Although football season still seems miles away, with the NFL Draft taking place this weekend, fans everywhere are beginning to look at their teams' chances for the upcoming campaign. In the spirit of sparking \friendly"" discussion, here's one person's initial take on the NFC North, starting from the bottom up.
The Detroit Lions finished in the division cellar last season, finishing with a 3-13 record. What had to be even more concerning for the team was their eight-game losing streak to end the season. Things aren't all bad in Detroit, however, as they managed to land ex-49er Head Coach Steve Mariucci after the season, and have a rising star in QB Joey Harrington. If they succeed in drafting former Michigan State star Charles Rogers, the 2003 Lions offense will be a lot more imposing than the 2002 version.
Nevertheless, despite a slight improvement, the Lions still lack talent in a lot of key areas and shouldn't finish above 5-11.
Perhaps the biggest disappointment in the league last year, the Chicago Bears won only four games, a year after winning 12. While the Bears lack of offense was a huge reason for the collapse, the Bears' defense also slipped noticeably, although a lot of that had to do with injuries. The Bears made some big moves this offseason, including (for some reason) picking up Pittsburgh Steeler cast-off Kordell Stewart. Somehow Stewart-not exactly the NFL poster child for consistency-will be looked at to improve Chicago's always-shaky quarterback position. Good luck Jauron. The Bears also suffered a loss with the free-agent departure of linebacker Roosevelt Colvin. With all of the same question marks on offense, and some new ones on defense, the Bears won't be a player in the division this year.
The Minnesota Vikings enter the second year of the Tice era with a little bit of momentum. The Vikes won their last three games, and finally looked like the team that Tice had envisioned from the start. The big story during the offseason is the addition of several key defensive players. Minnesota acquired two decent cornerbacks, Ken Irvin from the Saints and Denard Walker from the Broncos and added linebacker Chris Claiborne from the Lions.
If the Vikings' defensive pieces finally fit together to form a decent product, their dangerous, but inconsistent offense should put enough points on the board to win a couple more games than last year. This team has playoff potential, but isn't a lock.
The Packers looked like that had enough going for them last year to make a serious run at the Super Bowl, but injuries (and Michael Vick) killed them in the end. QB Brett Favre returns this year for what could be the final season of his often-brilliant career. Once again, however, he must deal with an erratic cast at wide receiver. The Terry Glenn experiment failed (he's now in Dallas), so the Packers must rely on a good, but unproven Donald Driver and Robert Ferguson, who made a few plays last year, but has not shown the ability to be a solid receiver yet.
In addition, the Pack's D lost a bunch of parts from last year, including end Vonnie Holiday, safety Matt Bowen, linebacker Nate Wayne and cornerback Tyrone Williams, among others.
Green Bay did add Philly nickelback Al Harris and resigned KGB, so they should be OK. Favre's last year in the NFL (we'll see) will be a success, but it won't end Elway style. Second round playoff exit sounds about right.
Talk amongst yourselves.
