jiggadhu

NFC North and Playoff Predictions

nice to see someone stick their neck out early. i see the bears doing just as well as you predict but i think GB may actually do slightly better say 12-4 and min slightly worse around 8-8/9-7 in fact the difference can easily accompanied by aGBsweep of MN.

the northdoes look like it could be rather tough next year. shame it get drawn against the tough afc south wish we had the afc east next year...much easier

NFC North and Playoff Predictions

I see the Vikings a little better, and Packers a little worse. I haven't studied the schedule, but I think the Vikes could go 12-4, the Pack 10-6, the Bears 9-7, the Lions 7-9. Pretty competative in the division.

I think the NFC West will be down, even from where it was. I think the East will go Cowboys and Giants. The South will be weak again. Tampa will be weaker as Garcia won't have as good a season. The Falcons will continue to be terrible. The Saints were one year wonders and will wish Houston had taken Bush, and the Panthers will be the Panthers.

Because of all of that, the playoffs could very well look the way you have them.

NFC North and Playoff Predictions

Even as a bears fan I have a difficult time seeing the North go 16 games over .500........ just my opinion.

NFC North and Playoff Predictions

You did a great job with your predictions but I have the Eagles making the WC over the Bears. Donovan McNabb is a year healthier and I love the pick up of Asante Samuel. If the Bears select a running back in the first round to replace Benson preferably Mendenhall.... then maybe. Their offense has not improved from last years horrible unit.  I love the Cowboys to eventually win the Conference Championship but the Saints with improvements on defense and a very potent offense watch out!! This might be just as competitive as last years playoff run for the NFC with so many good teams. I love the Panthers pick up of DJ Hackett, he is very underrated and they still have a solid defense. The Vikings season is contingent on solid play from the QB. Teams are going to lock up on AP and Bernard Berrian while productive he's not the answer to all their problems.

NFC North and Playoff Predictions

Floridabredguru,

Thanks for the compliments. I can definately see an NFC East team making the playoffs, and I can definately see a 10-6 team not make the playoffs. I think the balance of power is starting to shift back to the NFC and it will be extremely competitive this year.

The Panthers did help themselves with D.J. Hackett since they might have blown their first round pick of Dwayne Jarrett last year. Still to early to tell though.

I would love it if the Bears got Rashard Mendenhall, but I don't see them taking a back in the first round. They need oline help in the worst way and that's where the will go. If they don't get one in the first, I'd like to see them take Mike Hart or Matt Forte in the 3rd/4th.

The Vikings could be a very dangerous team this year. It all depends on the development of Tarvaris Jackson. If he develops the way the Vikings hope, they could be very dominant due to their running game and defense. If he doesn't, they could struggle to make the playoffs again this year.

NFC North and Playoff Predictions

I like your pick of the Packers record, except I think Dallas will beat GB at Lambeau and GB will win in JAX.  I also Minn, Chi, and Det will be one game worse than what you select.  Seedings are OK, but NY will be decent again this year, Philadelphia will be improved, and I wouldn't sleep on Arizona, not to mention the loser of the TB/NO battle.  There are potentially 7 decent teams competing for those two spots.  Hopefully your NFC Champion pick comes true.

NFC North and Playoff Predictions

jiggadhu

Nice post. As always I respect your opinion and I believe you represent the Bears fans well. However, we all do have our own opinions and I feel it's not out of line to voice mine. I'm basically going to stick to the North and I doubt I will make any predictions.

Vikings: It's no secret to anyone that if the Vikings are to make the next step they need to get better and more consistent play from TJack. Signing Berrian was an improvement to the receiving corps but alone it won't be enough to back the 8th man out of the box. The team also needs to see improved play from Sidney Rice and Bobby Wade. Last year the Vikings receivers had problems gaining seperation. Whether it was from poor route running or poorly designed plays is unknown, but either way it has to improve. If the passing game shows any hint of consistency the Vikings offense should flourish.

The Vikings running game will be successful again because of the offensive line, H-back, and overall scheme. Adrian Peterson is an amazing back but not enough credit is given to the men that do the dirty work. Remember, in 06' Chester Taylor was able to run for a respectable 1200 yds after missing time during the season. The offense doesn't begin and end with AP. It's the offensive line.

The run defense that has been #1 in the league for 2 years has a chance to be even better. The center is anchored by the Williams boys and the linebackers are an unheralded but very productive group. Chad Greenway will be in his second year as a starter and EJ Henderson is back at middle linebacker where he is most comfortable. Both linebackers were in the top 25 in the league last year and along with Ben Leber (5 sacks in 07') they make plays.

The achilles heel for the Vikings is the pass defense. Everyone wants to point fingers at the secondary but, I don't believe there's a DB in the league that can cover receivers for 6-7 seconds. The pass defensive struggles are a result of not being able to pressure QB's with the front 4. As you know the cover 2 depends on pressure and safetys playing their positions correctly. Again, Madieu is an upgrade but not a fix. With Udeze being diagnosed with leukemia and James inability to stay healthy, the team must address the DE position either through free agency or the draft.

Bears: The strength of the Bears again will be their defense and special teams. Particularily the LB's and defensive line. Resigning Briggs long term was good for the team but the health concerns surrounding Urlacher might be cause for some concern. I would still expect this group to perform very well. The defensive line will be back healthy and this is the area that did the most damage to the defense last year. The substitute D-Linemen weren't able to keep the opposing O-linemen off the linebackers and also didn't create pressure.

The defensive backfield of the Bears is above average but not spectacular. Tillman and Vasher are good corners but, playing the cover 2, they are playing zones instead of men. When Mike Brown is hurt the safety's or the defense as a whole don't seem to play as well. Don't get me wrong, this is still a strength for the team.

Special teams....Hester....nuff said

The offensive unit of the Bears needs help. It all starts with the line because everything else suffers if the line doesn't perform. Is Cedric Benson the answer at running back? We won't know until someone opens a hole for him. The WR corps took a big hit by losing both of last years starters. They have talented young guys, but a lack of experience and hardly any rapport with the QB's is bound to make for some growing pains. However, I don't believe there's a more talented set of TE's in the league and this will take some pressure off the offense as a whole.

I won't get into the Orton-Grossman debate because you already know I'm not a Grossman fan. The reason they brought him back was because he know's the system and provides a security blanket while they are grooming whomever they draft. In the end, they will start Orton, and Grossman will teach the rookie the offense.

The gut feeling I have for Chicago is that, if they don't improve their offense, the defense will end up on the field too much and may lead to the same kind of injury situation they had last year.

Green Bay: The loss of Favre will have a profound effect on this team. They had a good year, but you have to remember that it was one of Favre's BEST years. Expecting a virtual rookie to come in and perform anywhere near that level is thinking optimistically to say the least. Yes, he was tutored by Favre and he had the opportunity to learn the system, but nothing can replace experience. I suspect he will have many of the growing pains that every young QB has.

The running game is back in GB thanks to a good offensive line and the emergence of Ryan Grant. Much the same as Minnesota, if Rodgers is able to keep defenses honest, the offense in GB should be fine. I doubt it will be the same lavel as last year, but they should score points.

The defense is much like Chicago and Minnesota in that they have a solid D-Line and good linebackers. The aggressive style of play they use with their corners was somewhat exposed against the Giants. There has been much talk about Atari Bigby. He is a hard hitting safety that likes to play near the line. The downfall of safeties that play like this is their inability to get back in coverage (see Roy Williams) and their tendency to bite on play action. The bigger receivers in the division will be able to exploit the corners if their team is able to run.

IMO Green Bay will be competetive. I don't believe they will dominate the division let alone the conference.

Detroit: This team also needs help at the offensive line. Kitna is easily the best QB in the division just by his consistency. The problem is they're peeling him off the turf every 3 times he drops back. Poor O-Line equals poor run game. Poor run game equals bumping WR's at the line and meeting at the QB. I do believe it's that simple. Fix the O-Line in Detroit and look out.

The lions defensive line needs help and they need a middle linebacker. Ernie Sims is a monster but he can't tackle everyone. The Lions have made some noise in free agency in upgrading their defensive backfield and I believe it will pay dividends immediatly. This unit was so poor last year they have nowhere to look but up and I think that's the direction they'll be heading.

I'm glad our division is playing the AFC south this year because we can use those quality teams as a barometer for where our division is. I'd even go as far as to say I think we'll be successful against the south because of our defensive abilities.

Pushover team: Atlanta....With the first pick of the 2009 draft........

Beware (a) Carolina..Remember the last time Steve Smith and Mushin Muhammed played with a healthy Jake Delhomme?

Beware (b) Titans...teams that play good defense and are able to run tend to hang around.

Beware (c) Saints...They can score...alot

PS  If your team doesn't win 10 this year they're not in the NFC playoffs (whoever your team is)

NFC North and Playoff Predictions

Excellent work as always Jiggahu. I liked the win/loss predictions for each game. However, I think you're being a little too generous to the NFC North. I really doubt all teams will be above .500. I think two teams at the most will be over 9 wins, and the Lions might not even break 8 wins. They might even regress because of their aging QB and terrible offensive line. Also, their defense is not taking any major strides either. The Packers might still dominate the division. They remind me of the 2005 Bears. I can see them winning strictly on defense and running the ball with Ryan Grant. The Vikings have themselves a pretty good team too. Tarvaris Jackson is question mark, but their run defense and the combination of Adrian Peterson and Chester Taylor look dominant enough for them to stick around. As far as the Bears go, I honestly don't know yet. If they don't get help at offensive line or running back (which they probably will), they'll only have a puncher's chance in my book.