The NFC North has turned over the past couple years from a decent division with a couple highlights to being arguably the most competitive division in football. With the recent free agency splash that Chicago made, plus the quality drafts between the other 3 teams, it would not surprise me to see this conference send 2, or even 3 teams to the playoffs this season.
In keeping this division at such a high performing level, there’s always some interesting battles going on to see what players will make the front lines each week. Here’s a few to kick around and watch for when training camps open in a few weeks.
Minnesota Vikings
Madieu Williams/Tyrell Johnson/Jamarca Sanford
On a very stout roster, the only clear signs of weakness on this team were in the secondary. Injuries to Antoine Winfield at the cornerback position definitely made them run thin at depth and that was a reason this team focused on building a strong foundation in that backfield in the offseason.
Williams had promising glimpses, but injuries brought him from being a great player, to just being pretty good. His hip transition in pursuit is a little sketchy and can get him burnt by a speedy receiver. He is a smart DB, but physically, it seems like he’s a step or 2 behind where he was prior to his ’09 training camp injury.
Tyrell Johnson was a little questionable at first, until Childress stepped in and benched him for his lack of production and it seemed to pay off. He came off the bench for the playoffs and seemed to have a new fire under him. He looked great through the playoffs.
Sanford has only been seen in spurts, but he’s looked pretty good in his small appearances. While his athleticism can help him with the position, he’s gonna need to look very good in training camp to make the jump above the 2 others since they have more starting experience.
After looking through all options, I gotta believe that Tyrell’s performance in last year’s playoffs sold him as the starter for this year’s team. A good showing in training camp will only solidify him across the field from Winfield.
Benny Sapp/Asher Allen/Chris Cook/Lito Sheppard
This will be an interesting battle for that #3 spot in the backfield. In the offseason, they went after Lito Sheppard, a former Pro-Bowler in Philly when Brad Childress was still working for Andy Reid. Lito has been through a couple teams since his tenure in Philly and hasn’t really played much since then.
Benny has played mainly in the nickel and done well in coverage but has had little playing time outside of that. With some consistent coverage play in OTA’s and training camp, he might be able to break through to a starting role.
Asher Allen and Cook are both young guys. Allen saw limited playing time last year and wasn’t an immediate shut-down corner. He mainly played only on situational downs and only saw limited action when the depth started to run thin. Cook was the first draft pick they took (34th overall, beginning of 2nd round) and seems to have the physical components. He plays man to man well, physical cover corner with a good size (6’2″, 212) to play against top receivers in their division like Jennings and Megatron.
Ultimately, I think Benny has the most chance of snagging that 3rd spot due to his experience in Leslie Frazier’s system. Lito has history with Childress, but he’s gonna need to really show up in camp to shake off that reputation of being on the downslope of his career. Asher and Cook might rotate in on nickel and dime packages, depending on how Cook develops. If he gets some reps against the starting offense and can hang with the likes of Percy Harvin and Sidney Rice, don’t be surprised to see him start popping up more on the field.
Ryan Moats/Toby Gerhart
This will be a fight to backup one of the top 2 or 3 best RB’s in the game. The combo of Peterson and Chester Taylor last year was a vicious 1-2 punch that most teams were not able to contain. Peterson’s physical running style and Taylor as the change-of-pace back was a great setup, and I am sure Childress is going to try to keep something close to that.
Moats got to see some decent playing time in Houston and proved to be decently effective when he was in for Steve Slaton. He’s a little smaller so he can hide pretty well behind Minnesota’s mammoth of a front line. Of course, him being smaller, he is more susceptible to injury.
Toby was a total workhorse at Stanford last year, putting that whole team on his back and being that team’s shining star. He racked up almost 1900 yds and 27, yes that’s right, 27 touchdowns. He had 10 games over 100 yards rushing, including 3 games where he amassed over 200 yds rushing and 5 games where he had 3 or more TD’s.
Normally I wouldn’t be too impressed with college numbers but when you average over 5 yds/carry and that many TD’s in the PAC-10, it speaks for your effort. Childress saw this and hence why he’s in the lineup. I think he’s gonna make the cut, backing up All-Day AP as the 1-2 punch to keep the Vikes as one of the top rushing teams in the game.
Chicago Bears
Devin Hester/Johnny Knox/Devin Aromashodu
This will be a very interesting race to watch. I feel pretty confident that this is going to be the starting receiver core for the Bears, but who’s gonna be the #1? Hester has been the primary since his conversion from KR.
While Hester has been the main guy there, he’s still rough in his game. His route running isn’t the smoothest and it’s caused some issues with his new strong-armed QB Jay Cutler. A 2nd year in a new offensive system can either really help them, or really hurt them.
Johnny Knox seemed to turn into the outside deep threat that they need. He’s got great speed and also doubles in the KR game as well. Like Hester, his route running is rough and his hands are still a little shaky. When he gets the ball in his hands, he’s gone and he proved it pretty well last year against the Vikings towards the end of the season.
Devin is another guy that came up in the ranks just like Knox. He’s not had as much starting involvement like Hester or Knox, but I think he can be a great inside guy. His speed really creates a mismatch against anyone when he’s in the slot. Under Martz’s new system, he should see some real benefits.
One thing Chicago’s receiving core has plenty of is speed. 3 receivers and they all have that 2nd gear to break away from DB’s when given an open path to the end zone. Each of them have problems running routes, so I think Hester will keep the starting job. Out of all the question marks here, he’s got the fewest.
Matt Forte/Chester Taylor
Chester Taylor was a great pickup for Chicago. Good change of pace back with great hands in the screen game, plus he gives you a great advantage when you play his old team 2 times a year. He was looking for a decent contract, and knew he wouldn’t find that in Minnesota.
Matt Forte had a very nice 2008 season, and then struggled last year. He was kinda beat up, little injuries here and there that cost him playing time. I’d be interested to see if he can rebound from a down year to produce, especially with a quality back like Taylor chasing after his starting spot.
Both these guys will benefit from Martz’s new offensive system. It’s gonna take a lot of pressure off of the run game so they should see a decent amount of space to cut the field up. With injury concerns and a down year hanging over Forte’s head, I can see him losing some of his starting time to Chester Taylor. The theme in the NFL is to have 2 backs in a steady rotation to keep wear and tear off just 1 person, and I don’t think it’ll be much different in Chicago.
Pisa Tinoisamoa/Nick Roach
This battle might actually be over before it even started. Nick Roach has been running as the strong side LB in place of Tinoisamoa while he’s out with the knee injury. When asked earlier in the offseason, Pisa stated that Nick Roach was the future at SSLB and he’s accepting a backup role for now. Lovie’s going to put the best 11 men on the field to keep them competitive, and most likely, keep him employed. Lovie’s got the hottest seat in the league right now, so Nick will need to stay healthy and productive to keep his coach in the Windy City.
Green Bay Packers
Donald Lee/Jermichael Finley
Donald Lee has been Mr Dependable for a while but his tenure is rolling towards the last days. He’s been battling injuries off and on. With a very competitive Finley right behind him, it’s going to be hard to maintain his starting position.
Finley has been impressing Rodgers more and more, especially with his increasing performance and dependability. When playing against a tight passing defense, Finley gives an over-the-middle option that can cause defenders to sink in and leave wideouts open.
Finley ultimately is the future and Lee is the past. While Donald will still get rotated in, I’m pretty sure everyone in Green Bay knows that Finley is, at most, 1 season removed from being the full time starter. You can’t deny having a productive weapon on the field, and that’s what Finley’s being doing since stepping onto Lambeau Field.
Atari Bigby/Morgan Burnett
This has a similar ringing to the Finley/Lee battle, but this is a couple years behind them. Bigby has been battling injuries over the past couple years, and its left Green Bay susceptible to the deep ball. When healthy, Bigby is a nice cover safety and seals up a very tight Green Bay secondary.
Without Bigby in the lineup, its caused problems for Woodson and others to shift positions and coverages to make up for the lack of experience at the safety position. Burnett was drafted just for this reason, to help provide depth to a thinner position on Green Bay’s roster.
I believe Bigby has it this season, but if he can’t hold up, I know Burnett’s going to be waiting in the wings to try and take the starting position out from under him. Bigby was good during his time, but he doesn’t have many years left in his tank.
Pat Lee/Josh Bell/Jarret Bush
With a very solid CB setup in Green Bay, consistency is a thing that is so heavily underrated. Keeping a deep pass coverage in a strong division can make the difference between the playoffs and going home early in January. Green Bay has a solid core of guys in Harris, Woodson, and Tramon Williams.
With that talent back there, the fight here is who will back up these guys in case of injury or any foreseen situations. Lee has been beat up and it’s going to be interesting to see if he can rebound from last season. Josh Bell has seemed pretty consistent when he was plugged in during injury and situational coverage. Jarret was another one who seemed to play solid in place of injuries and nickel/dime coverages.
Early reports have other CB’s like Brandon Underwood a doubt because of his off the field problems. With that, I think Lee will be another one whose future is in doubt because of his durability. Injuries have hampered Green Bay in the past, and they need to keep a solid core back there to stay a playoff contender.
Detroit Lions
Dennis Northcutt/Bryant Johnson
When Nate Burleson was signed with such a “rewarding” contract, it made the #3 spot on this roster up in the air now between these 2. Bryant hasn’t really been doing many “stellar” things in this offense but then again, with a new system, it takes time to get adapted.
Dennis and Bryant have both always been more of a role player, never been a real impact player. As wild as it can sound, that might work in Detroit’s new look. Big plays are gonna come primarily from Megatron, Burleson on the opposite side, and with Tony Scheffler in the mix. Stafford will have a decent selection of playmakers to choose from, and someone will end up odd man out.
Bryant will most likely stay in the starting lineup, barring a wild camp by Dennis. Bryant’s already started in this offense before, and has a better chance of being on the same page with Stafford.
Kevin Smith/Jahvid Best
This will be probably the most exciting battle for the Lions to watch this offseason. Kevin Smith is a believer in this team, and has had some shining moments as a promising back for Detroit. With the addition of a very talented Jahvid Best, the question is now: Who gets the nod?
Kevin Smith had some injuries that followed up into the 2010 offseason. As of current, he should be cleared to practice by the end of July, right around when training camps open. Jim Schwartz is going to put the best player on the field since he needs to spark some hope in to a sports-deprived city of Detroit.
It’s really all going to be on Kevin’s shoulders. The starting job is going to be his if he can return to full form and play the way he can. If he isn’t able to hamper the full load, watch to see Jahvid start taking a fair share of the load.
C.C. Brown/Marquand Manuel
With Jim Schwartz’s overhaul of this Detroit defense, he needed to deeply address the secondary which seems to resemble a sieve more than a passing defense. Manuel’s been with the team for just 1 year and wasn’t much of an impact. They are gonna be looking for someone to help lock down the opposing side of the field next to Delmas.
C.C. Brown has been around a league as well, but has a little more starting experience, and has also had some experience in more legitimate defenses like the N.Y. Giants. Ultimately, I look to see Brown be more of the impact player between the 2 when opening day rolls around. Jim Schwartz needs to bring the best impact players now, and Brown has the leg up on Manuel.
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
