With the Packers, Bears, and Vikings all tied for the NFC North lead at 5-5, the season has really just begun for these three teams. With only six games remaining and almost definitely only one playoff spot to be had, this is sure to be an exciting and desperate race to the playoffs. Who is the real contender and who are the pretenders?

If we are to talk about defense I'm sure many would defer the argument to the Vikings. The Williams brothers are a force in the middle and Jared Allen has once again become dominant on the end. The linebacker position has also become a strength with the blitzing Leber, the athletic and rangy Henderson (who's now injured but replaced by the equally rangy Chad Greenway), and the always (somewhat?) reliable Napoleon Harris. The secondary has played better than last year, but can be considered a weakness and exploited. The hailed savior of the secondary, Madieu Williams, has been a constant on the injury report and somewhat of a disappointment. On the offense the Viking's passing game is still in neutral. After switching the disappointing Tavaris Jackson with the veteran Gus Frerotte the Vikes had hoped to kickstart the offense, but Gus is not a dynamic QB, he's a manager who can be exposed. The real danger on the Viking's offense is the running backs. I could go on all day about All-Day, but Chester Taylor is no joke either. Whether he's running in relief of Peterson or catching out of the backfield, Taylor is a real threat.

On the side of a reliable offense the Bears have been a surprising treat for Chicago fans. Before he was injured, Kyle Orton was a steady standout on offense, a leader even. He has proven to have the smarts and the even keeled leadership that the Bears have missed for such a long time. In addition to these intagibles, Orton's arm strength has been much stronger than many would have guessed. Chicago has found a QB that not only manages, but finds a way to win. Matt Forte has been a real threat in the running game. The rookie has already run for over 1000 yards in ten games. Trust me, Bears fans have forgotten the bust that was Benson. The Bears defense has also been surprising, but in a bad way. Many, including myself, expected the Bears defense to be force this season. And in some ways it has, forcing 22 turnovers so far this season. But they have allowed far too many yards in the air, and while their run defense has been solid the Packers showed they can be ran on.

When it comes to overall balance the Packers are probably the team that best describes that term of the three teams. The pass defense has been outstanding. Charles. Nick. Tramon. Al. These names could all be mentioned as All-Pro. The offensive and defensive lines have had their poor games, but they have also had good games. Consistency down the stretch is big factor for those playing in the trenches. Reducing penalties could also be a factor as the Packers lead the league in penalties and penalty yardage. Aaron has been steady throwing 15 TDs to only 6 INTs, and the Packer's receivers are still the best in the league. Ryan Grant has been steadily improving which is big plus as the cold weather settles, and of course to take pressure off of the passing game.
The Packers biggest flaws have been in defending the run and in committing to running the ball and yet in their most recent game against the Bears we have seen great improvement in those categories. If they can continue to improve in those categories as the cold weather continues the Packers could be playing football in January.

Good breakdown.

The Bears are not as scary as the Vikings in my opinion. I think the viqueen game at Jacksonville is going to be crucial to determining the winner of the division as their schedule seems to open up a little after that game. At Arizona is a tough game but besides that the Vikings schedule is not too difficult (especially since the Giants won't be playing for anything at the end of the season). The Packers can score which gives them a chance in all their remaining games and if the defense continues to show up I see a 10-6 final record as being realistic. Both the Bears and Vikings are challenged offensively and if a team can shut down Peterson I don't see Frerotte being able to win a game by himself. Consistency is the key for Green Bay.

MIN @ ARI

Damn that brings back fond memories!!!!

I remember like yesterday, when that Arizona touchdown was scored. WTMJ switched over the feed to the Vikings Radio Network for the final play by play. "NO, NO, NO, NOOOOOOO" to paraphrase. It was great

Why paraphrase. I have it bookmarked.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l_wfYAGosi4

LMAO..Bravo Sir....Bra-vo to you!

I will never forget that game

It really is a new season. Six games. Two of those are division games, and if they win them both and finish 5-1 in the division that will be a pretty good tiebreaker.

Well, at this point, a lot will depend on the schedule--and at this point we should have a good feel for the remaining opponents, so here is the side-by-side schedules the rest of the way:




Nobody has any REALLY tough games left. Maybe the Packers with Carolina and MN with the Giants, but the Giants may very well take that week off. So, the division may go to whoever screws up the least. And whoever can win the two big inter-division games remaing.

And everyone has 3 home games, 3 away games left.

I hate that DET is the last game for us too. If they are 0-15, they might have something to prove.

The Vikings have it nice that they don't have any non-Sunday games left so they can kind of get in a rhythm.

The Giants will rip the Vikings heads off if it meant another win. Coughlin has those guys hungry and they have way, way too much pride. He starts his starters and they play the whole time.

I agree. Last season the last game of the year meant nothing for the Giants as well. They had their spot locked up I believe. They went out there for pride and that game against the Pats carried them.

I think you'll see the same thing this year. That O-line of theirs and Jacobs, they're going to want to send a message.

The Viking alway go on too self destruction mode at year end. I can see easily 3 loss ahead for the Viks (Ari, Giants, Alt and/or can you say the D-bears. The pack has their destiny in their hands, all they got too do is get-it-done! They've got all the weapons available and required for success!

This excerpt is from a Tom Silverstein article, "Bulldozing a level divisional field":

The Packers weren't sold on it being a new season, but rather a continuation of one they feel has not been as poor as their record. Their last three losses have been by a combined seven points, and their margin of defeat for the entire season is an average of six points.

They still feel they can control their fate.

"We've always taken that mentality - we're the champions until somebody takes it (from) us," running back Ryan Grant said. "I think we need to take that approach, but I think we also need to earn our wins. The way guys came out today, we just stepped it up across the board in every phase of the game.

"We need to keep that mentality. Like I said, the mentality we had coming into this game was kind of an all-or-nothing. We need to keep that approach throughout these next six."


Here is the complete article: http://www.jsonline.com/sports/packers/34564689.html

I like it, I like it...the race begins!

I'm feeling pretty good about the rest of the season... Even though there's a 3-way tie, I feel like the Pack still has the upper hand. It feels like GB has been underacheiving, and the Bears and Vikes have been over-acheiving... in other words, the Pack has more potential... they're a lucky break or two away from being 7-3, with their last two losses coming in the last seconds of the game. They seem to be gaining momentum, while Chicago and Minny seem to be on the downswing. I'd be disappointed with a 9-7 record, and I think its very possible they could win out the rest of the way for an 11-5 record and a shot at a 1st round bye.

On the other hand if they come to that game 1-14 or 2-13, it'll be a cakewalk.

I had some time to sit down and study this and one thing that I don't like is CHI schedule.

Sun, Dec 07 JAC @ CHI

Thu, Dec 11 NO @ CHI

Mon, Dec 22 GB @ CHI

Three home games in a row (which IMO no team should ever have 3 in a row home or away) and a 10 day break between the time they play NO on Thursday and us on the next Monday. I think this game will decide the division unless somebody blunders. They will be rested and we will be coming off a road game in Florida.

If you can't beat a team that was so bad that no one in the entire season lost to them, with your playoff lives on the line...then you don't deserve to be in the playoffs.

What about now? Do you still think the Packers still have a good chance to win the division? It seems the Bears schedule is much more favorable now . . .

Whoever wins the division I don't see them going very far.

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