2008 NFL Expert Picks, Predictions and Fantasy Football Notes - NFC North

By: FantasyFootballGoat.com

One of the things I have enjoyed the most - as I have been going division to division offering up my early bird analysis - is reading your comments and hearing your assessment of the teams and divisions. You are educating me and helping me stay sharp. Just wanted to thank you for that.

For today’s post I am going to take on the division that is near and dear to my heart, the NFC North. Why is it near and dear you ask? Well my beloved Vikings are a part of this division.

I am going to look at this as objectively as possible BUT as you can imagine, it is almost impossible to write this without some sort of bias.

While on one hand I may overvalue my team in one category, on the other I am just as afraid of giving them to good of a grade and jinxing them. I am a bit superstitious when it comes to the Vikes to years and years of shattered expectations. They are usually better than expected or worse than expected. I will do my best but feel free to keep me honest.

With that out of the way lets do it. Here are my thoughts on the NFC - and in the words of ESPN’s Chris Berman - Norse;

2008 NFC North Final Standings:

1) Green Bay Packers

2) Minnesota Vikings

3) Chicago Bears

4) Detriot Lions

Thoughts:

Although it is tempting to go Minnesota now that Jared Allen is wearing purple, but I will stick with the Packers (hopefully I am wrong). Basically my choice for division winner comes down to the quarterback. Although it is hard to put all my chips on Aaron Rodgers it is even harder to put my chips on Tavaris Jackson. Both teams have top ten defenses, exceptional o-lines and top shelf play makers on offense.

The Bear offense is a huge question mark - and that’s being nice. The defense started to show some vulnerability because the offense stinks. That only leaves them with Devon Hester and unfortunately he can’t do it all.

I wanna put Detroit in the three spot but I’ve bet on them in the past and they just seem to find a way to blow it no matter how good they look on paper.

Fantasy Notes:

Can Aaron Rodgers pick up where Favre left off? All that we really know about Rodgers is what we saw in the Cowboys game last year. What he does in the pre-season will go a long way in determining where he - and his supporting cast - will go in a fantasy draft. Seeing as how it will be an unknown there could be some good value here.

The acquisition of DE Jared Allen easily makes the Vikings defense a top ten fantasy defense (hell, you could make a pretty case for top five). Teamed with two pro bowl tackles, the pressure this line should be able to create will create multiple opportunities to get sacks and create turnovers. I am betting they will command a pretty high draft position in your fantasy draft.

The Bears defense and Devon Hester are about the only stories here. Chicago’s offense is such a huge question mark it is hard to pin point any fantasy value. However, everyone will be flying way under the radar - for good reason - and in my 18 years of experience, these are the types of situations that usually harbor good value. Keep an eye on the draft, the remainder of free agency and training camp.

With Martz gone I get the feeling that Marinelli will take the offense into more of ball control style offense (if they can play defense… stay tuned). That will devalue Kitna and the receiving corps a bit but could provide an opportunity for a running back.

Kevin Jones is gone and Tatum Bell couldn’t seem to get it going. The Lions are rumored to be looking running back in the first round and could get one of the blue chippers. A young stud could make some noise here.

That’s it for the North. I’ll be back in a week or so with my thoughts on the NFC South. The draft will be complete at that point so it should be interesting to see how that impacts my selections. For the record I am thinking Saints BUT like I said, we’ll see how the draft pans out. See you next time.

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Corey Koehler is a blogger, podcaster and NFL fantasy football freak. He thanks you for reading his article and invites you to stop by and check out his Fantasy Football Blog at FantasyFootballGoat.com. There you will find more of the valuable NFL and fantasy football information seen here. Also, make sure you don't miss another post by Corey - or his team of fantasy geniuses - by subscribing to his all of his content for the very low price of FREE. You can subscribe to The Fantasy Football Goat by email and have this stuff in your inbox seconds after I post it or you can subscribe in your feed reader or on your home page. Either way you get the info fast and easy. Don't understand this whole subscribing thing? Check out this short video on RSS. See you at the top!

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2 Comments

  1. Curious on your thoughts concerning which NFC North team had the best draft?

    Comment by Brian Roach on April 27, 2008

  2. Hey Brian,

    Thanks for stopping and sorry it took so long for a reply.

    Here’s my answer, off the top of my head.

    Overall I think they all did pretty well addressing their needs and I’ll call it a tie between two teams. Considering the history in the draft, the Lions did well by addressing their oline, their defense and by getting a solid running back who I hear should be starting for them opening day and could be a stud.

    Next I am happy with what the Vikes did. Other than swinging the Jared Allen deal and addressing their biggest need, they snagged what some thought was the best safety in the draft. This will give their already solid d depth and versatility in the secondary. They also picked up what i think is a solid quarterback from a solid program and a decent center to study under the aging Birk.

    From that alone I don’t think it would be a stretch to adjust my rankings above BUT for now I will keep it this way for the reasons outlined above - Lions letdown and Vikes QB concerns.

    Thanks again,
    Corey

    Comment by Corey K on May 1, 2008

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