|
What does 2006 hold for the cities of Chicago,
Minnesota, Detroit and Green Bay? Let’s
take a look.
Chicago Bears - 2005 Record: 11-5 SU; 9-5-2 ATS
Odds to win 2007 NFC North Championship: 2/3
It starts with defense in
Chicago. Depending on if quarterback Rex Grossman
stays healthy, it might end there too.
The Bears allowed just 202
regular-season points (12.6 per game) last year.
That was far and away the best mark in the NFL.
Indianapolis was well back in second, surrendering
15.4 points per game.
Perhaps the team’s
most impressive performance came in Week 15 at
home to Atlanta. In a 16-3 thrashing of the Falcons
- a game that featured the triumphant return of
Grossman to the struggling Chicago offense - the
Bears gave up just 231 yards while linebacker
Brian Urlacher displayed his menacing closing
speed, racking up 11 solo tackles at frigid Soldier
Field. Right down to the weather, it was textbook
Bears football.
While there’s very
little to worry about on the defensive side of
the ball, with just eight regular-season games
under his belt, Grossman still has a few things
to learn about leading an offense.
"I know I've only played
eight games so far. It's not a lot, but it still
is eight games," Grossman said to FOXSports.com.
"I know this offense. I've studied my ass
off this whole offseason. I feel comfortable.
I process everything a lot faster. I'm a lot better
than I was a year ago. A lot more calm, not as
eager to prove something to everyone."
Grossman’s confidence
aside, the addition of veteran QB Brian Griese
should provide both a mentor for the fourth-year
player out of Florida and an insurance policy
for the team.
One positional battle to
keep an eye on is in the backfield. Thomas Jones
had a career year in 2005 (1,335 yards, 4.3 ypc)
but his failure to show up for a voluntary camp
this summer resulted in coach Lovie Smith handing
the top job to second-year pro Cedric Benson,
who, incidentally, is sidelined for two to three
weeks with a sprained left shoulder.
|
The Bottom Line
The defense is set. If the Bears
can find a way to put more points
on the board, they’ll take the
division. If they can’t score,
they might still win the division,
but they won’t go far in the
playoffs.
|
|
Minnesota Vikings - 2005 Record: 9-7 SU; 9-7 ATS
Odds to win 2007 NFC North Championship: 5/2
The sex cruise is old news.
Daunte Culpepper is in Miami. Head coach Mike
Tice is gone. In other words, it looks like the
Minnesota Vikings can finally focus on football.
Brad Childress takes over
the coaching duties in Minneapolis and he’ll
rely on the oldest quarterback in the league,
Brad Johnson, to lead a West Coast offense that
features a generous supply of short passes and
ball-catching running backs.
Running back Chester Taylor,
inked to a four-year, $14.1-million contract on
March 12, will be granted the privilege of running
behind newly signed offensive guard Steve Hutchinson.
"He's just so athletic,"
said Arizona's Darnell Dockett of Hutchinson to
The Pioneer Press. "He's over 305 pounds,
and he's flexible and strong, and he doesn't make
mistakes. He'd make any running back look good,
no disrespect to Shaun Alexander. I don't see
how Seattle let him go.”
|
The Bottom Line
Johnson will be 38 on Sept. 13. After
him on the depth chart? Mike McMahon.
Case closed.
|
|
Green Bay Packers - 2005 Record: 4-12 SU; 5-9-2 ATS
Odds to win 2007 NFC North Championship: 4/1
First-year head coach Mike
McCarthy, formerly the offensive coordinator in
San Francisco, has a lot to work on in Green Bay.
That said, he’s also got a lot to work with.
Brett Favre is back to lead
a group of players young enough to be his sons
(well, not quite). The youth movement includes
rookie guards Daryn Colledge and Jason Spitz as
well as linebacker and fifth overall pick A.J.
Hawk.
"I really feel like
as far as talent is concerned, this is the most
talented team I've been a part of as a whole,
but the most unproven and inexperienced team I've
ever played on," Favre was widely quoted
as saying. "If we can somehow put it together,
there's a lot of talent out there. If you compare
us to the year we won the Super Bowl or two years
previous to '96, we weren't a very talented team.
We weren't under-talented, but we were very experienced."
Colledge and Spitz will be
under the microscope big time after a 2005 season
in which Favre threw a league-leading 29 interceptions.
The picks were partly a result of poor decision-making
on the gunslinger’s part, but also because
the offensive line couldn’t support a running
game. (Injuries to Ahman Green and Najeh Davenport
didn’t help either.)
|
The Bottom Line
All hope is not lost for the Lambeau
faithful. While the Pack are still
a long shot to make the playoffs,
it has the talent to surprise. As
with all young teams consistency will
be the challenge. |
|
Detroit Lions - 2005 Record: 5-11 SU; 9-7 ATS
Odds to win 2007 NFC North Championship: 5/1
The third new coach in the
NFC North is Rod Marinelli, previously an assistant
coach in Tampa Bay. Marinelli is a tough nut who
won’t soon put up with any of the garbage
that’s been a Detroit football staple of
late. Evidence of the new era: oft tardy receiver
Mike Williams is now listed as a third-teamer
on the depth chart.
Jon Kitna is the current
favorite to be the starting quarterback, ahead
of Josh McCown, and he’ll have plenty of
weapons at his disposal, especially in the receiving
corps with Roy Williams and Charles “All
Potential, No Results” Rogers. If new offensive
coordinator Mike Martz can achieve buy-in to his
system, plus commit to a running game with talented
back Kevin Jones, the Lions should certainly improve
on last year.
As has been the case in Detroit,
however, “if they can” typically turns
into “but they can’t”, so no
one will blame bettors for taking a wait-and-see
approach to the Lions.
|
The Bottom Line
The Lions haven’t been to the
playoffs in six years. It will take
a coach-of-the-year performance for
Marinelli to end the slump.
|
|
TOP PHOTO: Brian Urlacher
is the feature player on the best defense in football.
(AI Wire photo)
Note: All
NFL lines subject to change.
Bodog's Easiest Contest
Ever
Be
eligible to win 100 times what you deposit - visit
the Bodog Sportsbook to learn how.
Click any of the following
links for more of Bodog's NFL 2006 NFL Divisional
Previews
NFC
North Preview
NFC
East Preview
NFC
South Preview
AFC
West Preview
NFC
North Preview
NFC
East Preview
NFC
South Preview
NFC
West Preview
BoDog.com,
Our live sports odds partner are a College Football
lines, NFL sports betting, Football sportsbook
and multi-sport parlay entertainment company
with great Football betting odds, College Football
lines, fantastic customer service and fast payouts.
Click the link to go to Bodog.com and Football
Bet online in their NFL + College Football sportsbooks
today.
|
