Green Bay Packers Five Downs: Offseason edition with the Side Lion Report
By Josh McPeak
Dairyland Express: Please give us your NFC North standings at season’s end and a brief description of why each team finished where they did.
Side Lion Report: I think it will be a tight year.
(11-5) The Vikings are the best top-to-bottom team, especially on defense. Cousins is a legitimate starter but doesn’t produce that much better stats than Case Keenum who played out of his mind last year. Back down to Earth, but still win the division. They win one game in the postseason, and just don’t have the magic of 2017.
(10-6) The Lions defense improves, the run game shows some life for a change, but in the end the Lions still have work to do on defense and in the ground game. They make the playoffs, though, and win their first playoff game since 1992.
(9-7) The Packers get Rodgers back, he plays 14 games, but a lack of run game and defensive pressure doom their young secondary in key games. They just miss the playoffs
(7-9) The Bears continue to play good defense, but their passing game is still a work in progress as Mitchell Trubisky learns to be a pro quarterback on the job. His touchdowns go up, but so do his interceptions. Their run game continues to offer some consistency for their young passer, though. They’re getting better but face uphill battles against the division’s best playmakers.