Around the NFL: NFC North

i dont see how you guys are picking GB over the vikes... yeah favre, but they lost 2 Olinemen, their RB fumbles a bit and their defense got WORSE not better.

Vikings 10-6: A team full of guys looking to prove something. Culpepper wants to show he's the reason for Moss's success and not the other way around. Bennett wants to stay healthy and contribute. Smoot always plays with a chip on his shoulders. Burleson wants to show he's the man at WR and that they don't need Moss to win. Overall a better team this year than last with a much improved Defense and a better team feel (thanks to Moss's departure).

Packers 9-7: The loss of two starting pro-bowl caliber guards takes its toll on a once mighty offensive line. Favre and Green struggle as a result. One of the top 2 or 3 WR corps. in the league, but too much to overcome on defense to keep the Packers rolling through the NFC North.

Lions 8-8: Gotta love Kevin Jones and a great, young WR corp. Still skeptical about the defense and the QB. QB controversey plagues them throughout the year and they miss the playoffs even with one of the most talented offenses in the league.

Bears 4-12: The defense is the only thing that keeps the Bears from snagging next year's #1 draft pick away from either the Browns or Titans. Without Grossman (and maybe even with him), this team stuggles on offense (even with two very strong RBs). They will only start seeing some of their 4 wins after realizing they need to name Kyle Orton as the starter. Mushin Muhammad hangs himself at season's end after suffering the single greatest dropoff in production over one year for a WR in the history of the NFL and realizing that there really is more to football than money. Darkhorse prediction: Benson finds a way to get himself suspended for at least a few games in his rookie year.

i dont see how you guys are picking GB over the vikes... yeah favre, but they lost 2 Olinemen, their RB fumbles a bit and their defense got WORSE not better.
they added Jim Bates who is one of the top defensive coordinators

Uh-oh.
You said it bro. Soon you'll love Spurrier as much as me!

they added Jim Bates who is one of the top defensive coordinators

That's exactly why I think they'll be improved.

they added Jim Bates who is one of the top defensive coordinators

we'll see, i think the players were the bigger problem, KC switched DCs last offseason and wound up with absolutely no improvement.

Vikings: 11-5: They'll do enough to win the division but I'm still making the bold prediction that next year the Vikings coach will be none other than Maryland's Ralph Friedgen

Lions: 9-7: It's do or die for Joey Harrington this year. No more excuses

Packers: 7-9: Some off-field questions surrounding Ahman Green. The team won four games on last second field goals last year. If they lose just two of them that's an 8-8 team. Nothing too spectacular. I just don't want to see Favre play longer than he should.

Bears: 6-10: The defense will help the team win about 4 games and they'll be lucky to take a couple more elsewhere

Vikings: 10-6, I really really like what they did defensivley. It remains to be seen how they will do on offense. They have one of the leagues best at QB, but no real running threat and we'll see how the reciving game is w/o Moss. Still, I think their defense has been upgraded bigtime and their offense will still be decent, so they will win a weak division.

GB Packers: 7-9. For Favre's sake, I really hope they do better than this. However, this is a team in decline. They lost some key interior olinemen, a couple of good secondary guys, and as much as I love Favre, he's not the same anymore.

Detriot Lions:7-9. If the preseason game they played against the Rams is any indication, they are going to have a long, long season. Their offensive line is just horrible, and Joey Harrington wont even have time to throw the ball to his reciving corps. I still think they are better than the Bears.

Chicago Bears: 3-13. You almost have to feel for Beras fans. Every year they have at least some hope, that seems to be taken away almost immediatley. 3-13 might be kind of harsh, but their offense is going to be horrible in my opinion. They still have an ok defense, so that should keep them in alot of games.