NFC North Predictions

[OldSchool101]

Chicago did a good job imo trading back to get an extra Defender in Shemar Turner. That was a smart move imo. It was a good draft to bet that #60’s overall DL type.

Yet on the flip side Chicago just pushed ALL of their chips in on the 2025 hand. The FA Net $50Mil neighborhood over their FA departures $$ left a hard push into Cap fumes. Now you could say that $50Mil matches the QB rookie contract savings, which without peeling the fiscal Cap onion would be true. Yet it left $1mil remaining, ranking least Cap in the NFL. Every Cap Dollar going forward is pushed into future spending.

GB still sits comfortably with $29mil Cap in real time tied for #10 best position. While we want to use that to resign futures, so does every team. Plus GB still has the Edge from a Roster perspective imo. Until proven otherwise, GB holds the overall Roster Edge, QB edge, Defense grade edge, Cap Edge … over Chicago. This will be a tough year for any team to overcome an advanced schedule. It’s no different for a team pushing all their chips in.

 

[Calebs Revenge]

Ok. I was thinking that it was a very superior troll job trying to make me think you really thought. Bill Belichick would be a better coach than Ben Johnson for us.
‍

 

[Calebs Revenge]

And the thing about cap space is people can manipulate it anyway they want.....it's not a real number....and people are always finessing/reworking it.......
Also, I do believe the Bears have the lowest amount of dead money in the league this year where some teams are carrying 15, 20 and even $30 million of dead money. Two years ago, our general manager went to get all that dead money off of our books and I think we ran 60 million in dead money!!!!!!
To start over and get our books in order and now they are.....I believe the bears sit at four mill in DM and I think we also have 7 million in CAP remaining to sign rookies and what not.........and if we rework a deal or 2.....more cap space can be opened up in a heartbeat!!

We also just signed Joe Thuney, arguably the best interior guard in football although he is 31.... to a 3 year basically $17 million/ ur deal with 30 guaranteed.
When I talk about changing the culture/identity of our team, this is a guy who does that along with da new coach!!!!!
They come in and work at a level that everyone else will have to match.....or basically look like a bunch of chumps!!!
If a 31 year-old guy who's been to six Super Bowls does it this way....I guess this is the way that we should do it too.

Also except for the Covid years, the cap generally goes up every year, so we'll have more money in the future, and I think our general manager has done a masterful job working the cap and signing talent....

Now about who's got the better roster I think we could have a legitimate discussion as to who's better Jordan love or Caleb Williams.....
I don't believe it's any discussion as to who has the better wide receivers offensive line and tight ends....it's Da Bears.....
And our defensive numbers werent as far off from each other as you'd think.
We gave up about 22 a game while y'all gave up about 20.
don't forget guys like J Clowney and some other pass rusher are out there even though I don't think we will sign them, but if an emergency happens, there are players out there that could add to the pass rush.
Realistically I think either of our teams could be the one that rises to the top.
I'll give y'all the SLIGHT(very slight lol) edge because you're coming back to a system that everyone is familiar with and we're learning a new one, but I think Ben Johnson is smart enough to this year bring in the B minus level of his offense.....that maybe can get to a B+ level Later in the year or playoffs if we make it.....
Next year with a full season of film to watch in the offense and a full year to be coached....year three I think is when Caleb really really explodes if he doesn't this upcoming season....... but I fully expect him to!!!!!!

 

[gopkrs]

Which coaches have The Pack changed? Could make an important difference

 

[Calebs Revenge]

Which coaches have The Pack changed? Could make an important difference

I honestly have no clue. Did you guys get a new defensive coordinator or something?

 

[Heyjoe4]

And you remember how bad we were in the 80's, too, right?

Make that the 70s and 80s. I was in college and would watch sports news in the student union. Each Monday was another dose of Packer ineptness. Then the 90s and Bob Harlan and Ron Wolf came to town. Finally.

Having lived through those miserable years, what has happened over the last 30 plus years is a real delight. Looking forward to that continuing.

 

[Heyjoe4]

Which coaches have The Pack changed? Could make an important difference

They whacked their DL coach and hired a new guy. Their names escape me.

And with all the talent on that line, someone had to get whacked. I truly hope better coaching can get first-round guys to play like first-round guys - specifically - Wyatt, Walker, and LVN, although Walker is a LB.

And this will be Hafley's second season. He did a great job last year, with the exception of putting pressure on opposing QBs and getting sacks. I expect that will improve.

 

[Heyjoe4]

I think the division is actually wide open!!!
I think Detroit could easily slip and lose close games this year. Their schedule is brutal.
The Bears schedule is pretty brutal also and everybody in the north is going to have to win the games if they want to get into the postseason so it's just gonna come down to execution.
The idea that 72 year old Bill Belichick without Tom Brady would be better than Ben Johnson is a little much for me, but everyone is entitled to their opinions, but I couldn't be happier that we are in the position that we're in and we'll see how it goes....
Just listening to it our old coaches used to just throw stuff at the wall to see what would stick and they were very predictable and not difficult to stop in certain areas because they were so predictable.....
Ben Johnson has actually talked about going over plays with Caleb, which again, is something new bc the old regime apparently they didn't believe in coaching up their quarterback or watching film....
Ben Johnson is not only trying to explain how the play works.....but also why....in every instance are they calling this play?
It's like we run this play to set up this play later and we scheme this....to open up this play or player later and then it sets up y and z......like there are levels to this thing......a guy like Eberflus or Waldron couldn't even begin to comprehend what Ben is cooking up.

Eberflus was in way over his head. Getting Johnson was a nice move by the Bears.

I'm not so sure about the Lions regressing. They'll start off with a healthy D, including Hutchinson's return.

No easy outs in the NFC North.

 

[Heyjoe4]

Even if the Bears are improved, can they climb out of the celler? I'm not convinced. While Williams has the tools, so did a lot of other QB's who failed to grasp the speed of the game. He made his O line look even worse than it was by holding onto the football too long.

Detroit is still the best team in the division. They managed to win 15 games last season with a defense decimated by injuries. The question is who comes in second. Unless JJ McCarthy is a phenom rookie, I would think Minnesota will take a step back into 3rd place.

Unless the Packers see a leap by Love, Kraft and Reed into pro bowl territory, they'll continue to underperform in big games due to a lack of marquee players. The roster is solid, so 9-11 victories is a good probability. I don't see the team becoming competitive beyond the usual first round playoff debacle unless there's a whole lot of internal improvement. The off-season additions aren't going to change the need for that.

It was a bad offseason for the kind of talent GB needed. I expect the offense will be better than last year. The D also turned in a good 2024 season. They just need to do a better job of getting after the QB.

 

[gopkrs]

They whacked their DL coach and hired a new guy. Their names escape me.

And with all the talent on that line, someone had to get whacked. I truly hope better coaching can get first-round guys to play like first-round guys - specifically - Wyatt, Walker, and LVN, although Walker is a LB.

And this will be Hafley's second season. He did a great job last year, with the exception of putting pressure on opposing QBs and getting sacks. I expect that will improve.

That sounds good. I thought maybe more. But that sounds good. We do have a new and young QB coach.

 

[Heyjoe4]

That sounds good. I thought maybe more. But that sounds good. We do have a new and young QB coach.

There may have been more changes, I only know of the change at DL coach. The challenge for the new QB coach is getting into Love's head and convincing him he's a great QB. At times the last two seasons, especially during the first half of the year, Love has made some incredibly bad decisions.

 

[DoURant]

That sounds good. I thought maybe more. But that sounds good. We do have a new and young QB coach.

Sean Mannion is the new QB Coach, with Clement retiring, and DeMarcus Covington is our new DL coach, who came from New England I do believe.

 

[OldSchool101]

Ok. I was thinking that it was a very superior troll job trying to make me think you really thought. Bill Belichick would be a better coach than Ben Johnson for us.
‍

Nope. Bilicek is washed up

It’ll be interesting to see what Ben does. It’s no mistake they gave him a TE toy as he’s really adept in TE’s. Similar to our Hafley in the D secondary to LB’s area. He got Edgerrin last year and he’ll get to play with Simmons and Collins this year to see if he can bring out maximum value. It’s not a shock at all you guys went TE. Both also coached at BC which I find interesting.

Like I said. I thought Chicago did good overall acquiring talent. They pushed into the OL and DL and brought in a blue chip TE. It’s obvious they are banking on Caleb by trying to protect him better. He can’t withstand 65-70 Sacks a year that’s egregious.

My only concern is timing. If I’m a GM I’m asking myself is 2025 the best timing? Or should I have ramped to peak personnel in 2026,2027 range?
I think that’s very debatable to a “No it’s not” good timing. I understand though they’ve got a WB Rookie contract they’re trying to maximize.

However trust me when I say that GB and Detroit isn’t going anywhere both are playoff teams. Vikings are still talented it’s more a question of how quickly they get Mcarthy up to speed if he gets clicking quickly it’s a monster Division. An 11-12 Win team in a normal year could easily miss postseason and that goes for any of us.

There’s only so much room afforded in a Playoff NFC N North Sardine Can.

 

[Calebs Revenge]

And I think we went with Loveland because he'll put on some weight over the next 2 to 3 years but I really see our first couple of pics as having limited contributions this year but really I think Luther and Loveland and a couple other guys could really impact the team two years from now.
I also think we didn't go with Warren because I think Ben Johnson saw Cole Comet as more his style of tight end that we already had on the roster.
I believe this is gonna be a really hard team to defend.
DJ. Loveland. Kmet. Odunze


Williams

Swift/Johnson/Monongai
With this grouping right here....it's pick your poison!!!!
Ben Johnson runs more 2 tight end sets than anybody else in the league over the last couple of years....

We can go big body and run it. We can go small and fast and use speed and with the personnel we can disguise anything to look like what it is not.......or it can look like exactly what it is and then you're thinking that's not what we're doing bc that'd be too obvious......so gonna be fun to watch my coach play 3-D chess instead of being "a special guy" who sucks at checkers.

 

[OldSchool101]

The Packers making one more leap on D (into that top 1-4 area D) will be predicated on Coopers increase role and if Jaire stays… or stays healthy.

Our OL got better like Chicago did. We've gave what I see as 6-7 OL who could start on most teams.
Walker, Morgan, Banks, Jenkins, Rhyan, Belton, Tom. Any one of those guys could start at minimum at Guard and 4 of them can play Tackle.

We’ve got a 2024, 3rd Round RB back in the mix in Lloyd. We have Luke Musgrave back from RD2, who’s got Jimmy Graham measurables. We’ve got a WR who can play + Starter from anywhere on the field in Golden.
We’ve added a Chase Claypool like Chess piece now that’s Big and Fast
in Savion Williams. Wicks is such an unknown, but if he fixes his drops I see him as a legit WR2 level Receiver. He moves like Davante it’s eerily similar his route running and separation is already near elite.

We’ve got a multitude of players hitting that period where many players will pop. It’ll really only take a replica of last year with 1-2 players popping on Defense and I think GB cracks the Top 5… again. If the O makes any strides whatever? I mean whatsoever like going from 8th to 6th? Well absolutely Rock some teams

 

[Calebs Revenge]

And regardless of how it goes, at least us Bears fans will figure out where we stand in the division very quickly......because we have division opponents the first two games so gonna be some questions answered relatively early

 

[Sanguine camper]

Ok. I was thinking that it was a very superior troll job trying to make me think you really thought. Bill Belichick would be a better coach than Ben Johnson for us.
‍

Belchick is arguably the best coach of all time. The reason why teams passed on him was his age. He's 73. Not many GM's are going to hire a 73-year old even if he's a legend since it often takes the great ones about 4 years to turn it around. Lombardi and Jimmy Johnson were exceptions.

Most great coaches had the great QB. Lombardi had Starr, Johnson had Aikman, Landry had Staubach, Noll had Bradshaw, Madden had Stabler and Walsh had Montana. Beilchick had the greatest QB and Reid has Mahomes. Makes the trophies hoisted by Parcells even more impressive although he had LT.

 

[Curly Calhoun]

Well, for the first time in many, many years - I think the Bears have the talent and coaching in place to have a solid year. After the 68 sacks, Poles gave Williams a lot more protection, and made other solid moves in the offseason.

But you know better than anyone, it's the Bears - of Jay Cutler (his name should be in the circle at Lambeau) and double-doink fame. But I do expect they will be a tough out this year.

I think the Bears will be much improved.

I hope that I'm wrong - And that Clay Matthews is right.

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[gopkrs]

I think the Bears will be much improved.

I hope that I'm wrong - And that Clay Matthews is right.

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I do too. And they had a good defense last year.

 

[OldSchool101]

I recalled that GB quietly hired DeMarcus Covington off the Patriots Staff. I finally got a chance to read up on him just a little. Then did my usual.. perusing through items I think are key to success rates at his AOR


Run D? LB
QB pressure?? DL
Point Rankings??
Yardage Rankings?


LB’s Coach (2019)
#1points
#1 Yards
#1 Run Defense

Flipped to DL (2020)
#1 points
#7 yards
#15 hurries

(2021)
#2
#4
#5 QB hurries

(2022)
#11
#9
#1 QB hurries

(2023)
#15
#7
#4 QB hurries

(2024) Promotion to Patriots DC
#22 Points
#22 Yards
#20 QB hurries

(2025) Signed as the Green Bay Packers DL Coach

So while we might have lost Saleh, we quietly gained one heck of a Senior Defensive Coach. This guy looks legit good. Like never finished outside the Top 10 in two of three key categories to his area of responsibility. Run D, Points, Yards, Pressure Rate

 

[milani]

The Packers making one more leap on D (into that top 1-4 area D) will be predicated on Coopers increase role and if Jaire stays… or stays healthy.

Our OL got better like Chicago did. We've gave what I see as 6-7 OL who could start on most teams.
Walker, Morgan, Banks, Jenkins, Rhyan, Belton, Tom. Any one of those guys could start at minimum at Guard and 4 of them can play Tackle.

We’ve got a 2024, 3rd Round RB back in the mix in Lloyd. We have Luke Musgrave back from RD2, who’s got Jimmy Graham measurables. We’ve got a WR who can play + Starter from anywhere on the field in Golden.
We’ve added a Chase Claypool like Chess piece now that’s Big and Fast
in Savion Williams. Wicks is such an unknown, but if he fixes his drops I see him as a legit WR2 level Receiver. He moves like Davante it’s eerily similar his route running and separation is already near elite.

We’ve got a multitude of players hitting that period where many players will pop. It’ll really only take a replica of last year with 1-2 players popping on Defense and I think GB cracks the Top 5… again. If the O makes any strides whatever? I mean whatsoever like going from 8th to 6th? Well absolutely Rock some teams

I like the fact that we are still a young team. But the one piece that I still see missing in GB is veteran leadership. To have that you must have some veterans. We do have a few on the roster now but that has been missing for a while. Teams like Philly and KC had that last season. And the result was a SB appearance. That can be the difference between an 11-12 win season and an 8-9 one along with a first round exit and a later round departure.

 

[OldSchool101]

I like the fact that we are still a young team. But the one piece that I still see missing in GB is veteran leadership. To have that you must have some veterans. We do have a few on the roster now but that has been missing for a while. Teams like Philly and KC had that last season. And the result was a SB appearance. That can be the difference between an 11-12 win season and an 8-9 one along with a first round exit and a later round departure.

I thought about that. Some rumors probably nothing more about interest regarding Trey Hendrickson. Can you imagine that guy on our Defense?! Now would I want to spend the $$$…no. But it’s fun to imagine him on our DLine

 

[Pkrjones]

I thought about that. Some rumors probably nothing more about interest regarding Trey Hendrickson. Can you imagine that guy on our Defense?! Now would I want to spend the $$$…no. But it’s fun to imagine him on our DLine

Put Hendrickson out of your mind. He's going on 31 (December) and wants $30+mil/yr, in addition to draft picks headed to Cincy. WAY too rich for an aging player.

 

[Calebs Revenge]

I thought about that. Some rumors probably nothing more about interest regarding Trey Hendrickson. Can you imagine that guy on our Defense?! Now would I want to spend the $$$…no. But it’s fun to imagine him on our DLine

Yeah, I thought the same thing but it's just not worth giving up the draft capital and the money you have to pay them for two or three years of declining production no thank you.......

 

[Heyjoe4]

Sean Mannion is the new QB Coach, with Clement retiring, and DeMarcus Covington is our new DL coach, who came from New England I do believe.

Covington did come from NE. I thought he served a year or two as a DC somewhere. Can anyone confirm or deny? Thanks all.