NFC North
Original NFC North Preview
Green Bay Packers
Predicted Record: 12-4 (NFC North Champs)
Actual Record: 11-5 (Wild Card, 5th Playoff Seed)
Verdict: Pretty close. Off by one game, and a few seeds.
I Said That? The perennially underrated pass rusher Aaron Kampman is switching to outside linebacker in the 3-4 which may cause some problems.
Last Word: Yeah, before he went out for the year, the Kampman as a linebacker was a full fledged disaster. Rodgers got sacked at a David Carr pace early in the year, but he's progressed into an elite quarterback and Charles Woodson might be playing the best of his career. They had some troubles early on, but aside from the heartbreaking loss in Pittsburgh, they've been on fire. Kudos for drafting Clay Matthews, who might have been the best defensive rookie.
Chicago Bears
Predicted Record: 10-6 (Wild Card)
Actual Record: 7-9
Verdict: Awful. I whiffed on this call big time. Truth is, they're not even as good as 7-9.
I Said That? Some people think he’s a cocky douche, I think he’s a gamer. He’s something the Bears haven’t had since I’ve been alive: a marquee quarterback. (But really you could go anywhere here).
Last Word: I pimped the shit out of Jay Cutler and he was unplayable at times. I based everything on the Denver Broncos model of Jay Cutler. Maybe he's just going through an adjustment, or maybe Chicago is where QB's go to die. I also liked Matt Forte, who had an awful sophomore slump and a "rejuvenated" Brian Urlacher who didn't make it out of week one. I'm genuinely sorry and disappointed in myself I let my personal hatred of Brett Favre dictate this division.
Minnesota Vikings
Predicted Record: 8-8
Actual Record: 12-4 (NFC North Champs, 2nd Playoff Seed)
Verdict: I was wrong, blinded by Brett Favre and Brad Childress.
I Said That? Skol Vikes! (To be fair, I wrote this from the viewpoint of my buddy Isaacs, who was absolute right on, save for Bernard Berrian long TD catches)
Last Word: Regardless of how you feel about Favre or the way he's conducted his decisions the past few years (fuck him), he had a great year, and playing in a dome clearly masked his inability to play in cold weather. He took the team away from the best running back in the NFL and made it his. The best running back in the NFL strangely developed a case of fumbleitis and Favre came in tossing 1 yard touchdown passes to Visanthe Shiancoe. The defense looks strong, and Percy Harvin is one of the most difficult players in the NFL to game plan for. Had they not played their worst football the last month, I think they'd be a sure bet for the Super Bowl. Now, not so sure. But I was wrong about them.
Detroit Lions
Predicted Record:4-12
Actual Record: 2-14
Verdict: Gave them too much of a benefit. They are still depressing.
I Said That? I guess the Jets and Lions got superexcited by the years Joe Flacco and Matt Ryan put up last year as rookies. Except Joe Flacco and Matt Ryan were both fifth year seniors. Stafford and Sanchez were true juniors. There’s going to be some learning curves even if he’s slinging the ball to Megatron.
Last Word: Yeah, that was spot on. Stafford probably had the better year than Sanchez (on a way inferior team). Stafford has a big time arm, and Detroit has a big time lack of talent. They're still pretty bad. At least they beat the Redskins and the Browns.
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