Teams are listed in expected order of finish and team names are preceded by Rank within Conference / Rank within NFL.

NFC North

3/4. Vikings:

If Moss has matured and the team’s off field woes have passed, they should be contenders. If not, they’re just another middle of the pack wannabe. They had a good draft that won’t do much for them this year, but should see them improving defensively over the next few.

Their ‘03 defensive rankings of 23rd should be a concern, especially since they were equally bad in stopping other teams from scoring (23rd, 22.1 pts per game). But the NFC is a defensively weak Conference, so the impact is smaller than might be expected.

6/11 Packers:

Another team that’s done some good housecleaning and made some nice additions.

The problem is that the one area they have a desperate need, WR, has gone utterly unaddressed.

Can Favre continue to carry the team, even with the help of Ahman Green? And can Favre stay healthy this season?

They have one of the toughest RB combos in the league (Green and Najeh Davneport). The team WILL get its 2,000+ yds rushing, and Green will be this year’s Priest Holmes, only more successful producing yardage than Priest was in ‘03. I’m just not sure that can be enough to help them win their division or succeed in the playoffs.

They have a middle of the road defense (17th overall, 11th vs scoring). Is that going to be good enough when they come up against teams like the Vikings, whose offense will have the potential to dominate a game?

8/15. Lions:

Made some big changes, cleaning out a lot of players who were either aging or just not getting it done, while spreading new talent and adding depth throughout the team.

Last years WR and RB corps underwhelmed as they under-produced. That makes the drafting of WR Roy Williams and RB Kevin Jones potentially huge. These are two rookies with enough talent that they could well come in and improve the team significantly immediately.

Coach Mariucci came in with a plan when he arrived in Detriot. This is the year we begin to see it come together.

13/25. Bears:

This years draft may help the team improve next season, but it won’t make much of a positive difference this year. In the mean time, the release of Keith Traylor makes the D line less talented and less deep than last year. That can’t be good on a team already giving up almost 22 pts per game.

The O line should be ok (John Tait was a nice addition, there), and they have some quality at the RB position (Anthony Thomas and Thomas Jones), but things go down hill after that. The QB situation is a big question mark. Rex Grossman played well last year – in fact, they waited too long to give him his shot – but can he stay injury free? The WR situation was bad in ‘03 and hasn’t been addressed this off season.

Lovey Smith cannot save this team. Until there is a change of ownership, no coach or player will make a lasting or significant difference to the Bear’s on field success.

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