NFC North 2025

[gopkrs]

I could not believe it when they tried to pass, got sacked, and taken out of field goal range which would have won the game. Unbelievable. History.

 

[milani]

Interesting factoid about Wentz - this weekend he will become the first quarterback in NFL history to start at least 1 game at quarterback for 6 different teams in 6 years.

Regarding McCarthy... I think the Vikings are in a not-so-great position. They really went all in starting in 2023, and the clock is ticking. They're projected at $30-60 million over the cap in 2026, as the contracts start to come due, and I thinkit's questionable whether JJ will be a strong threat to lead the team to a Super Bowl by that time. That knee injury last year cost them a valuable year of development for him, and I think they're behind where they expected to be by now.

Vikings will be fine. The QB that torched the last 3 teams he faced including the Dolphins last night did not start out lighting lights in his rookie year. I saw Allen play at Lambeau in 2018. The Packers beat the Bills 22-0 that day. I said even in victory that this kid will be a great one. And he is. JJ has had but 2 NFL starts.

 

[El Guapo]

Vikings will be fine. The QB that torched the last 3 teams he faced including the Dolphins last night did not start out lighting lights in his rookie year. I saw Allen play at Lambeau in 2018. The Packers beat the Bills 22-0 that day. I said even in victory that this kid will be a great one. And he is. JJ has had but 2 NFL starts.

JJ McCarthy is no premier QB. We all know that, but he doesn't have to be. He plays well with good players around him. That is exactly what he has in Minnesota. They have a good team and a great coach with great WRs. Wait until JJ is back and they've got Jordan Addison back from suspension. They will look like a different team.

 

[Voyageur]

JJ McCarthy is no premier QB. We all know that, but he doesn't have to be. He plays well with good players around him. That is exactly what he has in Minnesota. They have a good team and a great coach with great WRs. Wait until JJ is back and they've got Jordan Addison back from suspension. They will look like a different team.

Addison is going to be a huge addition. If they end up 3-3 at that point, he's going to help them make a run at the playoffs. You hit the nail on the head when you said JJ isn't an elite QB but has a history of being a solid game manager.

He played 3 years at La Grange HS outside of Chicago, and his last year at Nazareth. Eh transferred to Nazareth because they could polish his game to play QB in college. They did a great job in doing so. He took to it well enough they won a state title. He was a "football kid" that all the suburban Chicago area schools with top programs wanted. Nazareth won strictly because of what they could do for him to move to the next level.

A friend of mine who still coaches in the suburban Chicago school area said that JJ was the coolest cucumber he ever saw at QB in HS. He said he carried himself like a winner and could direct traffic better than any other QB he'd even seen.

He has the smarts and background to be darned good. How that plays out will be up to the Vikings.

 

[OldSchool101]

Personally, if you base it on what he has done so far in his career, I wouldn't put him in the top 10 of active QB's. Now if you are talking about potential, by the end of this season, maybe he lands there.

I’m talking today in rankings. He’s barely played 2 seasons and how many QB ahead of him have played 2 seasons or less or even 3 seasons?

Real Time in 2025, if you picked the 10 best QB after 2 games. Jordan Love is absolutely in that list. My opinion is Packer fans hold him to a higher standard. Taking Subjectivity out of it (outside of GB) he’s deemed as follows:

NFL.com #9
USA.com #6
Yahoo Sports #12
ESPN #13
RotoBaller #7

These are the first 5 I looked up that were reputable. I’m not using a Reddit post etc.
Taking out the high and low or Using all 5 sites (either one) the consensus is also

#9

 

[Pokerbrat2000]

I’m talking today in rankings. He’s barely played 2 seasons and how many QB ahead of him have played 2 seasons or less or even 3 seasons?

Real Time in 2025, if you picked the 10 best QB after 2 games. Jordan Love is absolutely in that list. My opinion is Packer fans hold him to a higher standard. Taking Subjectivity out of it (outside of GB) he’s deemed as follows:

NFL.com #9
USA.com #6
Yahoo Sports #12
ESPN #13
RotoBaller #7

These are the first 5 I looked up that were reputable. I’m not using a Reddit post etc.
Taking out the high and low or Using all 5 sites (either one) the consensus is also

#9

If you reread what I said, and you responded to, I wasn't looking at ranking QB's after just 2 games.

I honestly don't put Jordan Love down as a top 5 or even 10 QB at this point in his career, I hope that changes. But as we have seen in 2 games so far, with a solid defense, a solid O-Line and some weapons, Jordan doesn't have to be a Pro Bowl QB to be the QB on a good team.

Trying to "rank" players based on 2 games played? That's fantasy football stuff.

 

[OldSchool101]

If you reread what I said, and you responded to, I wasn't looking at ranking QB's after just 2 games.



Trying to "rank" players based on 2 games played? That's fantasy football stuff.

Go look at Josh Allen after his first 2 seasons. He had like a 76.6% Passer. Did that mean anything? Nope

I could care less his Jordan compares career wise with Aaron Rodgers or Joe Flacco. I’ll stick to this season. I’ll rank Jordan against guys like Aaron Rodgers in the year 2040.

What have you done for me lately is all that matters in this league. Lately Jordan is #9 overall. We can argue that 2025 is not accurate and we should use 18 years of data. I personally don’t feel Josh Allen entering year 3 (30 TD 21 INT career) should’ve been measured against a bunch of 10+ year veterans. Just my opinion

 

[milani]

Addison is going to be a huge addition. If they end up 3-3 at that point, he's going to help them make a run at the playoffs. You hit the nail on the head when you said JJ isn't an elite QB but has a history of being a solid game manager.

He played 3 years at La Grange HS outside of Chicago, and his last year at Nazareth. Eh transferred to Nazareth because they could polish his game to play QB in college. They did a great job in doing so. He took to it well enough they won a state title. He was a "football kid" that all the suburban Chicago area schools with top programs wanted. Nazareth won strictly because of what they could do for him to move to the next level.

A friend of mine who still coaches in the suburban Chicago school area said that JJ was the coolest cucumber he ever saw at QB in HS. He said he carried himself like a winner and could direct traffic better than any other QB he'd even seen.

He has the smarts and background to be darned good. How that plays out will be up to the Vikings.

For some reason I see him starting for someone else in about 5 years.

 

[Voyageur]

For some reason I see him starting for someone else in about 5 years.

More than likely true.

 

[Pokerbrat2000]

For some reason I see him starting for someone else in about 5 years.

The Jets, The Browns or Da Bears...............
3 places QB's go to die.

 

[Thirteen Below]

For some reason I see him starting for someone else in about 5 years.

More than likely true.

What would be the most likely reason?

 

[Voyageur]

What would be the most likely reason?

Money will be the issue in my opinion. The Vikings at the present time are reaching their peak cycle and are caught in that unenviable position of who they need to let walk as free agents next year, and who do they end up paying what they're worth, and even overpaying to keep them.

JJ's contract is written where 2028 is the club option 5th year. In 2029 he becomes an unrestricted free agent. Based on the 2025 5th year option for a QB is $25.66 million. In 4-years that's going to be somewhere in the range of $35 mill. That's the minimum. If he meets any criteria that would even interest them in giving him that 5th year, it would be in the $40 mill and up range. It's also something that has to be decided at the end of 2026.

Coincidentally, all those contracts they'll be back loading before next year to keep their most talented potential free agents at the end of this year will be coming due and those players will be allowed to walk. Keeping JJ at a higher salary would not be beneficial. It would more than likely end up with a total rebuild.

Anyhow, that's what I see. His last affordable season will be his 4th when he makes under $7 mill. The 5th would be a luxury for them. By then they'll have the "new version" of a caretaker QB sitting behind him ready to take the reins.

 

[Pokerbrat2000]

Money will be the issue in my opinion. The Vikings at the present time are reaching their peak cycle and are caught in that unenviable position of who they need to let walk as free agents next year, and who do they end up paying what they're worth, and even overpaying to keep them.

JJ's contract is written where 2028 is the club option 5th year. In 2029 he becomes an unrestricted free agent. Based on the 2025 5th year option for a QB is $25.66 million. In 4-years that's going to be somewhere in the range of $35 mill. That's the minimum. If he meets any criteria that would even interest them in giving him that 5th year, it would be in the $40 mill and up range. It's also something that has to be decided at the end of 2026.

Coincidentally, all those contracts they'll be back loading before next year to keep their most talented potential free agents at the end of this year will be coming due and those players will be allowed to walk. Keeping JJ at a higher salary would not be beneficial. It would more than likely end up with a total rebuild.

Anyhow, that's what I see. His last affordable season will be his 4th when he makes under $7 mill. The 5th would be a luxury for them. By then they'll have the "new version" of a caretaker QB sitting behind him ready to take the reins.

Good breakdown and all reasons why the Vikings should have gone all in with a team that went 14-3 in 2024. I consider starting JJ McCarthy this year just the opposite...that's more of a move for a 3-14 team.

 

[OldSchool101]

Well it looks like the Lions just put away the Baltimore Ravens in an impressive Road Win.
It’s a good thing we got Detroit early as they are starting to look like their old selves.

 

[rmontro]

Well it looks like the Lions just put away the Baltimore Ravens in an impressive Road Win.
It’s a good thing we got Detroit early as they are starting to look like their old selves.

Yep, they're now tied with us and Minnesota, with the Bears one game back.

 

[milani]

Well it looks like the Lions just put away the Baltimore Ravens in an impressive Road Win.
It’s a good thing we got Detroit early as they are starting to look like their old selves.

Like 228 yards rushing against a perennial AFC power that usually has a tough D.

 

[Voyageur]

Like 228 yards rushing against a perennial AFC power that usually has a tough D.

Every week it's like starting all over again in the NFL. Nothing is a sure thing.

 

[OldSchool101]

Every week it's like starting all over again in the NFL. Nothing is a sure thing.

It’s true. Even our own Super Bowl teams had some games they’d like to forget. I’d say that 2010 team in particular. They were similarly banged up seemed to be rotating guys every week. You can Win a SB having these type games imo. It’s about staying in the race and overcoming adversity. The reason Gute goes after players that suffered adversity isn’t just for fighting back in one game. It’s for fighting back from week to week and not thinking to lowly or highly of themselves. Having a sober estimate of themselves if you will.

I resubmit that this is a team sport with the combined effort of 48? On game days. Across a year there’s probably 60+ players that contribute. Some guys will have a down game or three. Look at 2010. We lost 13-16 to Washington (6-10) and 20-23 to Miami (7-9) to start 3-3. Does that sound like a Powerhouse #1 Offense?
It took a minute to get our bearings. Had we similarly written off that team (I’m sure some did) we would’ve really missed out on a great season.

 

[OldSchool101]

My contention for all of us fans not singling or directing it at any 1 person. We each were disappointed in that performance and for good reason. I was ready to fire the entire building!
Thus far every season Jordan Love starts mediocre. Yet also he 100% had the knack of kicking into Turbo as the season progressed. Not perfect, but he wears well imo. That’s really been his personality.

Call me crazy, but we still have some relative youth that is still trying to find their way. We also have a nice little grouping of players on IR that will pop back in very soon. That and another few that are sidelined with minor injury that are pretty darn good at their respective positions. Right now we just need to Win at Dallas and we’re sitting stout. THAT is what knocking off Detroit and Washington did for us. We could start 3-1 and then start getting healthy.

 

[Voyageur]

It’s true. Even our own Super Bowl teams had some games they’d like to forget. I’d say that 2010 team in particular. They were similarly banged up seemed to be rotating guys every week. You can Win a SB having these type games imo. It’s about staying in the race and overcoming adversity. The reason Gute goes after players that suffered adversity isn’t just for fighting back in one game. It’s for fighting back from week to week and not thinking to lowly or highly of themselves. Having a sober estimate of themselves if you will.

I resubmit that this is a team sport with the combined effort of 48? On game days. Across a year there’s probably 60+ players that contribute. Some guys will have a down game or three. Look at 2010. We lost 13-16 to Washington (6-10) and 20-23 to Miami (7-9) to start 3-3. Does that sound like a Powerhouse #1 Offense?
It took a minute to get our bearings. Had we similarly written off that team (I’m sure some did) we would’ve really missed out on a great season.

You hit on something I keep preaching about. Jordan Love is still learning the NFL game. He's young and his mistakes can be corrected. He just needs to learn how to protect the ball in critical situations and not take sacks when it isn't necessary. As for the offensive line, they're also part of the youth movement on the team. They're all still learning except for Jenkins and from what I've seen so far, his game is not on par with what we've seen in the past. I wonder if it's a physical problem or if he just plain can't adjust to the job he's been given.

Resilience, bouncing back from a loss, and the ability to improve as the year progresses. All something we've seen from this team in the past. This might be one of those years.

 

[gopkrs]

We better start playing well again because detroit hasn't skipped a beat

 

[tynimiller]

We better start playing well again because detroit hasn't skipped a beat

They've skipped as many weeks of good play as we have LOL (wink)

 

[gopkrs]

I'm thinking that seeing how those two detroit guards opened up holes for the RBs against Baltimore; it's not really a bad idea to draft guards to play guard.

 

[OldSchool101]

Me thinks The Packers OL will gradually improve from week to week. We had an unusual game early in the year where 2 OL left the game. I’d rather just sit Banks and Tom if they are semi injured. We have 3 calendar weeks to get them healthy if they rest.

I just would rather practice with our same 5 OL instead of playing musical chairs during a game. This Cowboys Defense is not inspirational. It’s really almost the antithesis of the Browns if we’re being accurate.

 

[Raptorman]

JJ McCarthy is no premier QB. We all know that, but he doesn't have to be. He plays well with good players around him. That is exactly what he has in Minnesota. They have a good team and a great coach with great WRs. Wait until JJ is back and they've got Jordan Addison back from suspension. They will look like a different team.

So I have to ask. How do you know he's not a premier QB? He's played two games? All players play well with good players around them.