Who should be favored in the NFC North?

By Jonathan Mohr  |   Thursday, June 12, 2008  |  Comments( 14 )

Minnesota Vikings
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One first, two seconds and a third: Those weren’t the numbers many Minnesota Vikings fans were expecting as some of the leading preseason prognosticators published their predictions this week for the 2008 order of finish in the NFC North.

Only one publication, Lindy’s, has Minnesota finishing first in its division, while The Sporting News actually has the Vikings ending third, behind both Green Bay and Chicago. Pro Football Weekly and Athlon Sports both say the Vikings will be second, trailing only Green Bay.

Pro Football Weekly goes on to predict the Vikings will finish with the same 8-8 record as last season, while The Sporting News believes all of Minnesota’s offseason wheeling and dealing will add up to a 9-7 year.

Vikings owner Zygi Wilf will be thrilled to learn that the tens of millions of dollars he’s invested in free agents over the last 120 days have bought his team that extra victory.

With all the noise the Vikings have made this offseason, and the relative quiet in Green Bay, it’s easy to forget that the Packers did finish 2007 with a 13-3 record and nearly went to the Super Bowl.

That said, when the only major change a team makes during the offseason is the loss of its heart and soul, it’s hard to imagine there won’t be a lasting impact. Combine that with the hard work the Vikings have done to shore up almost every major area of weakness, and it’s difficult to begrudge the Purple Nation its optimism.

An NFC North title doesn’t seem an unreasonable goal.

Were the Vikings able to field a proven quarterback, it’s likely they would have more respect nationally. And quarterback is an area of justifiable concern. But are the Packers really in any better shape than the Vikings at that position anymore?

Aaron Rodgers has never started a game in the NFL and appeared in only seven. He has attempted 28 passes, Tarvaris Jackson has thrown 375. That doesn’t make Jackson a grizzled veteran, but it does mean he’s more seasoned than Rodgers; let’s face it, though, the jury’s still out on both of them.

If you remove quarterback from the mix, it’s hard to see many areas where the Packers have the Vikings beat in terms of talent. Green Bay’s receiving corps is probably better -- even with Minnesota’s addition of Bernard Berrian -- given the Vikings' lack of tight end production. But the Packers can’t equal the one-two punch of Adrian Peterson and Chester Taylor in the backfield.

Defensively, Minnesota has overhauled one of its weakest positions by adding three new safeties: Madieu Williams, Michael Boulware and promising rookie Tyrell Johnson. Minnesota's porous pass defense should also benefit from the presence of Jared Allen, a rusher extraordinaire whom the team acquired in the offseason.

Add an improved pass defense to a run 'D' that was one of the best in team history and the gap between the Packers and the Vikings on that side of the ball would seem negligible as well.

Of course, there are special teams, coaching, strength of schedule and other factors to consider, too. And the Bears and Lions will have something to say about who takes the division, obviously.

But the Vikings will be a better team in 2008 than they were last year. And with Minnesota fans as excited for a season to start as they’ve been in a long time, hearing anyone predict that the hated Packers are once again favored to wear the NFC North crown does not sit well and makes the days drag by even more slowly until that season opener Sept. 8 at Lambeau Field.
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About Jonathan Mohr

A lifelong Vikings fan, I live in the Twin Cities area (about a mile from Winter Park) and work as an editor at a boating magazine. As with all long-suffering Vikings fans, I patiently look forward to the day when Minnesota finally breaks through and wins a Super Bowl. Until then I eat my ...
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