You want easy picks? I’ll give you easy picks. Take the Green Bay Packers every week and see what happens. The AFC North is their division and it’s going to take a pretty great effort to keep them from winning the entire NFC.
Green Bay Packers
2015 Projection: 14-2
2014 Results: 12-4 (lost in the NFC Championship game)
I’m not going to go through the number of times we’ve had teams finish 14-2, but trust me. It’s happened plenty of times and the Packers are just the team that can do it. Yes, the loss of Jordy Nelson to a torn ACL is bad, but the Packers have two more guys almost as good as he is; Randall Cobb and Devante Adams. Not only that, but they just brought back James Jones who was a star in this system just a few years ago. So Nelson is gone and the Packers average 35 points a game instead of 42 points a game. They’re going to be OK.
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It can not be overstated the difference it will make to have Tom Clements calling plays instead of Mike McCarthy. Aaron Rodgers came out in his first preseason action and looked like he was already playing for another ring. Knock every receiver he has out of the game and he’ll embed the ball in somebody’s stomach for a touchdown.
Minnesota Vikings
2015 Projection: 9-7
2014 Results: 7-9 (missed playoffs)
I’m a big fan of pretty much everything the Vikings have done over the last few seasons, even sitting Adrian Peterson last year after he beat his son like a 1800s circus elephant. Maybe Peterson has his mind right now, I don’t know. I do feel like he won’t be hitting any more kids and, frankly, that’s all you can ask.
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Outside of that, Peterson, if he’s anything like he was, will be good for 1,600 yards and 10 touchdowns at least and Teddy Bridgewater is ready to take that next step in his development. What he doesn’t have is any reliable wide receiver outside of Mike Wallace and his best, most consistent pass-catchers are going to be his tight ends in Kyle Rudolph and rookie MyCole Pruitt.
The Vikings are going to be exciting, they’ll be in games and they’ll be better. Just not good enough.
Detroit Lions
2015 Projection: 8-8
2014: 11-5 (lost to the Cowboys in the Wildcard round)
I made no secret of my disbelief at what Jim Caldwell was able to do with the Lions last year and for me to change my mind, frankly he’s going to have to do it again. Detroit’s offense is always going to be explosive with Matt Stafford at quarterback and Calvin Johnson at wide receiver. Golden Tate is the perfect compliment to Johnson and Eric Ebron and Ameer Abdullah are both going to break out in a big way.
It’s the defense that’s the problem. While Haloti Ngata is a decent player, he’s a definite downgrade from Ndamukong Suh along the defensive line. Neither starting defensive end had more than 7.5 sacks and no one in the NFL is concerned about the Lions’ secondary. Teams are going to run and pass all over them. The Lions will have to score 50 to win every game and while they have the potential to do that, no team can.
Chicago Bears
2015 Projection: 6-10
2014 Results: 5-11 (missed playoffs)
How much better will the Bears be under John Fox and his new All-Star coaching staff? Exactly one game better. On the bright side, they won’t be a disaster if Jay Cutler just plays like a mediocre quarterback. Can he do that? Your guess is as good as mine.
The Bears are completely loaded at the skill positions, even with rookie Kevin White possibly missing the whole season. Alshon Jeffery is a star and Eddie Royal is a more than capable No. 2 receiver. Matt Fore is still going in the first round of all your fantasy drafts for a reason and with Adam Gase running the offense, you know Martellus Bennett is heading for a double-digit touchdown season.
On defense the Bears have some exciting players and drafted well the last two years, especially with cornerback Kyle Fuller. The NFC is just too top heavy and the top teams (the Packers, the Seahawks) are just unreachable.
