Who wins the NFCN 2019

[RaidersAreOne]

1. Packers
2. Bears
3. Vikings
4. Lions

[VikeManDan]

Going to be a blood-bath.

I fully expect both the Vikings and Packers to be much more competitive than last years records indicated.

Edited April 4, 2019 by VikeManDan

[Soko]

On 3/14/2019 at 4:02 PM, Shanedorf said:

Of course I'm a blind biased homer, but those items above offer some insight into the likelihood of a very strong start in minny next year.

I mean, I wouldn’t get hung up on the “very strong” terminology...the difference between a strong start and a very strong start is probably a one game turnover, lol.

[MrOaktown_56]

8 hours ago, VikeManDan said:

Going to be a blood-bath.

I fully expect both the Vikings and Packers to be much more competitive than last years records indicated.

If the packers can mesh early with their new coach on O and add another target for Rodgers, I think they can make a run.

The vikings need better play up front. Dalvin is an animal. I think if he's healthy, he'll push for a spot among the best backs in the league. His play speed is absolutely phenomenal.

Hell, even the lions, who no one is counting on, added some pretty decent free agents. When I look at the Lions roster, there don't seem to be a lot of glaring holes. A good draft and they'll be right there. 

The bears will obviously be in contention, though I think the division will make a strong push to meet/exceed them this year. Watching the AFC north last year, I saw the other teams just implode.

[patriotsheatyan]

On 4/3/2019 at 6:35 AM, Superman(DH23) said:

Cause that is totally what I was saying 

I don’t think any vaguely rational person would view a guard entering his second season and Allen Robinson being a second year removed from an ACL injury as a sign that an offense is about to take off. 

[Spartacus]

NFCN is going to be interesting this year if the Packers improve. Currently, I like the Vikings the most. Bears lost valuable pieces and I think we will see a small regression from them. Packers are a total question mark right now however I could see them either be the same team of last year or really good. Lions I don't think are a real threat but are good enough to steal games from any of the other three. Injuries will probably also play a big role. 

[Karnage84]

I'm a little biased as a Lions fan but I do think the team is getting slept on.

Last year we had a huge step back. New HC who came in late and was playing catch up. Culture change and scheme change led to some growing pains. Star pass rusher, Ansah, was injured for the bulk of the season resulting in very little sack production. There was no consistent guy opposite of Slay. Quin regressed. Despite all of this, we finished with a top 10 defense. Flowers and Coleman should be significant improvements over the guys who were there before. Depending on how the draft shakes out, we should see additions to Edge, CB, S, and/or LB.

Offense: Stafford didn't have the year he would've hoped for but was injured for the back half of the season. TJ Lang and the RG was a revolving door. Blount was ineffective and Kerryon had his own challenges with injury. They'll likely be moving to more of a RBBC. Golladay and Jones are still decent weapons. James is an improvement at TE from what was there last year - whether he's a TE1 or not is up for debate. I expect they'll add a starting RG, a WR or two, a TE or two and a RB. The offense took a step back and should be improved.

Chicago has lost some key pieces, Packers have a new HC. If Cousins plays like should be able to, I would say the Vikings are the leaders in the division. However, I expect the Lions to make a jump and be a tough team to play this year.

[Spartacus]

19 minutes ago, Karnage84 said:

I'm a little biased as a Lions fan but I do think the team is getting slept on.

Last year we had a huge step back. New HC who came in late and was playing catch up. Culture change and scheme change led to some growing pains. Star pass rusher, Ansah, was injured for the bulk of the season resulting in very little sack production. There was no consistent guy opposite of Slay. Quin regressed. Despite all of this, we finished with a top 10 defense. Flowers and Coleman should be significant improvements over the guys who were there before. Depending on how the draft shakes out, we should see additions to Edge, CB, S, and/or LB.

Offense: Stafford didn't have the year he would've hoped for but was injured for the back half of the season. TJ Lang and the RG was a revolving door. Blount was ineffective and Kerryon had his own challenges with injury. They'll likely be moving to more of a RBBC. Golladay and Jones are still decent weapons. James is an improvement at TE from what was there last year - whether he's a TE1 or not is up for debate. I expect they'll add a starting RG, a WR or two, a TE or two and a RB. The offense took a step back and should be improved.

Chicago has lost some key pieces, Packers have a new HC. If Cousins plays like should be able to, I would say the Vikings are the leaders in the division. However, I expect the Lions to make a jump and be a tough team to play this year.

I would say the Lions but I thought people were sleeping on them last year and defended the crap out of them. They proved me wrong so I learned my lesson. 

[Karnage84]

2 minutes ago, Spartacus said:

I would say the Lions but I thought people were sleeping on them last year and defended the crap out of them. They proved me wrong so I learned my lesson. 

Fair enough. We'll see how things shake out this year. It's going to be a tough division but it wouldn't surprise me to see Chicago take a step down. GB is always going to be tough with Rodgers but they'll have a lot of the same issues as the Lions from last year.

[Uncle Buck]

This is a really tough division to predict. 

The Bears were easily the best team last year, but they did lose some pieces and they will be playing a first place schedule this year.  They certainly cannot be ignored in spite of this.

The Vikings are a very complete team with one glaring weakness that, in my opinion, has not even come close to being upgraded enough to predict them as the certain division winner.  This team could be great, or they could implode and be in rebuild mode with a new GM and head coach next season.  I still don't know what to think about Kirk Cousins. 

The Packers were in a shambles last season, but I like a lot of moves their new GM has been making.  The fact that they let Randall Cobb go tells me that they have faith in their young WR's.  With some good draft picks, they should be able to create a team that is very competitive in the divison this season.

The Lions are not nearly as bad as their record would indicate.  They have some good players on that roster, and it will be interesting to see what their new coach can do to continue their development.  They are not a team anyone should take lightly.

Who will win the division?  I could legitimately see it going any of a number of ways.  It should be a fun season.

[Spartacus]

1 minute ago, Uncle Buck said:

This is a really tough division to predict. 

The Bears were easily the best team last year, but they did lose some pieces and they will be playing a first place schedule this year.  They certainly cannot be ignored in spite of this.

The Vikings are a very complete team with one glaring weakness that, in my opinion, has not even come close to being upgraded enough to predict them as the certain division winner.  This team could be great, or they could implode and be in rebuild mode with a new GM and head coach next season.  I still don't know what to think about Kirk Cousins. 

The Packers were in a shambles last season, but I like a lot of moves their new GM has been making.  The fact that they let Randall Cobb go tells me that they have faith in their young WR's.  With some good draft picks, they should be able to create a team that is very competitive in the divison this season.

The Lions are not nearly as bad as their record would indicate.  They have some good players on that roster, and it will be interesting to see what their new coach can do to continue their development.  They are not a team anyone should take lightly.

Who will win the division?  I could legitimately see it going any of a number of ways.  It should be a fun season.

Shockingly I actually agree with what you are saying for once. 

[Karnage84]

2 minutes ago, Uncle Buck said:

This is a really tough division to predict. 

The Bears were easily the best team last year, but they did lose some pieces and they will be playing a first place schedule this year.  They certainly cannot be ignored in spite of this.

The Vikings are a very complete team with one glaring weakness that, in my opinion, has not even come close to being upgraded enough to predict them as the certain division winner.  This team could be great, or they could implode and be in rebuild mode with a new GM and head coach next season.  I still don't know what to think about Kirk Cousins. 

The Packers were in a shambles last season, but I like a lot of moves their new GM has been making.  The fact that they let Randall Cobb go tells me that they have faith in their young WR's.  With some good draft picks, they should be able to create a team that is very competitive in the divison this season.

The Lions are not nearly as bad as their record would indicate.  They have some good players on that roster, and it will be interesting to see what their new coach can do to continue their development.  They are not a team anyone should take lightly.

Who will win the division?  I could legitimately see it going any of a number of ways.  It should be a fun season.

I think the Vikings are the most complete team. What do you think would derail them from winning the division?

[VikeManDan]

2 hours ago, Spartacus said:

Bears lost valuable pieces

 

47 minutes ago, Karnage84 said:

Chicago has lost some key pieces

What exactly have they lost?

They lost their DC but hired a pretty solid replacement in Pagano.

They swapped Amos for Clinton-Dix (maybe a slight downgrade?)

They lost their nickel CB in Callahan and replaced him with Skrine, definite downgrade there from what I've read.

Other than that they return 9 of 11 starters on defense. I fully expect the defense to "regress" this year. Their DVOA was ~10% higher than the next closest team. I think the Bears will go as far as Trubisky can take them. I do not take them lightly as a Vikings fan.

Edited April 5, 2019 by VikeManDan

[Uncle Buck]

25 minutes ago, Spartacus said:

Shockingly I actually agree with what you are saying for once. 

You're learning.  

 

[Uncle Buck]

24 minutes ago, Karnage84 said:

I think the Vikings are the most complete team. What do you think would derail them from winning the division?

Same thing as last year.  Lousy offensive line.  We were horrible last year and haven't done much to improve in free agency.  I'm hoping we draft a couple of good O-line prospects, but even if we do, it could take a while for them to acclimate to NFL play.  If we can't protect Cousins and run block better than we did last season, it could be a long year.