Vikings best in NFC North after Favre retirement?

After Brett Favre announced his retirement this morning, it got me thinking what the state of the Packers would be for this upcoming season. After a stunning 13-3 season in which Favre threw for 4,155 yards and 28 TD's, Green Bay will be thrusting career backup Aaron Rodgers into the spotlight. Rodgers, who has played in a grand total of 7 NFL games, was drafted out of Cal in the first round of the 2005 draft to serve as the eventual replacement for Favre. After sitting on the bench for 3 full seasons, Rodgers is going to have to show he has the stuff to succeed one of the best there ever was. Although Green Bay has many intrical parts returning from a season in which they won 13 games and lost in the playoffs to the eventual Super Bowl champion New York Giants, I still believe that with the Packers losing their most important piece, the NFC North title is now the Minnesota Vikings for the taking.

Now I'll be the first to admit, the NFC North is definitely not a strong division. We have the up-and-down Packers, the underachieving Vikings, the "one more shot for Rex Grossman" Bears, and the Matt Millen-run Lions. Realistically any of these four teams could easily get lucky and take this division. But after the upgrades the Vikings made and the subsequent loss of Favre to the Packers, the Vikings look to be able to capture their first division title since 2000. The Packers are definitely still a solid team with receivers like Greg Jennings and Donald Driver, Defensive Ends like Aaron Kampman and Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila, and a decent kicker in Mason Crosby. Looking at it realistically though, the Packers will have growing pains this season. With a big shakeup in the NFC North, here is how I think the division will turn out this year:

1st Place: Minnesota Vikings (12-4)-After a rash of seasons in which the Vikings were second in the division, this is the year they finally break out of that funk. With recent upgrades in the secondary (Madieu Williams) and receiving units (Bernard Berrian), the Vikings are already a step-up from last year when they finished 8-8. The Vikings Defensive End position is a little shaky right now with Kenechi Udeze out of the picture, but they will either find someone to fill that gap through free agency or use their 17th overall pick to take one of the many good DE's out there. If Tarvaris Jackson can improve from last year and learn to handle pressure, the Vikings will be a team with some force come end of the season.

2nd Place: Green Bay Packers (7-9)-Not many people saw last season coming for the Packers. With a revitalized Brett Favre and a young receiving corps ready to go, the Pack came out shooting and finished with a 13-3 record and a first round playoff win. After a 2006 season in which Favre threw for only 18 TD's and 18 interceptions, 2007 was a nice surprise for Packers fans. It is tough to tell how the Packers really will be this year with Rodgers stepping in, but I don't think it will be pretty. Although still an all-around solid team, I don't believe that with an inexperienced QB the Packers can keep riding the wave from last season.

3rd Place: Chicago Bears (6-10)-The Bears definitely have a tough schedule coming up in 2008, and with Rex Grossman taking snaps, I don't see this team making any difference in the division. Now that the Bears have traded their backup in Brian Griese, if Rex struggles (and of course he will), what are the Bears going to do? It's a good sign that Chicago was able to re-up Lance Briggs to a 6 year contract, but the defense will not be much improved over last season. And with the loss of Muhsin Muhammad to the Panthers and Bernard Berrian, their top receiver, to the Vikings, even when Grossman throws the ball, there will be no one there to catch it. Good luck this season Bears, you're definitely going to need it.

4th Place: Detroit Lions (4-12)-I don't even really know what to say about these guys. It's admirable they try, and last season was fun to watch, but let's be honest, this is not a team that is going to compete. Sure Jon Kitna is a solid quarterback, and eventually Calvin Johnson will turn into something special, but outside of that the only really good player they have is their kicker, Jason Hanson. The Lions fell off the radar even more when they traded Shaun Rogers, a defensive tackle who had 7 sacks last year, to the Cleveland Browns. Leigh Bodden, a defensive back they got from the trade, is a good player, but in the grand scheme of things, they have so much more to correct it won't help them too much. I do hope the Lions can pull off some upsets this year, but if they start off slow next season, they will fall quickly.

Let's keep in mind that this is early in the offseason, players will still be traded and picked up, but this is my early impression of how things will go. Good luck in retirement Brett, I'll miss watching you throw the ball like you're still in your 20's.