It was just about one year ago when HHSR boldly predicted that Jay Cutler would basically do what Joe Flacco did last season, and the Chicago Bears would win Super Bowl XLVII. While the Bears did win 10 games during the regular season, they failed to make the playoffs and thus made HHSR look…let’s just say…not so good. So at this point, we’re gonna come right out and say it:
The Chicago Bears will not win Super Bowl XLVIII in New York City.
Sorry Bears fans. It doesn’t mean Chicago doesn’t have a competitive team and won’t compete for the division title once again. The problem is, the NFC North is probably better than it was last year, and Da Bears may have missed their chance at dethroning the Packers. Not to mention that Chicago is still battling their own set of problems, including revamping their offensive line, which allowed the eighth most sacks in the league last season. Many people are critical of Cutler — and understandably so, he’s such an easy target — but a wise man once said “no quarterback can throw from his back.”
To combat the lingering O-line issues (Cutler has been dropped 148 times in the last four years), Bears rookie head coach Marc Trestman added two rookies to the right side of his line, and Chicago recently released longtime whipping boy J’Marcus Webb. While the Cutler/Brandon Marshall reunion paid huge dividends in 2012, the Bears will now have to figure out how to replace the veteran leadership vacated by linebacker Brian Urlacher. Fortunately, Chi-Town still boasts one of the league’s better defensive units, which had an astounding 44 takeaways last year. Much of that core group has returned, and the Monsters of the Midway should once again finish at or around double-digit victories.
In 2011, the Detroit Lions were 10-6. In 2012, they fell to 4-12. What gives?
The addition of Reggie Bush (and the subtraction of Titus Young) to an already potent offense only adds another dimension of explosiveness to the Lions. But for several years, the Lions have been that team that “on paper” looks to have all the makings of a contender, yet something always appeared to be missing. Maybe it’s a coach that inspires, maybe it’s discipline, or it could be that they don’t have any veterans in that locker room that have actually done it before. Whatever the case, until they iron out the leadership issues, the Lions (how come only the Detroit Tigers are known as the “Motor City Kitties”?) will be nothing more than a glorified spoiler for teams that actually have a legitimate shot at the playoffs.
Oh, and Ndamukong Suh needs to be kicked out of the league. While it’s easy to appreciate the tough mentality he’s brought to the Detroit front seven, there’s just no place for his antics in a grown man’s league. He might even be starting to have a negative impact on promising young defensive tackle Nick Fairley. Don’t let Suh turn you out, Nick! PLEASE!
Up in Minnesota, the Vikings are still riding the coattails of all-world tailback Adrian Peterson. The team hasn’t appeared to make many noteworthy improvements, unless you’re a fan of late first round draft picks…or wide receives who have an ax to grind. Minny had a trio of first round picks between 23 and 29 overall (two of which they spent on defensive players), in a draft that appeared to be one of the weakest in memory. That doesn’t bode well for a team that also lost their second-best playmaker this offseason when Percy Harvin set sail for Seattle.
Make no mistake, the Vikes have talent— even outside of last year’s MVP. But they’re playoff run seemed flukey. And though Christian Ponder is young, he appears to be just “another guy” at quarterback. Sure he has youth on his side, but have you seen young QBs these days? Andy Dalton, Andrew Luck, Cam Newton, Russell Wilson, RG3 and Colin Kaepernick are all under 26 and are either leading their teams to the playoffs or throwing up historic statistics. The standard has changed for young gunslingers and Ponder’s so-so 2012 performance won’t cut it unfortunately.
Sidebar: Yes, Ponder’s team made the playoffs last year, but he was far from the biggest reason for it.
The Rodgers/Braun split was as heartbreaking as Jay & Dame’s. If there’s even a 0.01% chance it affects Rodgers on the field, Braun won’t be safe in the streets of Milwaukee.
NFC North Champions: Green Bay Packers
It was hard not to pick the Bears to win this division. We had them in the playoffs as a wild card team last year, and they’ll be right there again this time around. But beating out the second place teams from the NFC South and NFC West (and maybe even the NFC East…you may have noticed that the NFC is loaded) will once again be a tall — but not impossible — task. Another 10 win team will likely get squeezed out of the NFC playoffs. Hopefully, it isn’t the Bears again.
Sidebar: Chicago’s new head coach is Marc Trestman, a man that spent the last five years coaching in the Canadian Football League. Many intelligent football minds praised this hire by the Chicago, but the elephant in the room remains: if he’s such a good coach, why was he not in the NFL the last eight years? And why did he coach in the NFL for 19 years without ever landing a head coaching gig? They are questions that has to make you wonder how far the Bears can realistically go in the first season after replacing Lovie Smith.
The Packers are the boring, predictable pick here, but they’re still the right one until further notice. Sometimes you don’t need more analysis than “Aaron Rodgers is just that damn good”. However, the Packers are still suffering from some of the same ailments that plague their arch rivals to the south— they actually gave up the second most sacks in the league in 2012!
You’d think Packers GM Ted Thompson would actually want to protect his prized asset with established veterans, as opposed to not addressing the offensive line until the fourth round of the draft and surrounding their meal ticket with several rookie and second-year players. In Thompson’s defense, it didn’t help that his starting left tackle Bryan Bulaga tore his ACL just a few weeks ago and another tackle, Derek Sherrod (Green Bay’s first round pick in 2011), hasn’t played an NFL game in nearly two years. The Pack did elect to invest nearly their entire 2012 draft in their defense in the hopes to see a return on that investment this season.
Rodgers will be great assuming he’s not still shaken by his former business partner’s recent indiscretion. His receivers should be stellar as usual (Randall Cobb will have a huge season). But the defense, the offensive line and the running game are the question marks that will ultimately determine how far these Packers go. The Cheez-Its went 2-4 against playoff teams last year (sorry, “Fail Mary” included) and face off against seven playoff teams from 2012 this year, including five of their first seven games.
It shouldn’t take long to see if this Green Bay group has what it takes to compete beyond the NFC North. If they ain’t careful, they might not get out this physical division.