In the "post Millen" era, Detroit seems to be following TT's model for success, and having excellent results thus far. If they can continue to draft well and develop young guys, and IF Stafford can stay healthy, I would think that they'll be a contender within 3 years at the most.
The Vikings bet way too much on this year, will lose a lot of guys after this year, and should be "rebuilding" for a while. The only way that doesn't happen, is if something gets really screwy with the new CBA and allows Wilf to open the wallet and spend "New York Yankees Money." I don't picture that happening.
The Bears are also in a world of hurt, although their record this year has surprised me. They're still paying draft picks for Cutler, and also have a lot of aging veterans. Plus, they have no identity. They were built to run the ball and play defense; all they needed was a QB that wouldn not lose games for them. Grossman, like Favre, can win some games with his arm, but he'll also lose games with poor decisions. He was clearly not the right QB for them. Had they kept Orton, they could have been troublesome. Instead, they went out and spent a ton on Cutler, who is another one like Favre or Grossman. Great arm, weak head. They have an O-line that was built to run, and they bring in a "gunslinger" quarterback... then they compound the error by bringing in Martz. Not only is Martz pass-happy, but his offense relies heavily on precision and timimg.... Cutler's weakest points. I don't think Cutler will ever play well in Martz's system, and they don't have the supporting cast to run Martz's system, or to run a different system that Cutler might be able to play decently in. The QB, O-Coordinator, and the rest of the offense are 3 entirely different entities, with 3 entirely different agendas, heading in 3 entirely different directions. They couldn't have screwed up their offense any worse if they had tried. And I love every minute of it.