Trick plays or a dual threat?
Daniels is just that.

NFC North or AFC West; which division will reign superior👑 in '25?

AFC West head coaches:

🏈Chiefs: Andy Reid
🏈Broncos: Sean Payton
🏈Chargers: Jim Harbaugh
🏈Raiders: Pete Carroll

Makes you think, don't it? 🤔

Well the vaunted NFC North went 0-3 in the playoffs.

I know a lot of analytics say that I was wrong but I thought the schedule was easier for the North teams hence the high win totals. A lot of analytics include teams inside the division win % when doing strength of schedule and I don't do weight those the same when I crunch my numbers. The NFCN played the NFCW and the AFCS to make up 8 of the 17 games with 6 divisional games and 3 determined by how you finished. By a lot of analytics the Packers had one of the stronger SOS because of the win totals brought by Lions and Vikings. IMO those teams had inflated win totals because of the schedule they faced. The Vikings where frauds once again with very few quality wins outside of their victories over the Packers. Next best one was Houston or Seattle.

I think the NFC North is wide open again but I am not sure I see a team ready to make the jump to being a true title contender. Lions have a ton of work to do on Defense and after next year the Goff contract will start to count big against the cap, their window is closing fast. Vikings still need a QB and I don't think McCarthy is the answer. Their D was good again but when a D blitzes that much to be effective the fall for them is just around the corner, that is very hard to sustain. The Bears might have the best roster moving forward if Caleb is the player others think he is (I was never sold on him). Packers are similar to the Lions in that the QB contract will start to count heavier vs the Cap soon and they have holes to be filled.

Caleb Williams ain't it. No internal clock. Playground player. Ben Johnson's fancy plays are going to result in Caleb holding the ball for 18 seconds while taking 30 yard sacks. They drafted the wrong guy (again). Bears needed a culture change not a shiny new object, they hired the wrong coach. Could have realistically hired Carroll, I doubt McCarthy would have taken that job.

Detroit won a lot of games. They might again. They'll always fail in the playoffs because of that DNA. Campbells persona will likely wear thin soon (at least with the players).

The Vikings are fucked.

I would like to hear from that idiot who claimed that Mike McCarthy will be next Bear's HC now... He was so, so sure...

Once again. The Lions have peaked and are in decline. They were in the Championship last year, this year they didn't win a playoff game, and now they're losing both their coordinators. I've been following the Lions since before the merger, and 2023 is their peak season over the last 50 years. They won't win as many games next year.

The Vikings had a remarkable season. OConnell is like 34-17 in the regular season, but he hasn't won a playoff game yet.

Bears will be better. But remember, in 2023 they were 7-10, then they jettisoned their coach and QB. This is an organization that will always find a way to screw it up. It is their destiny.

It hits me that the discussion of a teams success is all around the O and D coordinators. How about the head coach and players? Are those more important? Is it the game planning or the in game calls?

To me, all the coaches are lumped together as far as planning goes. Do they have plays prepared for their players. But the in game calls come down to 2 guys. The DC and whoever calls the plays. That's often the make or break in the game.

For the Packers, we've talked about MLF and game calls. A lot of people aren't happy with him now. Hafley seems to be getting some good comments for his first year considering the injuries. Other than the D line, that is. Getting a call for a head coach job after 1 year in the league does seem a stretch to me though.

Seems strange that the Packers might be the most stable organization at the moment. A lot of us seem to think we need more shaking up too.

Going into hibernation soon.

I gave up reading this column halfway through the season because the analysis is so awful, but I figured I would give it a try this week. It isn't any better. For starters, it's called Around the NFC North, and he forgot to write anything about the Vikings. Oops!

The analysis of the Lions loss is rather odd, suggesting that the Lions lost because they couldn't run the ball. He mentions that Jahmyr Gibbs only got 14 carries but neglects to mention that Gibbs gained 105 yards in those carries and had two touchdowns. Of course they ran less often toward the end because they were behind by two scores. But the running game was actually really great.

Goff's interceptions are treated as inevitable, but he actually protected the ball really well this year except for the five picks he threw in a win at Houston. Goff had a great season. I think we just need to admit it and hope he doesn't play as well next year.

how about the Packers ignore the others in the division and just make things better ,we all know where the deficiencies are , go fix it and move forward act like a leader not a follower .

Time for a NEW GM...!

The NFL is a game of attrition and quality depth is of primary importance. The salary cap makes that extremely tough. Having quality drafts every single year and finding good deals in free agency is the way to go and that should sound familiar to Packer fans. Nothing will make any difference though if your QB doesn't play well. Neither will you make it to the SB if your team isn't on a good streak at the end of a long season. This is why it is sooo hard to win in the NFL. The Chiefs are a crazy anomaly but we should look hard at how they run their organization for some real clues.
1. They don't pay their players the big $. Only Mahommes and their big Defensive lineman Chris Jones and all world Travis Kelce have gotten big contracts from them. Everyone else is expendable including WR's, CB's, RB's, OL and Edge rushers. They reload in the draft and get good mid level FA's to fill out their roster and count on the 'next' man up strategy. No big ticket Rashan Gary's, Jaire Alexanders, Devontae Adams and David Bahkteiri's. No priviledged status due to money.
2. Stable system and organization. The coaching staff under Andy Reid devise their system based on the strengths and talents of their 'current' roster. No overriding philosophies for offense or defense. They base the level of aggressiveness in 'going for it' on games situations. In other words they strategize to win games devoid of any other considerations.

The Packers are very close. They should shed some of the remaining big contracts they are carrying (Gary, Clark), resign only players they can get for reasonable money, keep accumulating draft picks and keep going for premium players at WR and Defensive line. If we pay someone, make it count at a position tough to replace. Keep playing to your strengths in the run game but over emphasize preparation for 2 minute offense. Call defensive plays in crucial situations to win the game instead of the all too familiar 'safe' calls. GPG!

“They made Jayden Daniels look like the best quarterback in the NFC.”

I got news for you, dude. Right now he is.

I think the Pack will have some organizational advantages over division foes this year that won't persist long. It may be the last opportunity for a while to dominate the North. It wouldn't hurt to have that attitude reinforced. DOMINATE!