The NFC North used to be known as the black and blue division. But three teams that felt they had serious chances to take the division, or at least to qualify for the postseason last year, wound up getting bruised and bounced out of the playoff picture surprisingly early. The Vikings had hoped to follow up on the tremendous promise of the 2017 season by repeating as division champs. But the Vikings got off to a rough start, and simply never found their footing the rest of the way. The Pack used to be the cream of the crop in this division, and the key to their dominance seemed to be their mastery, specifically, over the Bears and Lions. But after pulling off a miracle comeback win in week one against Da Bears last season, they seemed to gall apart quite quickly. After a 3-2-1 start, which can hardly be considered great, they lost six of their next seven to completely pull themselves out of playoff contention, and they were winless in their remaining divisional games following that week one win against Chicago. The Lions were hoping for some good things as well, but got off to a dismal 1-3 start. They recovered to find themselves 3-3, but this might have taken up so much energy, that they paid for it with three straight losses, and five losses in their next six games overall, which also took them out of the playoff picture. That left the Chicago Bears to surprise many and dominate this division by a very comfortable margin of over three games. After that crushing loss in week one, they won their next five against divisional opponents, and enjoyed a 7-1 record at home during the regular season, before bowing at home to the defending champion Eagles in the playoffs.
So, what’s in store for the new season? Here are my NFC North projections for the upcoming 2019 season:
1. Chicago Bears (projected division winners) - Everything came together for Chicago last season. Mitchell Trubisky started to come into his own, and the offense, while not great, managed to get the job done often enough to win. There were a few games where Chicago looked positively explosive on offense, particularly against Tampa Bay, New England, Detroit, and Buffalo. But in most other games, the Bears continued to struggle on offense. They did not produce impressive yards or points, and had to rely on their elite defense to bail the offense out on quite a few occasions. The Bears were held to 16 points or less three times in the regular season, and won all three of those games. But that came back to haunt them against the Eagles, when they managed only 15 points, and lost to the Eagles by a single point. With just a little better consistency and execution on offense, they could very well have won more games, including that playoff game, which would have seen them advance. My guess is that Trubisky continues to develop and get better, and that the offense improves more generally. The defense is in good shape, and they seem to have overcome whatever hurdles they kept tripping over against divisional opponents leading up to last season’s breakout season. They are the current defending division champs, and this is a team that is still getting better. That is why I predict another division title for Da Bears.
3. Green Bay Packers (projected Third place) - Projected Second Place: Green Bay Packers – With Aaron Rodgers, you just can never count this team out. True, he has sustained serious injuries that sidelined him a couple of times in his career, and Green Bay has really struggled when he is not at the helm. However, assuming he can stay healthy, he has a drive and efficiency that generally keeps the Packers as contenders for the playoffs, and that is where you have to expect them to be, assuming Rodgers stays healthy. Of course, if he goes out again with injury, all bets are off. But with him, the Packers offense is always dangerous, and their defense, while not exactly an elite unit in the league, nonetheless can be tough, and can help a productive offense secure wins. Of course, there was the high-profile coaching change, and for once, Rodgers found himself in a bit of controversy regarding his relationship with his previous coach, and how willing he was to work with him. But all of that is in the past, and Rodgers sure seemed relaxed and enjoying himself when he briefly starred in a couple of scenes in a late Game of Thrones episode. He should be entering this season healthy and filled with confidence, and that is enough to make the Packers a dangerous team, and a serious threat to the Bears and Vikings to take the division title.
1. Minnesota Vikings (projected second place) - Two years ago, the Vikings had an explosive offense, and a tough defense. Last season, that offense sputtered, even though the defense was one of the best in the NFL. The offense was not abysmal, but they seemed to struggle mightily in games where you figured they should have done much better. They kept losing games to teams that you figured they should beat, and often, it was their offense that seemed to be the weak link. How could this team have lost that home game to Buffalo, 27-6? How could their seemingly dangerous, loaded offense score 10 points or less four times last season, losing all four of those games (which proved very critical)? The defense was not the best in the league, yet they did their job. If the offense had done their job more consistently, it is not impossible that Minnesota, a team that nevertheless had a winning record last season, might have reached the playoffs, and possibly seriously challenged Chicago for the division title. Instead, they dropped too many games, and it felt like a wasted opportunity for a very talented team that had reached the NFC Championship Game the season before. If everything goes right, this team could outright win this division, and possibly be a serious contender in the NFC. But if they do not improve dramatically, especially on offense, they could experience another dismal, wasted season, which is what I am projecting for them. Hope that I am wrong, but let’s see.
4. Detroit Lions (projected last place) - The Lions had a fairly decent defense last season. Four times, they kept opponents to 14 points or less, including the eventual champion New England Patriots. Yet, the defense was a bit inconsistent, also allowing 48 points to the Jets, 34 points to the Bears, and 30 points each to the Rams and 49ers. When the Lions allowed 23 points or more, which they did ten times, they rarely won, going 1-9 in those games. But the main responsibility for that falls on the offense, which has some talent, yet ranked closer to the bottom. They could not score points or produce yards consistently, and this proved critical to their playoff hopes. The arrival of Matt Patricia as head coach seemed exciting and sensible, but the offense clearly has a lot of work to do before they can resemble anything remotely close to the championship offensive units that Patricia orchestrated in New England. Without more consistency, on both the offense and defense for Detroit, this is likely to be a last place finish this season, another cellar dweller kind of a year.
No comments:
Post a Comment