, so grab him if you can.
4. Green Bay Packers - The 15-1 season last year, the Super Win the year before. Led by the best player in the NFL according to his peers, QB Aaron Rodgers (#1 QB on my bigboard). The reigning MVP is a great player and has great targets. WRs Greg Jennings (#4 WR on my bigboard), Jordy Nelson, Randall Cobb, and TE Jermichael Finley (#6 TE on my bigboard). RB James Starks is finally getting the oppurtunity to run the ball alone. Ryan Grant is gone (free agency). That will be interesting. The last 5 years the Packers weren't remembered for their running game. This team is stacked with studs. Defensively LBs, Clay Matthews, Desmond Bishop, AJ Hawk, and first round draft pick out of USC Nick Perry will lineup. Nick Perry needs to work, and this defense will be unstoppable. The only spot with trouble is FS. Talks about Charles Woodson moving to free safety are swirling. Second year guy M.D. Jennings could make the move from SS to FS. There is 3 rookie S on the Packers roster. Tramon Williams and Sam Shields are there at CB as well. It will be interesting to see how this plays out. I don't talk about kickers/punters much, but K Mason Crosby is great, as well is P Tim Masthay. Mashthay punts a 40-50 yard average. Unbelieveable. I've got the Super Bowl XLV champs going 14-2.Fantasy Favorites: QB Aaron Rodgers is going to be a top 3 pick in 80% of leagues. RB James Starks could be a late season sleeper. I'd grab him in the 10th/11th round. WR Jordy Nelson may not have as good of a year as last, but, he really could see the endzone quite a lot. He'd be a 6th or 7th round pick.
Fantasy Favorite: RB Toby Gerhart (Very late. 12th round?)
2. Chicago Bears - A good team missing the playoffs last year. QB Jay Cutler and RB Matt Forte were both injured by the end of the year. Forte is my #7 RB on my big board. Former Raiders RB Michael Bush will back-up Forte. WR Brandon Marshall should make a huge impact from the moment he steps on the field. Marshall is a tall, high-jumping receiver. He will get a lot of looks, but, he is known to drop. TE Matt Spaeth will possibly be getting the start, but, there will be competition. Defensively the Bears are very good. LBs Brian Urlacher and Lance Briggs will be back, and tough for other teams. Bears will go 9-7.
Fantasy Favorite: WR Brandon Marshall is bound to have a breakout year. Last time Cutler and Marshall were together was in Denver, and Marshall had one of his best seasons ever.
3. Detroit Lions - All I did was shake my head at the Lions this offseason. Cliff Avril, Mikel Leshoure, the ex-Lion Berry. So much legal trouble, DUIs, domestic abuse. Ridiculous. Something to watch is the Stafford-Johnson Jr combo. Best combo in the NFL in my opinion. The Lions have a big chance to win the division, as long as they are as strong defensively as they are offensively. DE Cliff Avril is good, but, he's been arrested twice this offseason, so the consequences could be big. DT Ndaumakong Suh is the best at his position. DT Corey Williams will also see the field a lot, next to Suh. LB Justin Durant, I love his chances of being a big playmaker. Durant just needs to be an oppurtunist and he could be playing in the last Pro Bowl. At DB is where the shortage for the Lions is. CB Chris Houston is going into his 7th season. We shall see. The Lions could be going any where from 9-7 to 12-4.
Fantasy Favorites: QB Matthew Stafford will be the 5th or 6th QB selected, and that is a great snag late. WR Calvin Johnson Jr. was the top scorer on my team last year. He will be selected in the first round. Probably early, so grab him if you can.
4. Green Bay Packers - The 15-1 season last year, the Super Win the year before. Led by the best player in the NFL according to his peers, QB Aaron Rodgers (#1 QB on my bigboard). The reigning MVP is a great player and has great targets. WRs Greg Jennings (#4 WR on my bigboard), Jordy Nelson, Randall Cobb, and TE Jermichael Finley (#6 TE on my bigboard). RB James Starks is finally getting the oppurtunity to run the ball alone. Ryan Grant is gone (free agency). That will be interesting. The last 5 years the Packers weren't remembered for their running game. This team is stacked with studs. Defensively LBs, Clay Matthews, Desmond Bishop, AJ Hawk, and first round draft pick out of USC Nick Perry will lineup. Nick Perry needs to work, and this defense will be unstoppable. The only spot with trouble is FS. Talks about Charles Woodson moving to free safety are swirling. Second year guy M.D. Jennings could make the move from SS to FS. There is 3 rookie S on the Packers roster. Tramon Williams and Sam Shields are there at CB as well. It will be interesting to see how this plays out. I don't talk about kickers/punters much, but K Mason Crosby is great, as well is P Tim Masthay. Mashthay punts a 40-50 yard average. Unbelieveable. I've got the Super Bowl XLV champs going 14-2.Fantasy Favorites: QB Aaron Rodgers is going to be a top 3 pick in 80% of leagues. RB James Starks could be a late season sleeper. I'd grab him in the 10th/11th round. WR Jordy Nelson may not have as good of a year as last, but, he really could see the endzone quite a lot. He'd be a 6th or 7th round pick.
Jay Cutler (Left) and Brandon Marshall (Right)
Calvin Johnson Jr. and Matthew Stafford (Right)
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| Jordy Nelson (Left) and Aaron Rodgers (Right) |
By: Alex Strouf
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