1. Green Bay Packers
Although they appear to be sliding back to the pack (no pun intended), the Packers are still the class of the division. Brett Favre still has a lot of good football in him, and as long as he stays on the field, the Packers will be contenders for the division title. The future hall of fame quarterback has a nice collection of weapons to choose from, although they really need either Robert Ferguson or Javon Walker to develop into a quality No. 2 receiver. The Packers running game should be very potent with Ahman Green and Najeh Davenport in the backfield, and the addition of tight end Wesley Walls should provide Favre with a good target over the middle.
Green Bay may have slipped a bit on the defensive side of the ball, and they may have a tough time stopping the run up the middle. Defensive tackle Gilbert Brown is showing his toughness by playing with a torn bicep muscle, and he played well in the preseason, but his durability has to be a concern. It’s still unclear how much he’ll be able to use his injured arm, or whether he will be able to reach out with it to grab running backs as they attempt to get by him. If Brown misses significant time this year, it will be interesting to see how well undersized rookie middle linebacker Nick Barnett handles the 300-pound linemen Brown normally ties up..
Bottom Line: The Packers will probably win this division by default, but I don’t think they have the defense to compete with teams like Tampa Bay and Philadelphia come playoff time.
2. Minnesota Vikings
The Vikings are a team that could jump to the next level, but they are far from being without problems. Which Daunte Culpepper will show up? If he continues to be the turnover machine of the past two years, the Vikings will be lucky to win six games. If he cuts down on the dumb mistakes, Minnesota could challenge for the division title. Wide receiver Randy Moss appears ready for a big year, having worked hard in the off-season. He has put on about 10 pounds of muscle and should be even harder to handle, which is a scary thought for cornerbacks around the league.
Minnesota is still very suspect on defense, especially in the secondary. Cornerback Denard Walker and weak side linebacker Chris Claiborne were nice additions, but the defense will probably still be inconsistent at best. Special teams could also be a problem unless several young players come through.
Bottom Line: This team has a lot of talent, but they need too many things to go right to take the division. I think their defense is improved, but probably still below average. The Vikings also have to be concerned with producing a consistent rushing attack without their No. 1 back for most of the season.
3. Chicago Bears
The Bears enter the NFL season looking a lot different than the team that was decimated by injuries in 2002. Eleven players ended the season on injured reserve and 47 different players started a game last year. Only five started all 16 games. So you can’t blame the Bears for being optimistic about their chances in 2003 now that they are relatively healthy.
