The NFC North has been largely run by the Green Bay Packers over the last several seasons, but we are seeing the emergence of all four teams within the division capable of making a run at the title. From top-to-bottom, the NFC North is certainly well-rounded with no team in the division being considered a bad, or low-level team.
This is certainly good for competition and compelling storylines. Entering the 2013 NFL season, the NFC North could be one of the more exciting division races in the league. Oddsmakers think it’s Green Bay’s division to lose, but as you go down the line, there are certainly arguments to be made for every team.
The Packers have the best quarterback in the division and arguably in the NFL. And with the NFL being a quarterback-driven league, Green Bay holds the upper hand. Aaron Rodgers’ arm though is critical to the success of the Packers. They do not survive on defense or the run game, it’s by the passing attack. In an effort to improve the run game, Green Bay brought in Eddie Lacy, a rookie out of Alabama.
The defense did improve quite a bit from ranking last in 2011 to middle-of-road in 2012. In fact, the team was a near top-10 defense against the pass last season, which was a big area of struggle the season before.
The Chicago Bears missed out on the playoffs last season, watching but the Packers and Vikings move on. The Bears will be without a familiar face on defense this season, with linebacker Brian Urlacher retiring after he and the team couldn’t reach a contract agreement.
For those players on the field, the clear improvement needs to be made in the passing game behind Jay Cutler. Chicago ranked 29th in the NFL in passing output last season, where they ranked in the top-10 in every other major category both offensively and defensively. To help with that, the pass protection needs to improve to give Cutler time to throw the ball down field. It’s difficult to throw when a quarterback is getting hit as many times as Cutler is.
The Detroit Lions certainly underachieved last season. There is too much talent on this team on both sides of the ball not to be good. Quarterback Matthew Stafford needs to take the next step forward and lead the team to the postseason. He has the biggest wide receiver weapon out there in Calvin Johnson, coming off of a record-breaking performance in 2012.
The Lions added Reggie Bush, which should make for an interesting and entertaining dynamic out of the backfield both rushing and catching passes.
Defensively, Detroit is trying to boost its pass rush, and could have on of the best front lines in the NFL with new rookie Ezekiel Ansah looking sharp.
The Minnesota Vikings are considered the underdogs in the NFC North despite having arguably the best player in the entire NFL in Adrian Peterson. The running back carried the team on his back to the playoffs, rushing for 2,097 yards a season ago. Peterson will need some help from quarterback Christian Ponder this season though. Any sort of a passing threat will open plenty of doors for this Minnesota offense. It’s very unbalanced when the team ranks No.2 in rushing and No.31 in passing.
Defensively Minnesota added help up front and in the secondary with Sharrif Floyd and Xavier Rhodes. The Vikings were an average unit defensively in 2012 and will try to pick that up this season.