2007 NFL Forecast
>> Sunday
The 2006 NFL season was filled with so many memorable moments that it is hard to imagine the 2007 edition surpassing last year's excitement. That said, interest is slowly turning away from baseball and refocusing on each individual's special team in hope of savoring the taste of a Super Bowl winner.
NFC North
1.) Chicago Bears 13-3
- Fresh off their Super Bowl blow-out against the Colts, the Bears reloaded with the signing of Darwin Walker, Adam Archuletta, and rookie tight end Greg Olsen. Gone are the distractions of Tank Johnson and Thomas Jones. The defense will very likely be better than last years unit and the offense should give opposing defenses fits with Berrian, Muhammad, Olsen, Clark, and Benson as options for Rex Grossman. The Special Teams have become a growing concern over Training Camp as many key members left via free agency. Overall, despite a difficult schedule, the Bears should be a lock for 5-6 division wins along with cupcakes against Oakland and Washington.
2.) Green Bay Packers 8-8
- The Packers are a difficult team to read. They have good weapons in Jennings and Driver for Favre, but they traded Ahman Green and now have Cornhusker Brandon Jackson carrying the load. Ultimately, the offense will go as their running game goes. Brett Favre can't carry the team by himself anymore. Defensively, they should be a solid top 12 unit with Barnett and Hawk leading the charge. Ultimately, this team could be 10-6 or 6-10 depending on how the season folds, but for now, 8-8 seems likely.
3.) Detroit Lions 6-10
- Believe it or not, the Lions group will be much better than their record will indicate at the end of the year. Yes, the dumbass Matt Millen still has a job, but will Rod Marinelli and Mike Martz, they could surprise a lot of people. They drafted Calvin Johnson and he should be an immediate contributer with Roy Williams on the opposite side of the field. John Kitna threw for 4,000 yds last year and has another weapon in Johnson, but don't expect the same this year. If the Lions are to do anything, they need Kevin Jones to gain more than 3.8 ypc and a defense to not yield 126 rushing ypg and 220 passing ypg. Another rebuilding year, but they have a nice foundation to have a couple decent teams in the next couple years. Wow, who thought Wayne Fontes was that great!
4.) Minnesota Vikings 4-12
- Why bother...other than Adrian Peterson and a decent defensive line, they deserve a spot in NFL Purgatory along with the Raiders (cheap bastards) and Browns (The Mighty Quinn).
Thats all for now knuckleheads, tomorrow the NFC East will be previewed and maybe a last place NY Giants team...
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9 comments:
You're vastly underselling Minnesota. Along with Peterson, they have a back in Chester Taylor who rushed for 1,200 yards last season and should compliment AP nicely. The left side of their O-Line with Birk, Hutchinson and McKinnie would be the best in football. Also, their defense has become very stingy and should keep them in most games. I think Minnesota wins 8-9 games and stays in the NFC playoff race all season long.
I just think with a relatively difficult schedule and no real quarterback, they are going to struggle mightily. They haved apretty decent D, but when you can't score (I don't see how they will if teams put 8 and 9 in the box)
"I just think with a relatively difficult schedule and no real quarterback, they are going to struggle mightily. They haved apretty decent D, but when you can't score (I don't see how they will if teams put 8 and 9 in the box)"
Wait, didn't you just describe the Bears?
Except the Bears have a very good running game with an excellent o-line, a very good passing game, and a defense that will be 1 or 2 this year
The Bears have the potential for a very good passing game. Yeah, it sounds like Bradley and Olsen look great in camp, but if Grossman doesn't take a step forward, they've got the same offense they had last year - power running (minus their better back from last year) and an inconsistent (though promising) passing game.
In all, I think this division is going to surprise a lot of people. If the North didn't have to go through the AFC West this year, i think the records would be much better, except for minny. The Lions will show a lot of promise as will the Packers, although I wonder about the whole QB thing. The future is pretty bright for the North and I think teams will be surprising a lot of the so-called experts
Minnesota does remind me of the 2005 Bears with Tavaris Jackson in the role of Kyle Orton. However, Minnesota's D does not quite have the playmaking ability like that Bears D, so I have them as an 8-9 win team instead of winning 11 games like those Bears.
In regard to this year's Bears, I think they will have a really potent offense that will put up lots of points. However, I am a little concerned about the D, especially the pass defense.
I think their pass defense will be very good as Tillman and Vasher are pretty much two of the top 15 corners in the NFL. Every team nowadays is worried about pass defense because of how much the league rules favor the receivers. The addition of Mike Brown (hopefully he stays healthy) and archuletta really improve the overall strength of the defense. And from what I've heard from minicamp, Archuletta looks like he did a couple years ago.
In actuality, I hope Minnesota has a good year because it will make the division even better and more fun to watch
Archuleta is good against the run, but my God is he a liability against the pass. Also, Mike Brown has clearly lost a step and has no business playing free safety. I think they have been way too quick to give up on Danieal Manning despite the Super Bowl gaffe, as I think he's better than both of the starting safeties at this point.
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