Packers: by Brian Abate
For the most part, Matt LaFleur’s first season as head coach of the Green Bay Packers was a massive success. The team won 13 games, after winning just six in their previous season, earned a bye in the playoffs and won a playoff game. Still, the lasting image of the Packers’ season is the team getting absolutely annihilated by the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC Championship. The final score was 37-20 but the game really wasn’t that close. It was 27-0 Niners at the half. The Packers allowed 285 rushing yards and opposing quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo had just eight pass attempts.
The Packers offense was good last season but they relied heavily on star players. The most important factor in their success was Aaron Rodgers stayed healthy and was brilliant, as he always is. Receiver Davanate Adams and running back Aaron Jones, along with a strong offensive line that protected Rodgers were the keys to the success of Green Bay’s offense. Unfortunately for Rodgers and the Packers, tackle Bryan Bulaga signed with the Chargers after 10 years and a Super Bowl in Green Bay. They signed Ricky Wagner from the Lions to replace him at right tackle. They also lost veteran tight end Jimmy Graham in free agency.
The Packers defense looked excellent early last season, but struggled, especially against the run as the season went on. It ended up being their downfall against San Francisco in the playoffs. Za'Darius Smith and Preston Smith were both very effective at getting to opposing quarterbacks and recording sacks. They combined for 25.5 last season. While they will both be back in Green Bay, the Packers lost arguably their most important player on defense. Inside linebacker Blake Martinez signed with the New York Giants in free agency. He had 155 tackles last season. No one else on the Packers had more than 84. The Packers signed inside linebacker Christian Kirksey from the Browns to a deal. He has played in just nine games over the last two seasons, though could be a key signing for Green Bay if he can stay healthy.
Over/Under Prediction: The Packers O/U is set at 9 this season. I think this year will be much tougher for the Packers to win the NFC North. The Vikings are coming off an excellent season. The Bears still have an elite defense and have added Nick Foles at quarterback. The Lions will be much more competitive with Matthew Stafford healthy. The Packers went 8-1 in one possession games last season. I don’t expect that to happen again. They will also have to make sure key players on offense, especially Aaron Rodgers, stay healthy. I expect the NFC North to be a very difficult division and I think that, along with key losses in free agency will hurt the Packers and keep them around the eight-win mark.
Prediction: Under
Lions: by Gianluca Colageo Milea
After many rumors and much debate amongst fans, the Lions have decided to stick with Matt Patricia… for now. The head coach has struggled during his tenure in Detroit piling up just 9 wins in 2 full seasons. The move makes sense considering the team finished 6-10 his first season and were 3-4-1 before losing starting QB Matthew Stafford to a season ending back injury. Patricia was forced to finish the season with Jeff Driskel and David Blough as his options at quarterback. This upcoming season will almost certainly be a make or break year for the Lions’ head coach as he looks to secure his first winning season since taking over the reigns.
Aside from Matthew Stafford, who is a more than capable QB in this league, the Lions have options on the offensive side of the football. Kenny Golladay, Marvin Jones Jr., and Danny Amendola provided much support for Stafford, Blough, and Driskel throughout the season. Golladay, a budding star in the league, finished the season with 1,190 yards on 65 receptions, his second straight season eclipsing the 1,000 yard mark. Jones and Amendola both finished the year with 62 receptions and 779 and 678 yards, respectively. Bo Scarbrough also came on nicely towards the tail end of the season as a ground and pound back, finishing his 6 games with 377 yards on 89 rushing attempts. The 23 year old Alabama product will be someone to keep an eye on to have a nice season as he enters his first full season with an established role in the NFL.
The Lions currently have many question marks on the defensive side of the football after finishing the 2019 season with the 26th ranked defense in the NFL. The most notable departure from the team was that of CB Darius Slay. At 28 years old, Slay has cemented himself as one of the best cornerbacks in the league and highly sought by opposing teams. The team traded Slay to the Philadelphia Eagles in exchange for a third and fifth round pick. Now with 9 total selections in the upcoming draft, including the third overall, it will be interesting to see how the team addresses the defensive side of the football. With Joe Burrow and Chase Young presumably going one and two, Ohio State CB Jeff Okudah seems like the way to go with the departure of Darius Slay. There have also been rumors of the Lions potentially trading down in an effort to continue to stockpile picks. There have also been mock drafts with the Redskins taking Tua Tagovailoa, the Alabama QB at two, in which case the Lions almost certainly take Chase Young at three, as he seems like too good of a talent to pass up on. It will be interesting to see how the draft plays out, but the Detroit Lions are definitely in a position to secure a bright young talent on the defensive side of the football.
Over/Under Prediction: The Lions O/U is set at 6.5 this season. This is a tough one, but with Matthew Stafford healthy for the entire season I am inclined to go with the over here. The defense will definitely be a work in progress but with Patricia practically coaching for his job and Golladay poised to take the next step towards becoming a star in this league I would look for the team to finish 7-9 or 8-8. I would expect the division as a whole to be competitive this upcoming year, with the Vikings and Packers dueling it out for first. With that being said, I do not see one team finishing with significantly fewer wins than the other 3 teams.
Prediction: Over
Vikings: by Chris DiGeronimo
The Vikings have been very competitive over the last two seasons, but for some reason they haven’t been able to get over the hump. They have a dynamic run game led by Dalvin Cook, they have a solid defense and offensive line, but their quarterback play has been suspect. When Kirk Cousins signed in free agency two years ago, he was supposed to be the missing piece that would take Minnesota to the promised land. Now it seems he is more of a liability than a saviour. There was a point last season where Cousins had to apologize to his receivers after they publicly criticized him to the media. That is not a formula for success. If the Vikings want to have any success in 2020, Cousins needs to step up and be the guy they paid for.
Cousins' job may have become a little bit harder as the Vikings traded one of his top targets, Stefon Diggs to the Buffalo Bills. The Vikings received a 2020 first-round pick, along with a fifth and sixth-round pick in exchange for Diggs and a 2020 seventh- rounder. The Vikings could use these plethora of picks to draft Diggs’ replacement due to the high quality receiver talent in the draft. This seems like the likely scenario because the Vikings have not been super active on the free agent market. So far they have signed WR Tajae Sharpe to a one-year, $1 million deal with $675,000 guaranteed. Sharpe finished 2019 with 25 receptions, 329 yards, and four touchdowns in 15 games. Sharpe is no Diggs but with more frequent reps and usage, Sharpe could be an asset in the Vikings offense. The majority of Minnesota’s free agent signings have been re-signed. They re-signed back-up running back Ameer Abdullah, Kicker Dan Bailey, Full back C.J. Ham, back-up quarterback Sean Mannion, and franchise tagged safety Anthony Harris. They also signed OT Rashod Hill and DT Michael Pierce. One other big free agent signing that could take place within the next few weeks is the re-signing of DE Everson Griffen. Griffen has been a big part of the Vikings defense for many years. Griffen finished 2019 with 41 tackles, eight sacks, and one interception. That is a lot of production to lose and is a big factor moving forward if they cannot come to a new agreement. The Vikings also released number one cornerback Xavier Rhodes. Rhodes' talents have decreased over the last two seasons, but they still have to find a replacement which is something they haven’t done as of yet.
Over/Under Prediction: The Vikings over/under is set at 8.5. Last season the Vikings finished 10-6 with a complete team and a lot of struggles. They now enter 2020 with a lot of question marks at the number one receiver position, the number one cornerback position, and the defensive line. Cousins now has less weapons to work with, which could really hurt his development and his ability to win games. The offense will now have to rely on the run game more than ever, which could also lead to problems based on the health of Cook throughout the year. With all these factors in place I don’t believe the Vikings will be as good as they were in 2019. There will be struggles and there will be losses, and with that I believe the Vikings best case scenario will be 8-8, hitting the under.
Prediction: Under
Bears: by Chris DiGeronimo
Going 12-4 is no small feat, but repeating that success is even harder. That is exactly what happened to the 2019 Chicago Bears. After a successful 2018 season that included a division title and ended with a double doink, the Bears returned with high expectations and little to show for it. Quarterback Mitchell Trubisky digressed as the season went on, the defense wasn’t as dominant, and the offense essentially disappeared. There was a lot that went wrong in 2019, but coach Matt Nagy and the Bears will look to right the ship in 2020.
The Bears have gone into the 2020 offseason with their eyes on potentially making a move at the quarterback position. Trubisky has not lived up to expectations as he continued to miss wide open receivers and make blatantly bad decisions throughout the season. The Bears are in win now mode and they cannot win now with this type of quarterback play. To address this issue the Bears went out and got Nick Foles from the Jacksonville Jaguars for a fourth round pick. It has already been announced that this will be an open competition, so it will be interesting to see how this all plays out. Chicago has made some other moves on both sides of the ball. They added a weapon to the offense by signing Jimmy Graham to a two-year deal worth $16 million. Graham is not what he once was but he did finish 2019 with 38 receptions, 447 yards, and three touchdowns. This signing could also bring some competition to the tight end position as Trey Burton hasn’t lived up to expectations after two injury riddled seasons in Chicago. The Bears also helped their defense out by re-signing Danny Trevathan to a three year extension worth $21.75 million. They also signed edge rusher Robert Quinn to a five-year $70 million contract with $30 million guaranteed. These moves should help get the formerly dominant Bears defense back to prominence. The Bears also helped out their secondary by re-signing S Deon Bush and signing CB Artie Burns to one-year deals. Overall, the Bears are returning the majority of their roster in 2020 so that should help with the chemistry and the development of young players on both sides of the ball.
Over/Under Prediction: The Bears over/under is set at 7.5. I believe the success of the season depends on who wins the quarterback competition. If Nick Foles is able to win the job and stay healthy, the Bears could be greatly improved. Foles is very capable of running an offense as we’ve seen during his time with the Eagles. He knows how to win, and has a good relationship with coach Nagy. Foles also has the ability to maximize the abilities of second year running back David Montgomery and number one receiver Allen Robinson. This is the perfect storm for Foles to take advantage of, and lead the Bears to where they were in 2018. The Bears still have some more pieces to add on the offensive side via the draft and free agency, but I feel they can take a step forward with an improved defense and improved quarterback play. I believe the Bears have an opportunity to get at least eight wins, putting them at the over.
Prediction: Over
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