The Minnesota Vikings are out to repeat their NFC North title after a 13-3 season and a trip to the NFC Championship game. With QB Aaron Rodgers attempting to live up to a monster deal, the Green Bay Packers are expected to push them all the way.
Chicago are on the rise following a fifth straight non-winning season and have a new head coach. Detroit have a top QB and a new man in charge, too. We take a look at the four teams.
MINNESOTA VIKINGS
Since the Vikings lost their fourth Super Bowl in eight years in 1976, they have not managed to get back to the big game.
They have since reached five NFC Championship games and lost them all, including last season.
In order to get over the hump they handed Kirk Cousins an $84million, three-year contract, and the former Washington Redskins passer will lead an attack that boasts a quality receiving threat in Adam Thielen and Stefon Diggs, who combined for 155 catches, 2,125 yards and 12 touchdowns last season. Tight end Kyle Rudolph (pictured above) is a big target in the red zone and he had off-season ankle surgery, so should have more of an impact with his speed down the seam.
They will hope that Dalvin Cook, who was injured in Week 4, returns to the trail-blazing form at running back when averaging 4.8 yards per carry. His back-up is Latavius Murray, who started slowly, but got progressively stronger as the season went on.
The Vikings lost durable right guard Joe Berger, who retired in the summer, and there are a couple of question marks over the offensive line, but if it is serviceable, as is was last season, rather than the disaster it was in 2016, then Vikings should contend again.
The Vikings have a new kicker and he is a good one – Daniel Carlson has a big leg and was asked to do a lot at Auburn. He may be a rookie, but he will become one of the best in the NFL, despite making a career-low 74.2 percent of his kicks last season.
The other side of the ball is the strength of this team, with the defensive line one of the best units in the NFL and it could be even better with the addition of defensive tackle and former Pro-bowler Sheldon Richardson, who has been handed a ‘prove-it’ one-year deal. Pairing him with elite pass-rusher Everson Griffen, who also stops the run, was a smart piece of business and with left end Daniel Hunter and nose tackle Linval Jospeh, this may be the best line in the league.
The defense was stout last season, yet the Vikings were fortunate with injuries – just two players missed a total of three games and it will be hard to replicate that continuity.
A late November/early December stretch with games against Green Bay, New England and Seattle will go a long way to determining their fate.
The Vikings’ current Genting Casino odds to win the Super Bowl are 14/1 and there will be a lot of expectation, but the NFC North won’t be a cake-walk with Green Bay’s Aaron Rodgers fit and healthy again following his broken collar bone in Week 6.
Regardless, the Vikings’ Genting Casino odds of 5/4 to win the NFC North will no doubt tempt some.
GREEN BAY PACKERS
The Packers are coming off their first losing season since 2008 and many of the problems stemmed from Rodgers’ injury. They started the season looking like Super Bowl contenders, but their 4-1 start came to a crashing halt in Week 6 and they went 3-8 the rest of the way.
The Packers do not traditionally dabble in free agency, but with Brian Gutekunst replacing Ted Thompson as GM in January, the need for youth on the rosters was evident and there were splashy signings – defensive end Muhammad Wilkerson and tight-end Jimmy Graham were key free-agent signings.
Key needs at cornerback and receiver were addressed in the draft and Rodgers, who is 35 in December, knows the clock is ticking if he is to become the 13th quarterback to win multiple Super Bowls.
Keeping him healthy must be the Packers’ top priority. In his last 17 games, he has tossed 43 touchdowns and only eight interceptions, and there is no question they will go as far as he can take them.
Expect Jamaal Williams to shoulder more of the workload at running back, and Devante Adams is now Rodgers’ No1 target, following the release of Jordy Nelson, whose form dropped off last term.
Another key loss came on the defensive side of the ball with safety Morgan Burnett, who was a good communicator as well as a high-level safety.
They also traded No1 cornerback Damarious Randall, so drafted cornerbacks Jaire Alexander of Louisville in Round 1 and Josh Jackson of Iowa in Round 2. They are the future, but the secondary is still very much the weak link. The defensive line should be better if Wilkerson returns to past form and new coordinator Mike Pettine can shore up the back-end.
One of the least talked-about moves was bringing back offensive coordinator Joe Philbin. He was the coordinator from 2007-11, when the Packers were fourth in average points per game and were No1 in 2011. Rogers has a comfort level with Philbin and the Packers Genting Casino odds of 11/8 to win the NFC North will therefore look big value to many.
DETROIT LIONS
The Lions won three of their final four games last season but were scuppered by a defense that ranked 21st in points allowed and 27th overall.
The biggest change is the arrival of head coach Matt Patricia, who was defensive coordinator for a New England team that either reached the Conference Championship or better for each of the past six seasons, and never won fewer than 12 games per season.
The Lions’ defense that features Ezekiel Ansah (12 sacks) and cornerback Darius Slay (eight interceptions) remains largely unchanged, which means Patricia will have to use all of his guile to improve upon last season’s weak unit.
The biggest key addition is linebacker Devon Kennard, who was their No1 priority in free agency, and his arrival from the New York Giants will provide more of a pass rush.
However, the Lions are all about the arm of quarterback Matthew Stafford, who has passed for 4,000 yards or more in each of the last seven seasons, but still the franchise is 0-9 in playoff games dating back to the 1991 NFC title game.
Stafford’s top two targets Golden Tate and Marvin Jones return, and Auburn’s second-round running back Kerryon Johnson is adept catching the ball out of the backfield. With bruising rusher LeGarrette Blount, the Lions will have a diverse attack. The drafting of centre Frank Ragnow will also help the running game that has finished last in the NFL twice in the last three years.
The Lions schedule is not easy, with Weeks 3 to 8 particularly testing, facing New England, Dallas, Green Bay and Miami. They also close with tough divisional clashes at home to the Vikings and on the road to the Packers.
The Lions’ Genting Casino odds to win the NFC North are 13/2, which could tempt a few, despite a tough schedule, as they have the offense to hurt the best.
CHICAGO BEARS
After a 5-11 record and their fourth-straight double-digit-defeat seasons, expecting a major turnaround is perhaps too much to ask, even with new head coach Matt Nagy arriving from Kansas City.
The 40-year-old has installed a more quarterback-friendly system for second-year passer Mitchell Trubisky, with concepts like the run-pass option (RPO), and they have surrounded him with enough talent – namely wide receiver Allen Robinson and tight end Trey Burton – to be productive.
Trubisky is similar to Alex Smith, who flourished in Kansas City, so he should fit former QB Nagy’s scheme.
His arm strength and mobility shone through, even in John Fox’s vanilla attack, but he needs to be more accurate in a new system, which he has to learn. Everything points to a breakout season for the youngster.
The Bears’ running backs should have more joy in the new system, in which they must run routes and catch passes out of the backfield. Nagy’s scheme helped Tyreek Hill become a star in Kansas City and both Tarik Cohen and Taylor Gabriel have a similar, explosive style. They will compliment Jordan Howard’s powerful run-between-the-tackles style.
Defensively, the Bears need to give the offense more opportunities. They made just 24 interceptions in the last three seasons and they must do a better job of getting off the field on third down. Yet overall, they have a solid unit, although there are concerns as to whether veteran outside linebackers Pernell McPhee and Willie Young have been adequately replaced.
The Genting Casino odds for the Bears to win the NFC North are 15/2 but that is largely because of the inexperienced attack.
These Bears are not the reincarnation of the 2017 LA Rams, who went from the basement to the playoffs under first-year head coach and Sean McVay and second-year passer Jared Goff. Those Rams had plenty of talent already in place. Chicago is still trying to acquire the pieces it needs to contend. This could take a couple of seasons at least.
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