A Preview at the NFC North Division coming into the 2019 NFL Regular Season
It will be a long two months period until football can come back in September, but for now let's do something a little different and that is cover ground of a division I have being following very carefully and precisely the NFC North in particular. A lot can change from now to pre-Season i'm sure, but as everybody is at most a healthy scrap here's how things are looking up to be for all four teams. I will not show you records or any of that until the next time this is just laying out what's there in front of me to widely talk about the depth positions from their strengths to weaknesses, and how that could play a factor into the games ahead of them. (I'll start in alphabetical order)Chicago Bears - Da Bears! Really showed their full potential by actually winning the NFC North last year in a kinda surprise turnabout that it was. After the defeat thanks to the double doink field goal attempt Bears get a crushing defeat. Now with Vic Fangio off to Denver I would not be too confident with Chuck Pagano at the wheel to carry on his play style honestly. If there's a fine line a big glare I can't overlook is that yes the defense is loaded and incredible talent almost everywhere on the field, but they could also be last years Jacksonville Jaguars team if they get a little arrogant of themselves. The offense must take that big next step forward I still need to see Trubisky what his like especially with the other three Quarterbacks being highly touted better than him on a lot of ranking boards. The running game will be interesting to see who gets the carry in the battle of Mike Davis and David Montgomery being the main story there in training camp. Receivers look very promising good pieces for Trubisky to throw down the side line while also having Trey Burton who can get better quickly in this system. One thing I notice also on the offense is when an offensive lineman is hurt like a Kyle Long the bench may really put a fork on things if that were a case. I see Bears as one of the favorites to win the whole thing to maybe maybe a shocking not division winner at the every least 2nd place there just that talented overall aside from the void of the kicking issue that is.
Major Keys to remember:
- Will the Kicking Issue be better handled?
- Can the offense perform great under Mitchell Trubisky?
- Will the defense take a regression under Chuck Pagano?
Detroit Lions - The Lions are a very unique team in 2019, and why is that? Well they enter where if they go last place again the Midwest Patriots idea is canned, and that would also include the longtime quarterback Matthew Stafford if he were to regress even worse after finding out he played with a bad back. To me that's gonna be the main storyline to follow so really i'm routing for them to fail, but the thing of it is I just don't see that happening with everything on the line for this team. after a disaster year one with Patricia things gotta change quickly you can't have players quitting in week against the Jets I mean my god that's not how things work. I'm very mixed how I feel about how Bob Quinn handled preparation in an all or nothing situation. He signed mostly Patriot affiliates (Flowers, Amendola, Coleman) I can see Flowers being a game changer on that pretty stacked looking defensive line that could be top 10 in stopping the run. The receiving core ain't all that as it looks yeah you got Kenny Golladay, but what if he actually gets hurt a good portion than what you get is Marvin Jones (who might be a trade casualty in the mid-season) Amendola is only good in the playoffs, in the regular season you have no idea when he'll have his good game mostly inconsistent. Coleman better prove his worth this is a nickel corner you gave a high price to come here. The two tight end set looks like it will be much better than last year so that's something to look forward to. I feel like I see A Lions that will take pressure off of Stafford, and focus on a heavy run burst offense between Kerryon Johnson, and C.J Anderson (Who I can't believe we stole from the Rams). I could see them range from maybe a surprise 2nd place team or of course basement cellar as well.
Major Keys to remember:
- Can the Lions Make the playoffs? If so can Stafford finally win a playoff game this late in his career?
- Will Dysfunction play a factor forevermore?
- Can the offensive line reduce the sacks given up in the last two seasons?
Green Bay Packers - Well the Packers once again disappointed in many expectations the last two seasons under Mike McCarthy. Now finally burning that bridge that got them the super bowl ring long time ago we know enter the Matt LaFleur era. A guy who was rarely mentioned as a top tier candidate who previously had the Titans offense more notable Passing deficiency was ranked 29th in the league. It puzzled me how he got the job until realizing ''oh his a Sean McVay type guy.'' I'll admit I did like the grabs of many defensive player that got, but I had a mostly major dislike with who they took in Rashan Gary who to me is a weird fit in this defense that's almost already stacked at linebacker with whom they got in the peaceful departure of Clay Matthews. The defense has talent in the middle and backfield, but up front could be a major weakness in which they gave up a tone of rushing yards. Can they avoid giving up the big plays in that gaping void? One thing many people overlooked is having a balanced trench and to me Green Bay doesn't exactly have that. I could see the offensive line play improve, but for me the Defensive line is the major concern unless you move Gary there that would make sense, but otherwise get ready for rushing you could give up a ton to. The last thing I wanna say is the next Randall Cobb Dilemma. Will it be Allison? Will is be Valdes? Last season many of those young receivers had trouble getting good separation and thus the disaster that it was.
Major Keys To Remember:
- Can they improve in stopping the run?
- Will the offensive line give Aaron Rodgers enough time to deliver?
- Could they stun the world and actually both make the playoffs, and win the NFC North?
Minnesota Vikings - Last but not least we have the Viking who were few season ago a win away from the unthinking to get whacked by the Eagles. They make the change to go from Keenum to Cousins, and well the results was injuries, and expected regression somewhat. Although I feel like Minnesota was not nearly in-sync as they should of been especially on the defensive side of the ball more less was stunning to see. Everson griffin was dealing with so strange off the field issue of his own, and things kinda started going down from their John DeFilippo got fired. There are thing that do make me think what exactly is the Vikings future going to be if Kirk Cousins doesn't change it soon? Offensive line still looks atrocious despite getting a much needed Center that they were really getting nailed by injury or the backup was just that awful in blocking. Yet, what they did in this draft is have a two tight end set similar to what The Lions are doing only if these guys can block well than that opens things up for that offense significantly. I feel like the Vikings might not win the NFC North but their window maybe closing in a way there set up unless they can still somehow persevere even with a bottom five or ten Offensive line on hand. I just think this team could very well struggle scoring against many of these ferocious up front defenses in their own division I look at Chicago and Detroit as those types of teams that could give them much trouble.
Major Keys To Remember:
- Can Protection hold up?
- Can that defense reform back to being a top 10 defense?
- Will Kyle Rudolph be a mid-season casualty?
So there's that next time we journey unto how things may change the landscape with injuries to come and play out as this is a taste of what's to come. I may not feel the action just yet, but I feel like i'm almost in high gear regardless if its the dead period of the off-season at its ending stage.
Comments
Well technically we are still a top 10 defense and Kyle Rudolph can catch that’s all we need from him the o line is a question the NFC north is wide open except for you lions you guys better stay in the basement - RawIsgore