NFC North Predictions

[OldSchool101]

The mostly unsung hero last year was Hafley. While we might not have had a huge spike or any incredible standout individual performance last year, Haf had the group playing at a high level. 6th in D scoring allowed is plenty good enough to make a deep playoff push IF the Offense is clicking.

We should find out after several games if we have someone stepping up in TJ Slaton’s absence. The thing about TJ was he played the Run beautifully. However for what he gave us in Run Stop, he was lacking in Pass Rush. Comparing both players coming out of College, Warren Brinson is the better prospect overall than TJ was coming into the NFL (without hindsight) Brinson also has lower mileage as he was a Reserve for his first 3 seasons and heavier rotational player his last 2 seasons at Georgia. Imo his lower usage overall may have kept him off radar a little.

I still can’t believe we got 2 Georgia D lineman, that hand played out beautifully. In many past drafts, those 2 guys would’ve been easily been picked up as 4th-5th (Brinson) and
6-7th Rounders (Stack) imo. Great Rebound being patient there at DL

We stocked the shelves nicely with options between Sorrell, Oliver, Brinson and Stackhouse

 

[Heyjoe4]

I was just scrolling through a still-frame montage in JS sports of the Packers and who/when/where they play this year. The schedule is brutal, especially for a 3rd-place finish in the North. The last three games are Bears (road), Ravens (home), and Vikings (road).

There are precious few gimmes in this schedule. I actually prefer it. Let's see what these guys are made of.

 

[Heyjoe4]

Probably minnesota and chicago. But we definitely play each other tough

It's really a tough schedule for a third-place conference finisher. Hey bring it on. They can either beat the best teams consistently, or they can't. Last year there were too many creampuffs, esp early in the season like TN and Indy. When they were challenged, they lost (1-5 conference, not that we need a reminder.....). And yeah, they played Philly tough on the road in the playoffs, but a loss is a loss. They lost twice each to Detroit, MN, and Philly. Not nearly good enough to contend for a ring.

Playing a tough schedule toughens a team, proves what a team is capable of doing. And by the time the playoffs roll around, and with 11 wins as the likely minimum for a playoff spot, they'll be ready.

 

[Heyjoe4]

The mostly unsung hero last year was Hafley. While we might not have had a huge spike or any incredible standout individual performance last year, Haf had the group playing at a high level. 6th in D scoring allowed is plenty good enough to make a deep playoff push IF the Offense is clicking.

We should find out after several games if we have someone stepping up in TJ Slaton’s absence. The thing about TJ was he played the Run beautifully. However for what he gave us in Run Stop, he was lacking in Pass Rush. Comparing both players coming out of College, Warren Brinson is the better prospect overall than TJ was coming into the NFL (without hindsight) Brinson also has lower mileage as he was a Reserve for his first 3 seasons and heavier rotational player his last 2 seasons at Georgia. Imo his lower usage overall may have kept him off radar a little.

I still can’t believe we got 2 Georgia D lineman, that hand played out beautifully. In many past drafts, those 2 guys would’ve been easily been picked up as 4th-5th (Brinson) and
6-7th Rounders (Stack) imo. Great Rebound being patient there at DL

We stocked the shelves nicely with options between Sorrell, Oliver, Brinson and Stackhouse

That's true. We've been so used to lousy DCs, seems we kind of took for granted what a good job Hafley did (or at least I took it for granted). By different measures, the Packers were a top 10 or top 5 D last year.

The D does need to get more pressure and more sacks, and the CB group is a mystery. We'll see. It's a tough schedule, and Gluten seemed ok standing pat with the DL and Edge (yeah he took two guys in the 5th and 6th rounds - and those guys usually deliver for Gluten).

It's a massive year for guys like Wyatt, Walker, and LVN. Hafley needs to get those guys producing one a consistent basis. And Gary needs to get back to form as well. Those are four first-round picks. Time to deliver.

 

[DoURant]

I think we have the 6th toughest schedule in the NFL, but it doesn't help that we have Detroit and Minny twice each, who both were 15-2 and 14-3, plus the 14-3 Eagles, to inflate those We also as a 3rd place team get the 3rd place team in the AFC west as our 5th AFC game... the Broncos, were also a playoff team. ( The AFC west had 3 teams make the Playoffs last year just like the NFC North). 9 otal games vs Playoff teams last year. Yikes

 

[Heyjoe4]

I think we have the 6th toughest schedule in the NFL, but it doesn't help that we have Detroit and Minny twice each, who both were 15-2 and 14-3, plus the 14-3 Eagles, to inflate those We also as a 3rd place team get the 3rd place team in the AFC west as our 5th AFC game... the Broncos, were also a playoff team. ( The AFC west had 3 teams make the Playoffs last year just like the NFC North). 9 otal games vs Playoff teams last year. Yikes

That's a good explanation of why the Packers' schedule is so difficult. Usually, a 3rd-place conference finisher would have an easier schedule.

And at the end of the season, based on games played, we can look back and see just how hard the schedule really was.or not. Strange things happen during the year. Last year at this time I don't think anyone would have predicted the emergence of Bo Nix or the excellence of Denver's D, much less a playoff appearance. And some teams, expected to do very well, will fall short due to expectations that were too high, devastating injuries, or just plain ol' luck - good and bad.

I'm really looking forward to this season. Well that's true every year. I'm interested to see where this offense can go with a hopefully healthy Love and some new and intriguing weapons (Golden, Kraft's ascendancy). Should be fun. Buckle up.

 

[OldSchool101]

I was just scrolling through a still-frame montage in JS sports of the Packers and who/when/where they play this year. The schedule is brutal, especially for a 3rd-place finish in the North. The last three games are Bears (road), Ravens (home), and Vikings (road).

There are precious few gimmes in this schedule. I actually prefer it. Let's see what these guys are made of.

It’s absolutely a brutal schedule.
I think the team that is suited best for this type schedule is the team that has the least number of changes.

In the North I think it’s Detroit and GB.
Partly because GB has more talent at OL + and added some nice chess pieces for weapons. I suspect we will bully teams in the Run game as it’s probable that we get 3 upgrades with Belton, Morgan and Jenkins. Banks is average Pass protect but he’s a Class A Run blocker. Jacobs will no longer rank #32 in yards before contact. He was making chicken salad out of chicken poo against a largely inferior run block unit.

Dan Campbell should be feared (respect) until proven otherwise. Detroit makes me uncomfortable which tells me my gut says they are still very good. However it just might help that they come to GB week 1 and any help we can get is welcomed.

 

[OldSchool101]

I’ve got GB starting 7-3 if we Win
week 1. 6-4 off an 0-1 start. Our bottom I have is 5-5 but ascending.
The last 7 games will be a an absolute battle. Regardless of McCarthy starting the Vikings are coached well. Plus the Bears should be closing the gap a little.
Vikings, @Lions, Bears, @Broncos, @Bears, Ravens, @Vikings.

For those of us that don’t track the AFC as closely. The Denver D was amazing last year. (#2 Rush per attempt #2 Pass per attempt) That Denver will be a test. They picked up LB Dre Greenlaw S Tanoa Hufanga and drafted CB Jahdae Barron, signed Saivion Jones. Then plugged RB Harvey in Day2, WR Pat Bryant all those inside the Top 101. Those could all be weaponized as the season rolls. Plus Bo Nix looked great at QB overall and is now in his 2nd year. Denver is a team to keep an eye on, they could very well make a deep playoff push.

 

[Heyjoe4]

I’ve got GB starting 7-3 if we Win
week 1. 6-4 off an 0-1 start. Our bottom I have is 5-5 but ascending.
The last 7 games will be a an absolute battle. Regardless of McCarthy starting the Vikings are coached well. Plus the Bears should be closing the gap a little.
Vikings, @Lions, Bears, @Broncos, @Bears, Ravens, @Vikings.

For those of us that don’t track the AFC as closely. The Denver D was amazing last year. (#2 Rush per attempt #2 Pass per attempt) That Denver will be a test. They picked up LB Dre Greenlaw S Tanoa Hufanga and drafted CB Jahdae Barron, signed Saivion Jones. Then plugged RB Harvey in Day2, WR Pat Bryant all those inside the Top 101. Those could all be weaponized as the season rolls. Plus Bo Nix looked great at QB overall and is now in his 2nd year. Denver is a team to keep an eye on, they could very well make a deep playoff push.

It's probably gonna take 11 wins to get a wild card spot. I hope they win more, but given the schedule, would be happy with 11 wins and a playoff spot. I don't care where the wins come from as long as three include the Lions, Queens, and Bears.

 

[Krabs]

I'm going with 10-7.
DET L
WAS W
CLE W
DAL W
CIN W
ARI W
PIT L
CAR W
PHI L
GIA W
MN W
DET L
CHI W
DEN L
CHI W
BAL L
MN L

I'm guessing a first round bound in the wildcard round too. Hoping I'm wrong and the moves they made fixed some weaknesses.

 

[John Carran]

Love had a serious sophomore slump! Solve a few of his issues and this team goes deep into the playoffs…maybe all the way!

 

[Calebs Revenge]

Looking at yawls schedule, I mean everybody in the north has a difficult schedule, but y'all is a murderer row six out of the last seven and even Denver could be tough so maybe seven out of seven or just could go either way.....

 

[Calebs Revenge]

If Jaire can stay healthy.....and play at 85% of his best play when healthy for 14 games.....but has to be the last 5....
G.B. Makes playoffs.

Everybody thinks Detroit is going to be so good again, but I think losing Ben Johnson is going to hurt more than they realize and also it was a brutal loss in the NFC championship game for da Lions......and some teams have hangovers I mean look at what happens to almost every team that loses the Super Bowl. They're just emotionally drained and they suck the next year.
I'm just super excited because this season I think it's gonna be one of the most competitive the NFC North has ever seen and I can easily see all of us beating up on each other and going three and three in the division........every single team...... and if someone breaks away, they're gonna win the division!

 

[Calebs Revenge]

We are all dangerous in our own ways......
If JJ plays lights out............
If Caleb gets better.........
If Jordan goes nuts.........
If da Lions offense only gets better.......

And what if all of that is the case?
God, I can't wait for this season........

 

[rmontro]

Everybody thinks Detroit is going to be so good again, but I think losing Ben Johnson is going to hurt more than they realize and also it was a brutal loss in the NFC championship game for da Lions.

It's worse than you say. The Washington Football Team Redskins Commanders beat them in the divisional round. The Lions didn't even make it to the NFC Championship Game. Anyway, if they go down the tubes, no one will be happier than I.

 

[Calebs Revenge]

Thanks for correction.
Divisional loss......but still brutal

 

[milani]

Looking at yawls schedule, I mean everybody in the north has a difficult schedule, but y'all is a murderer row six out of the last seven and even Denver could be tough so maybe seven out of seven or just could go either way.....

The beginning and 6 of 7 is not so pretty either.

 

[Calebs Revenge]

Whoever wins, the division is definitely gonna have to earn it and then the playoffs are just gonna be freaking awesome. I think because there's a lot of good teams so we should see some good football.

 

[milani]

Whoever wins, the division is definitely gonna have to earn it and then the playoffs are just gonna be freaking awesome. I think because there's a lot of good teams so we should see some good football.

The Eagles SB performance last season makes them the scariest team in the league right now. You hope to catch them when they are not at their best.

 

[OldSchool101]

The Eagles did lose several good players. DT Milton Williams signed with the Patriots $26mil annual. Josh Sweat was traded out and signed with Arizona at $19m yearly.
Those are 2 dynamic players that left.

The Chargers stole away RG Mekhi Bekton also ON A $10mil annual deal. So Philly signed Matt Pryor from Chicago. Hardly an upgrade on a $1.3M annual deal. That’s the price you pay when you spend your *** retaining your best players. Extended Barkley and Lane Johnson and resigned Goedert at TE. That’s doing everything possible to keep the band together. Sweat played great for them last year that alone is a blow.

Safety Chauncey Gardner Johnson Jr. and CB Isaiah Rogers both signed 9M and $5.5mil annual deals elsewhere. LB Oren Burks went to Cleveland on a modest 2.5mil deal and I’ll give Philly an upgrade with #31 overall Jiihad Campbell at LB over Oren Burks. But honestly Burks has been playing solid and he’s not some Rookie he’s a veteran LB now. Maybe a slight upgrade at LB in 2025, but I doubt it’s that much better.
Then Philly Drafted Andrew Makuba at Safety at the close of RD2. I highly doubt he outplays Gardner Johnson’s loss this season. That’s a hard sell anyway.
Who’s replacing Sweats 60% snap count??? Ojulari? I’m not saying he’s awful but he’s not Josh Sweat not even close imo. Edge took a hit. CB took a hit. Safety took a hit. OG took a hit. I’m not suggesting they’ll fall apart but those cumulative losses outweigh their gains and it’s really not close.

 

[OldSchool101]

Chicago added the most personnel. By far and away they just went after it in FA and did a nice job in the draft. Love the trade back in Day 2 that was a very smart move. That said Chicago also has the most to prove. It’s also not easy to go explode overnight from a 5 Win season. One thing I’ve learned in this league is it takes more than 1 Coach to only Win 5 games. It takes a community of problems. Once there’s a tangle it takes patience to untangle the knots. It’s too much to ask them to flip to a SB caliber team over an evening. Not impossible but highly improbable. 2026? Ok maybe. 2027 sure. Not to mention I think our Division has a brutal schedule strength. That favors the experienced teams.

 

[OldSchool101]

Looking at GB post draft and with positive news on Alexander. Which positions group is definitively going to be worse?

I don’t see one. If I’m playing Super Devils Advocate, I see at most a slight tick back at LB or DT only to unknowns with personnel changes (Wilson m/Slaton). That said the Packers didn’t ignore those positions either. GB didn’t add 1 LB, they added former native Kristian Welch, who was a standout in Preseason last year and had a stint with Baltimore. Then we signed Isaiah Simmons from FA and 5th Rounder, Colin Oliver through the Draft. Let’s not ignore we still have Hopper in the shadows from Round 3 last year. The Packers have options at LB (6). Should be an interesting Roster battle at LB. Plus Edgerrin was twice DPOWeek and finished 6th in Rookie voting in just 500 snaps. Once he got healthy he was part of a D group that stifled teams down the stretch. The Packers held Barkley to 4.65 yards per carry. That would rank as Barkley 6th lowest total across 21 contests in a historical season.

At DL we drafted TWO Georgia DT’s
A 6th Rounder with 5th Year Senior Warren Brinson plus a highly sought after UDFA Interior plugger in Stackhouse. Add that GB quietly signed one of the better DL coaches in the NFL away from The Patriots.

 

[gopkrs]

The east looks to be a very tough division. Washington has done a lot and were already dangerous. And Dallas looks to be better. They should, like The North, be beating up on each other. We have a tough row to *** but I believe like most everyone here, that we're going to be good. Maybe very good.

 

[OldSchool101]

The east looks to be a very tough division. Washington has done a lot and were already dangerous. And Dallas looks to be better. They should, like The North, be beating up on each other. We have a tough row to *** but I believe like most everyone here, that we're going to be good. Maybe very good.

What’s forgotten is GB had a tougher schedule last year also. In real time we constantly ranked as one of toughest SOS of contending teams. Off memory we floated around #4-5 toughest schedule across 14 playoff teams. That’s not an excuse, it’s compliment. Philly scored 22 points on us at Philly and we had to help them with the first TD. If you recall, We spotted Philadelphia a TD in PLAY #1. We could argue we should’ve held. Ok then let’s say we’re perfection. They get a FG? Then they scored 15 points across 4 Quarters??? At home? It was our O that sputtered and we just got better at Offense and Philly lost a starting iDT and DE, plus a starting Safety that all signed $10m + elsewhere.

Philly is not better. Detroit is not better. Vikings are not better. Quite a few teams are at minimum a tick lower than 2024. Would we rather play the 2024 Vikings Lions or the 2025 version? That’s 4 of our games before even looking outside

 

[OldSchool101]

We can’t control our opponent until we get on the field. Only thing we can do is better ourselves. Dallas doesn’t worry me until they give us reason. If anything Dallas should be very concerned about GB coming to town.

GB is net Positive at these positions
WR+
TE+
RB+
OL+
Edge +
Kicker+

On paper we look like a 10-13 Win team in a tougher Division. Yet I think we will fair better in the North in 2025 and I’d put $$ on that statement.