NFC North
The Minnesota Vikings made a splash recently with the signing of Brett Favre. The Vikings have made strides in the past couple season towards being a super bowl contender. Built around a solid defense with the Williams boys up front and Adrian Peterson leading the Vikings offense. The Vikings need to remember this is the way their team was built and to let Favre compliment the run game. This could be a big year for Bernard Berrian to emerge as a big play receiver that will provide excitement for Vikings fans all season. The Vikings go into the season with high expectations and they need to do more than just make the playoffs.
The Green Bay Packers need to make their high-powered offense reflect in the standings. They have one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL, as well as top talents at running back, Ryan Grant, and wide receiver, Greg Jennings. They made additions to solidify their defense although they have yet to sign their top pick BJ Raji. The Packers need to make noise in a competitive division.
The Chicago Bears made noise in the offseason aquiring a pro bowl caliber quarterback in Jay Cutler. Cutler is coming off an impressive statistical season. The concern Bears fans should have is whether or not Cutler can put up the same kind of numbers in an offense with less than stellar receivers as opposed to the talent he had in Denver. This looks to be the breakout season for Greg Olsen. He is the best pass catcher on the team and a strong season from Olsen will help Matt Forte see more running room and open up the deep passing game to Devin Hester. Their defense should be strong like in past years led by Lance Briggs, Brian Urlacher, and Tommie Harris.
Lastly we get to the 0-16 Lions who can win one game and improve over last season. The made steps this offseason to help the future of the franchise. They drafted Matthew Stafford number one overall and drafted a solid pass catching tight end Brandon Pettigrew who has serious upside. Add these guys to Kevin Smith and Calvin Johnson who not only have another year under their belt but are emerging as legit offensive studs. The future is surprisingly bright for this team. It wont be this year but in the next two to three years the Lions could be a legitimate force if Stafford progresses and they keep making smart decisions in the draft and within free agency.
Vikings 11-5
Packers 10-6
Bears 7-9
Lions 3-13
Breakout Player
Kevin Smith emerges to become a solid back that consistently is counted on by the lions and consistently around 100 yards and a touchdown.
Rookie to watch
Percy Harvin will make his presence known to the NFL. He can impact the game in so many ways; his play can make a huge impact on his team.
Brandon Pettigrew is a big, pass catching tight end that will be a vital piece to the Lions offense, no matter who’s at quarterback


and Jason Smith.
He is a guy who the Lions can pencil in for the next 10 years at left tackle and be happy. The Lions can do something similar to what the Dolphins did last year. They can take that offensive lineman, then use a veteran at QB and draft another QB later if your feel Rhett Bohmar or Nate Davis can be the answer. The other solution lies in the other first round pick the Lions have. Offensive tackle is deep this year and the chance to draft a Michael Oher or Eben Britton. The Lions should make this move and draft a tackle with the number 20 pick overall.
He is outstanding athlete that will make strong center piece for the Lions to build their defense around. He was a stand out at Wake Forrest and will continue his progression as he enters the NFL.
Dwight Howard is a top five player that has potential to be a top 3 player and is completely underutilized. He continues to put up solid numbers all season long but when its clutch time in a game, either Hedo Turkoglu or Rashard Lewis are jacking up a three pointer or shooting a fade away to try and win a game. Watching the Magic vs Sixers game one tonight, this could not be more apparent. At halftime the game was close and the Magic were blowing opportunity after opportunity to get Howard a shot within two feet of the hoop. The third quarter showed the power of Dwight Howard especially with the weak front line the Sixers have. The had an 18 point lead and by the end of the fourth quarter Andre Igoudala has a chance to hit a shot at the end of the game. Howard should get the ball with the game on the line unless they need a three at the buzzer. Dwight dunked over Theo Ratliff with no issues and can do this against most other NBA front court players. The only reason that seems to be present is the poor free throw percentage. If that’s the case then maybe Orlando should ask the Lakers and Miami for advice. Shaq is a terrible free throw shooter that got the ball in late game situation and no team could stop him. Howard has the same potential to dominate games as Shaq did. The question then becomes wether or not Howard has the killer instinct. If that is the case then the Magic need to make a move to get a end of game scorer that can take over a game.
In the drama that is the Broncos offseason, Jay Cutler has received his wish and has been traded. The Broncos asked for 2 first round picks in exchange for Cutler and the Chicago Bears stepped up to the plate. The Broncos will recieve a first round pick this year and next as well as a third round pick and Kyle Orton who made strides last year and was a productive Quarterback. This trade makes both teams better. The Bears desperately need a QB and the Broncos can use the picks and Orton to build with new coach Josh McDaniels.
start a NBA franchise today, what player do you build your franchise. The hosts decided to take LeBron James out of the equation, both feeling that he was the clear cut favorite. There discussion came down to either Chris Paul or Dwight Howard. Based on these parameters i will start there. The key idea is to decide if you want to build around a guy who will have the ball around 80% of the time on offense vs a guy who can score, rebound and dominate on both ends of the court. Having a guy who controls the pace of the game, make other players better and be a floor leader is much more important to me that a guy who can score, rebound, and block shots. I feel like i can get a Sam Dalembert or Erick Dampier to block shots, rebound and control the paint. To find a Chris Paul is much harder to do. That said starting today i would choose Dwyane Wade over any player including Lebron James. D Wade has already won a championship. Granted it was with Shaq but D Wade carried that team in the finals, and had them one step away the year before with Lamar Odom and Caron Butler as his key weapons. I think Wade can lead a team, make players better and score at will with the game on the line. Wade is a close second to Kobe in key shots at the end of games and is right there with Steve Nash and Chris Paul distributing the ball. Some people may ask why the Heat are so terrible now then. The answer is in his teammates. He is working with some over the hill players, NBDLers, and rookies. If you put Wade in New Orleans or Toronto with Chris Bosh and they would be right there in there respective divisions.
In one of the most interesting and unforeseen match ups in recent History the Arizona Cardinals will be playing the Pittsburgh Steelers. While the Steelers had looked polished, strong and clearly one of the best teams in the NFL the Cardinals are the exact opposite. Every week seemed to produce a different version of the team. The team that showed up for the playoffs has been dominant. Larry Fitzgerald is playing incredible and looking like the most dominant player in the NFL. That said the most impressive part of the Cardinals run is the play of the defense. They have made plays when it matters most. While everything in my head says to go with the Steelers, I have the strangest feeling the Cardinals are going to win the Super Bowl. In one of the strangest playoffs in recent history, everything that should have happened hasn’t. The Steelers can win if they can keep the running game active and productive, as well as stopping Larry Fitzgerald. It seems like the Eagles would have seen what he did to the Panthers and make an adjustment. The Eagles seemed to make improvements in the second half, and if the Steelers can figure out what they did they might be able to slow him down. Cardinals win 27-24 with Larry Fitzgerlad as the Super Bowl MVP.