NFL: Looking at the NFC North after Week 9

In the last blog entry we took a look at the NFC East. We looked at which team I thought had the best chance of winning the division (the Cowboys) and which teams I thought would earn a Wild Card berth (the Eagles). Now we’re going to take a look at the NFC North.

The big dog in the NFC North right is obviously the Minnesota Vikings. The Vikings have a great defense, a great running back, and a decent quarterback. All in all this is a very solid team that is a legitimate contender for the Super Bowl. That is if Brett Favre can stay healthy. Of course, that’s a huge “if”. But even an injured or beat up Brett Favre will be good enough to get the Vikings the division crown.

The only other decent team in this division is the Green Bay Packers. The Packers played well this past week against Dallas. However, they were greatly aided by some of the worst officiating in the history of football. In the end, the Packers won’t have enough to catch the Vikings or to even capture a Wild Card spot in the playoffs.

The Chicago Bears have a chance of catching the Packers for second place in the division. But that’s about it. Cutler has proven that he can be very good at times but he can also be very bad at times. We saw the bad Jay Cutler last week. The Bears just aren’t good enough to make a lot of noise for the rest of the season.

Finally, the poor Detroit Lions are the cellar dwellers in the division and they aren’t going anywhere anytime soon. At least they already have a win on the season. But they might not get another one this year. They are a lock to finish last in this division.

So, the Vikings will make it into the playoffs easily and I don’t see any other team making it in from the NFC North.