Previewing the 2022 NFL Season: NFC North Edition
The NFC North has seen plenty of turnover this off-season: The Bears and Vikings completely cleaned house and fired both their general managers and head coaches and have brought in, what they hope to be, fresh minds to guide them into the future. The Packers and Lions retained their coaching staffs despite two drastically different seasons and now both teams look to get over the hump this year in their own way with the packers aiming for that elusive Super bowl berth and the Lions looking for that even more elusive winning season. Still, even the Packers suffered a major departure by losing Devante Adams, arguably the best receiver in the game, to the Raiders this off-season. While that’s not a big enough loss to remove the Packers from contender status in the NFC it is still a massive loss nonetheless. Still, Adams or no Adams, the Packers have more than enough talent to repeat as division champs once again.
Let’s get to the rankings:
1. GREEN BAY PACKERS
Like I mentioned above, the Packers lost Adams this off-season but it shouldn’t remove them from finishing first in the NFC North once again. The Packers acquired Sammy Watkins to give Rodgers a viable target opposite Lazard but as we all know, the question with Watkins isn’t his ability, it’s his availability. The Packers also cleaned house on the special teams side of the ball seeing as how their terrible special teams play cost them their season in the divisional round against the 49ers. What remains the same from last year is their sturdy yet unremarkable defensive staff and a majority of their core playmakers on both sides of the ball. Truth is, despite the loss of Adams, as long as the Packers have Aaron Rodgers, and he’s able to stay healthy, they are going to win the division. The man has won the MVP award two years in a row and has carried the Packers to three straight thirteen win seasons. I doubt Rodgers will carry them to the thirteen win mark for a fourth straight year, but bet against him and the team as a whole at your own risk.
2. MINNESOTA VIKINGS
Those of you who have followed High Voltage Sports for the last two years know that I’m a big fan of Kirk Cousins and will go to bat for him anytime someone decides to underrate him. I’m starting to come to the conclusion that the reason he hasn’t been able to be more effective in his time with the Vikings thus far is due to another man I have a lot of respect for and that’s former head coach Mike Zimmer. Zimmer wore out his welcome in the twin cities due to his stubbornness with running the ball as opposed to letting Cousins sling it around to the various weapons at his disposal. While I have respect for Zimmer as a coach and as a person I have to also say that his unwillingness to adapt to the modern NFL’s idea of offense and his lack of consistency year in and year out ultimately doomed him and cost him and former long-time general manager Rick Spielman their jobs. Unbiased opinion? Those Vikings teams from 2015-2019 were too talented to underperform the way they did. In comes Sean McVay protegé Kevin O’Connell, a big fan and believer in Kirk Cousins as he worked with him back in 2017 when Cousins and himself were back in Washington together. O’Connell is inheriting a very talented Vikings team and if he can get them to buy into his McVay-inspired offensive scheme then the sky is the limit for the Vikings. Only reason I have them in second place is because first time head coaches tend to struggle out of the gate and that could cost them come January if that proves to be true for O’Connell this year. Still, if all goes well after the initial growing pains of a new coaching staff, the Vikings could very well find themselves as a wild card team when the season is over.
3. DETROIT LIONS
I fucking love Dan Campbell. For those of you who haven’t been watching this season’s Hard Knocks on HBO you’re missing out on some damn good television. One thing that is absolutely certain about the Lions, other than that they are a very easy team to embrace and root for, is that second year head coach Dan Campbell is the real deal. It may not show up in the win/loss column quite yet, but the respect and admiration his players have for him is palpable and obvious and it is well deserved. Campbell was an NFL player himself so he knows the grind that an NFL season is for the men on the field and as a result he has a valuable shorthand with not just his players but his coaches that played in the league alongside him. The Lions also had themselves a hell of a draft and are slowly but surely building a sustainable culture that should bear fruit sooner than later. Remember, the Lions went 3-13-1 last year but they came damn close to winning some of the close games they lost mostly due to bad bounces and bad luck. Experience works wonders for young teams and now those young players and new coaches have both experience and a budding rapport on their side as they head into 2022. This year might be too soon to expect a massive turnaround in what has been a ground up rebuild, but the Lions winning 7 games isn’t out of the question and would be a massive improvement from the three win season last year.
4. CHICAGO BEARS
Not so hot take? the Bears are going to have a rough, rough year. Despite the departure of former general manager Ryan Pace and head coach Matt Nagy, the Bears are still paying for their sins and mistakes in 2022. What once was the fiercest defense in the league four years ago has been reduced to rubble and the once loaded cabinet of speedy receivers and running backs has been laid bare. Who pays for this regression the most? Outside of the fans of the team? Second year QB Justin Fields. This kid has shown flashes of what he can be in this league but the organization around him has gone backwards, not forwards. Who is he throwing the ball to? Who’s going to protect him now that his offensive line is weaker than it was last year? Matt Eberflus, the new head coach of the team, comes from a defensive background and has no history of QB development. How is that supposed to help Fields take his skillset to the next level? Sometimes teams can overcome inexperienced coaching if the roster is loaded with enough playmakers on both sides of the ball. Problem is there are virtually no playmakers anywhere on the Bears roster. Let’s not forget that Roquan Smith, the Bears’ best player and one of the best linebackers in the league, has demanded a trade from the team publicly and is doing everything he can to force his way out of the windy city. That’s the state of the Bears right now: a sinking ship with no lifeboats on board. I’m not saying they’re gonna go winless like the 2008 Lions or 2017 Browns, but the Bears could be in the running for a top three pick this year. With the state of this roster, why not just embrace the suck and begin the rebuild in earnest?
