NFC NORTH - 2014 Discussion Thread

The Game Room
41

The Packers vs the Vikings are tonight at Green Bay. This will be a good matchup - both teams had big wins last week, both teams are 2 -2 and are trailing Detroit by a game. I think that I have proven in the past few weeks that I am completely incompetent at picking games so I see the Vikings walking away with this one 48 - 6.

Buffalo is in Detroit facing the Lions and it’s the start of the Orton era in Buffalo. I’m not sure how their defense will stack up against the Lions offense but I’d like to see them win here. Not to bag on the Lions (though their loss is good for the Bears, obviously), but Buffalo’s been pretty mediocre for a long time and it would be nice to see them on top of the other teams in the AFC East.

The Bears are in Carolina and I can see Chicago rebounding in this game. Carolina’s run game is in trouble and so far this year, Cam Newton is not looking like Superman. Did you know that Ron Rivera and Greg Olsen both played for the Bears? That may have been mentioned by the local media once or twice this week. The Bears are getting Matt Slauson, Roberto Garza back from injuries as well as Jeremiah Ratcliff and Sherrick McManis. Marshall and Jeffery practiced full speed on Wednesday as well. I like seeing Slauson back though I think Garza isn’t really an upgrade over Del la Puente.

The Bears also picked up Teddy Williams off of Arizona’s practice squad and elevated Chris Williams to their active roster. Williams is 6-1 and 207 pounds and is supposed to be incredibly fast but also very raw. Shrug maybe he can play a little nickel. The Bears have been doing a lot of churning at the bottom of the roster this year, so much so that FB Tony Fiametta said “No thanks” when they asked if he wanted to come back after being waived a couple times already.

42

Or not.

43

Gladiator was close on the score, he just reversed the teams. :wink:

44

I feel so bad for Mike Zimmer. He’s a good coach whom I assume was counting on Adrian Peterson going into the job. Now that he doesn’t have AP, he doesn’t have a QB, either. Sucks.

45

When the Viking’s schedule came out, most people thought that they would be lucky to be 2-3 or better after the first five games. Without Peterson, they are at 2-3, so they are not in that bad of shape.

I was disappointed that Bridgewater didn’t play, as I haven’t seen him play this year (I’m in the Philadelphia sphere, so it is all Eagles all the time). It was probably a smart move to keep him out, as the Vikings were probably going to lose no matter what. It also reinforces the fact that Ponder sucks at QB. So Bridgewater gets extra time to get healthy, and there is no controversy as to who the best QB on the team is.

46

Dare I predict a lot of points for the Panthers? Dare I?

47

I can’t imagine that Eddie Lacy’s career is going to be of Emmett Smith length. He’s still putting his head down inviting concussions just about every long run he has. I just hope the Packers can win at least one Super Bowl with him before he breaks down.

Packers get the South Florida heat and humidity test next.

48

Well the Bears suck ass. Jay Cutler is not the guy. He just isn’t. The rest of the offensive talent on the team is being wasted trying to work with this guy.

Detroit sure has a talent for picking kickers. Henri killed it today. I mean killed them. Nice salt in the wound by the Buffalo kicker squeezing one in to beat them with 4 secs left.

49

Packers win. Bears, Lions, and Vikings lose. Good week for me. Not so much for the NFC North.

The Packers demolish the Vikings on Thursday night. Injuries, child beatings, and Christian Ponder made sure the Vikings didn’t really have a chance at all. It’s hard to take anything positive away from this game for the Vikings, although the smartass in me would point out they held Aaron Rodgers to under 160 yards passing, which is something very few teams can do. The Packers looked great, the Vikings didn’t, but I don’t think there is much to learn from this game, other than Christian Ponder, despite being a “my guy” shouldn’t be a NFL quarterback.

The Bears get their blueprint to win. The other team turns the ball over 3 times, they hold the rushing attack of the other team to under 3.5 yards per carry, and Matt Forte has a great day in the passing game. Should have been an easy win with the other team handing them the win.

But instead, the Bears threw it right back at them with four turnovers of their own, including 3 from Jay Cutler. Forte uncharacteristically fumbles in a clutch situation, and the defense couldn’t stop ex-Bear Greg Olsen.

The Lions get beat in overtime by the Kyle Orton led Bills. Losing Calvin Johnson, Joique Bell, and Reggie Bush had the Lions scrambling for offense, while the defense couldn’t put enough pressure on Orton to make it uncomortable for him. They were pretty good against the run again, but in close games, not having any of your three top non-QB skill position players can really hurt. I don’t think there is much to learn from this game either. Except being healthy is important. And maybe that Stafford can’t win games on his own.

So the Lions and Packers sit atop the NFC North.

50

Things can get pretty boring up in Minnesota.

Unless you’re Adrian Peterson with a credit card. Then it’s full on orgy.

The Star Tribune published a story about Adrian Peterson. It includes recountings of an orgy (attended by a minor), prostitutes, 6 kids with different mothers, and some problems (since resolved apparently), with his charity. Not a very flattering picture of All Day.

What is it the Vikings and sexcapades? First the Love Boat now this? Man, they gotta get into ice fishing or Bingo or something.

51

He never was.

Jay Cutler now is the same Jay Cutler the Bears paid $54 million guaranteed is the same Jay Cutler the Bears traded two first rounders, a third rounder, and Kyle Orton for is the same Jay Cutler who cried his way out of Denver and is the same Jay Cutler who has a piss poor record against above .500 teams is the same Jay Cutler, in 8 full years in the league has ONE playoff win (against a 7-9 team).

For years, the Bears, and their fans, have made excuses for who he is. His poor O line. Bad offensive coordinators. No wide receivers. No good TE. Not enough time in the pocket. He’s injured. Things will be different now with Ron Turner/Mike Martz/Mark Trestman/a wife and kids/Brandon Marshall.

But the entire time, he’s still been Jay Cutler. He will continue to be Jay Cutler. He has no interest in changing.

He will still have great games to give you hope. He’ll still make throws only 4 or 5 other guys can make. He’ll still put up better numbers in Trestman’s system, win games against bad teams, and feed the ball to his All Pro teammates. He’ll still be a high ceiling servicable NFL QB for 80% of the time.

As a Packer fan, I’m thrilled the Bears threw away the opportunities of having a dominant defense that produced turnovers at amazing rates yet having nothing to show for it. The Bears mortgaged their future when they traded for him, they turned their defense from great to horrible to collect him an O Line, Pro Bowl WR’s, and a TE weapon to make him great, and they brought in an offensive coach to focus completely on one side of the ball. And Cutler couldn’t even outperform a sub-average journeyman QB in Josh McCown.

And he’ll still be inaccurate, make dumb throws at critical times, cost the Bears games and sulk when called on it. Why?

He’s Jay Cutler.

52

After only 2 starting kickers for 32 years, the Lions are on their 4th in a seven game stretch.

53

The 3-2 Lions versus the 2-3 Vikings is the intradivisional game this week. It appears the Lions will be without Calvin Johnson and Reggie Bush, which if history holds true, severely limits their offensive effectiveness. Their defense, however, has been stellar, being ranked #2 in points allowed and #1 in yards allowed. I think a good chunk of that is because they’ve feasted on Geno Smith, EJ Manuel, non-running Cam Newton, Bad Eli, but they’ve also stopped Aaron Rodgers and the Pack, so there may be something to this defense thing.

The Vikings, meanwhile, seem to be an OK team, but not having to start Christian Ponder is a huge step forward for them, even if it is to a rookie QB. Their running game is stagnant, and I think they’re learning that Cordarelle Patterson, for all his skills in the open field, isn’t very good at creating his own space or separation, so they haven’t been having much success with him. On defense, they’re a bit sub-average, but coming off a bad game against the Packers.

I think the fact this game is at Detroit will matter, and the Lions get a close win. I expect more of a defensive battle, but if Stafford plays within himself and they can stop Teddy Bridgewater, I think the Lions could look pretty good.

The Packers, meanwhile, are an early game in Miami against the Dolphins. They’ve been on a roll, with decisive victories against the Bears and Vikes. The two things that might make this an interesting game are the fact that the Packers are playing against Joe Philbin, who helped build the Packer offense and knows it, and Aaron Rodgers, inside and out; and the Dolphins have a nice running game and the Packers can’t stop the run.

Unless the offensive line for the Packers plays another poor game, I expect an easy Packer win.

The Bears have a late game, going down to Atlanta to face the Falcons. This is an issue, because the Falcons are pretty good offensively at home, and the Bears … well the Bears aren’t very good defensively anywhere in the world. Of course, one of the teams that is worse than the Bears defensively is the Falcons.

This is another game that will highlight how the Bears built this team: to win a shootout. Can they? Maybe. But Cutler needs to limit his mistakes, Marshall needs to quit gimping around, and Trestman needs to learn how to adjust at halftime. If that happens, the Bears can beat this team. But I don’t think they will.

54

Damn. I was handing out beers at mile 23 of the Chicago Marathon yesterday and then met up with some friends and completely missed the Bears game. And it turned out to be a really good game by Chicago. The offense was clicking and the defense stopped that dangerous Atlanta offense. Maybe I should hand out beers at marathons every weekend.

55

Interesting couple weeks in the NFC North. The Lions are atop the division despite not having Calvin Johnson for the last couple games. Their defense against the run has been fantastic, and they’ve gotten enough in the passing game defense to get the wins. Golden Tate’s play is finally catching up with his mouth and has been a huge help. Stafford is still the key, but even though he is still making too many mistakes and isn’t nearly as productive, they’re getting gifts from Bridgewater and Brees that allow them to win. I’m still not sold on them as a Super Bowl contender, but they have the Falcons, a bye, and the Dolphins coming up, so they’ll likely stay in the running for the NFC North.

The Bears. Heh. After playing a complete game with some great defensive play and a great game by Cutler in Atlanta, they go back to Chicago and crap the bed. Cutler, once again, has a couple turnovers and the defense made Ryan Tannehill look like Aaron Rodgers. The big surprise is that that offense that ranked 2nd in the NFL last year has not looked as good this year. I think teams are figuring out that they just need to focus on stopping the long ball and make Cutler dink and dunk his way down the field. Then, at some point, he’ll force the ball, make a dumb throw, or the O Line will make mistakes and they’ll get a turnover or a stop. After that tough loss to the Dolphins, there was a bit of drama as Brandon Marshall has to put on the Brandon Marshall Show to emphasize how much he hates to lose and how incredibly competitive he is. It will be fun to watch if he and/or Cutler continue down this self-made meltdown spiral with a couple of tough games against the Pats and the Packers coming up. Stay tuned.

The Vikings are the rebuilding team we thought they were. Bridgewater had another crappy game, with a couple of turnovers, and the defense couldn’t get big stops when it counted. It’s nice to Jerrick McKinnon having success, and the defense isn’t horrible, but poor QB play and a NFL worst passing yardage stat makes them one dimensional and easy to beat.

The Packers just keep rolling along. An exciting last minute win last week against the Dolphins turned into another easy victory over the Panthers this week. The offense is one of the best in the NFL, and when the offensive line is clicking, it’s a juggernaut. The defense has improved in some ways, they’re great against the pass, but there are still holes. The good news is that over the last couple games, they’ve been able to contain opponents RB’s pretty well. The bad news is that they still have problems with QB’s who run, giving up big runs to Tannehill and Newton. I think the Packers have a real shot at making a long run this year if they can stay relatively healthy. If the turnover ratio changes (they’re #1 in the NFL with 14 takeaways and only 4 giveaways) or the run defense starts lagging, they could be in trouble though.

So, the Packers still look like the best team in the NFC North, the Lions are hanging in there, tied for first, the Bears are on a precipice that could go either way (guess which way I think they’ll go), and the Vikings are in for a long season unless Bridgewater protects the ball better.

56

Lions have a nice comeback win in London this morning. Atlanta was absolutely horrible at the end of the game, with bad coaching, stupid penalties, and a defense that folded like a tent. But damn if the Lions didn’t try to give it back with a missed field goal at the end, but a penalty on them moved it back 5 yards, and Prater hit that one. I’m still not buying the Lions as a Super Bowl contender, but I am buying that the Falcons are not a good team.

I really like the “roll out of bed, watch NFL football” thing. Reminds me of New Years’ Day college bowl games.

The Bears are absolutely crapping the bed. Cutler was lucky enough to have an interception called back, but then fumbles again and the Patriots get another TD. This game is a slaughter, and I’m loving it. It could be a fun meltdown week at Halas Hall.

57

Bears down 38-7 at the half. Bring on the NBA.

58

It’s a joke. A total joke.

We need to give Cutler some weapons! Give the guy some help. Can’t expect him to single handledly win every week.

59

I just saw the highlight of Lamar Houston, and it cracked me up. The Bears are getting their asses beaten, the defense has been absolutely horrible, and Houston catches a break, goes unblocked, and gets a sack on the BACKUP QB. Then, apparently eager to ignore all the other plays in the game where the Bears defense just sucked, he celebrates. And hurts his knee. We’ll find out early this week if it is season ending.

In a world where karma is so hard to come by, it’s nice to see some jagoff celebrating a personal accomplishment after his team has played so poorly, get some comeuppance. More of that please.

60

Yeah, I turned off the Bears game at half time and took my son out to go get frozen yogurt. Opponents have figured out the Bears offense and unless Cutler has a perfect game (which he can’t do), this team isn’t going to be able to score more than the other. The defense is mostly hurt/broke/bad/too old/ too young/badly coached.