Green Bay Packers: Improved NFC North Stands No Chance Against Aaron Rodgers

The NFC North will be one of the better divisions in football next season. All four of the teams have improved, but the Green Bay Packers, led by star quarterback Aaron Rodgers, are still the team to beat. 

Green Bay had an excellent season last year, finishing the regular season with a record of 15-1. They entered the playoffs with the number one seed and home-field advantage throughout the playoffs. Unfortunately for the cheese heads, the Packers lost in the divisional round to the soon-to-be Super Bowl champions, the New York Giants.

The Lions were one of the most improved teams in the league last season, they finished with a 10-6 record and earned the franchise's first playoff berth since 1999. Detroit won more games last season–10– than they had won in both of the previous seasons combined.

The Bears struggled with injuries throughout last year's campaign and the injuries kept them from making the playoffs. This was very disappointing because they were coming off a loss in the NFC championship game. Chicago has the talent to make the playoffs this season and made a few additions to the offense that should increase the production from that unit.

The Vikings will have a hard time getting out of the basement in the NFC North this season but that isn't to say that they haven't improved since last season ended. Minnesota is armed with the number three pick in this year's draft and will have the luxury of selecting the first non-quarterback this April. This year's draft will be very crucial to the future of this team. 

Green Bay Packers

The Packers' off-season started with their offensive coordinator, Joe Philbin, leaving to take the head coaching job in Miami.

Back-up quarterback Matt Flynn signed with the Seattle Seahawks in free agency, but unless Rodgers gets injured Flynn's departure won't be an issue. 

Rodgers has not lost any of his weapons so don't be surprised to see another record-setting year from him and the Green Bay offense. 

The Pack were able to re-sign their starting tight end Jermichael Finley, thus ensuring that Rodgers will not be losing one of his favorite targets.

The Packers gained a lot of yards while surrendering a lot of yards last season. 

Green Bay was able to be so successful even with their porous defense because their defense is opportunistic and is great at forcing turnovers. 

Last season, the Packers finished the regular season with a plus-24 turnover ratio, meaning that they forced 24 more turnovers than they allowed.   

The Packers have added some quality players in free agency, including long-time Colts center Jeff Saturday and ex-Saints defensive lineman Anthony Hargrove. 

Other than that the Packers have not needed to make many moves; sometimes it is best not to mess with a good thing. 

The Packers dominated their opponents last year outscoring them by 201 points.

Detroit Lions

The Lions made it a priority this off-season to re-sign players on their roster, and they have done a great job.

The team resigned all-pro wide-out Calvin Johnson to a massive contract worth $132 million over eight seasons. The fans in Detroit should be applauding the team for making this commitment; this signing shows that the Lions are serious about being competitive for the next decade.

Detroit used their franchise tag on defensive end Cliff Avril, who had 11 sacks last season. This was a crucial move because their defensive line is the strongest unit on their defense, and if the Lions hope to dethrone the Packers they must be dominant.

The defensive line will have to create quick pressure because the secondary is a liability.

The only major contributor from last year's team to leave Detroit was cornerback Eric Wright, who signed a five-year contract with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers worth $37.5 million. Wright is a solid player, but the Bucs overpaid to acquire him.

The Lions should seriously consider drafting a cornerback with one of their earlier selections in April's draft.

Matthew Stafford commands one of the best passing attacks in the NFL; with their offense they stand a chance to win every game they play.

Last season, Detroit ranked 29th in the league in rushing, averaging just 95 yards a game. When their starting running back, Jahvid Best, was knocked out for the season after week 6, the remaining backs on the roster were unable to find success. 

In fact, Best led the team in rushing with just 390 yards. He did this despite the fact that he missed 10 entire games. 

The Lion's inability to run the ball put too much pressure on Stafford and the passing game.

If Jahvid is able to stay healthy this season, then he will represent a home run threat that will make an already dangerous offense, even more dangerous.

The Lions have the offense to score with the Packers, but if they hope to leapfrog the Packers in the NFC North, then the defense must be improved. 

Chicago Bears

The Bears opened their off-season with a bang by firing GM Jerry Angelo; he was quickly replaced by Phil Emery. 

Emery was able to do something that Angelo was never able to do–bring in a legitimate number one wide receiver. He did this by bringing in Brandon Marshall from the Miami Dolphins for two third-round draft picks. 

Marshall is reunited with his quarterback in Denver, Jay Cutler. The two of them appeared to have a very bright future in Denver until Josh McDaniels shipped them both out of town. 

Cutler and Marshall should be able to quickly regain their chemistry and will soon become one of the better passing duos in the league. 

Michael Bush was signed away from the Oakland Raiders in free agency–he was brought in to share the load with Matt Forte. Bush will also give Chicago some leverage in their ongoing contract negotiations with Forte.

Emery was also able to lure Jason Campbell to Chicago to back-up Jay Cutler. This may be one of the most underrated signings made by any team this off-season.

Campbell is among the best back-up quarterbacks in the league and should perform well if Cutler were to get injured.

The defense remains mostly the same but if they should look to add another defensive end to pair with Julius Peppers, the best time to do this would be through the draft.

Chicago's pass defense ranked in the bottom five last season, which was slightly due to the fact that they played the Lions and Packers a combined four times. These two teams were among the best passing teams in the league.

The Bears could use some help in the secondary as well if they hope to slow down the great passing attacks they face from their divisional rivals.

Minnesota Vikings

Similar to the Bears, the Vikings also have a new general manager calling the shots. Rick Spielman is now in control and will look to rebuild this team through the draft.

Luckily for Spielman, the team holds the number three pick, and with so many great prospects in this years class it appears that whoever they wind up picking will become a franchise player.

Minnesota cut ties with guard Steve Hutchinson but were able to re-sign Sage Rosenfels, Fred Evans and Erin Henderson.

The Vikings signed John Carlson to a five-year deal; this ex-Seattle tight end should be a good option for Ponder on intermediate and shorter routes. 

The team has decided to sign some cheaper veterans and are hoping they will keep the team competitive as they continue to develop their young players.

Christian Ponder will have a full off-season to develop and his play will likely determine how well the team does next year.

The face of the franchise, Adrian Peterson, suffered a serious knee injury at the end of the season last year.

According to the Pioneer Press, Peterson recently ran for the Vikings and the team was impressed. Hopefully this means that Peterson will not miss any games this fall.

The most likely candidates to be drafted by Minnesota are Justin Blackmon, wide receiver from Oklahoma State and Matt Kalil an offensive tackle from USC. 

Both prospects would help fill needs and have tremendous upside and would be able to contribute immediately.

The Vikings are a couple years away from competing from the divisional title but should be able to win a few more games than they did last season.

Aaron Rodgers and Green Bay Dominance

The Packers are the best team in the NFC North and should win at least 12 games next season.

Aaron Rodgers posted a 122.5 quarterback rating last season, which was the highest rating in NFL history.

His unbelievable season shouldn't be defined by just his quarterback rating though.

Rodgers threw 45 touchdowns versus just six interceptions. He also would have thrown for 5,000 yard last season had he not sat out the regular season finale.

The Packers swept through the NFC North last year, and luckily for them all their divisional foes share a similar weakness. The entire division is terrible at slowing down their opponents' air attacks.

Rodgers and the Packers will continue to dominate the division until their rivals bring in some personnel to slow them down.

Greg Jennings and Jordy Nelson form one of the most dominant wide-receiver tandems in the NFL. 

Last year they combined to produce 135 receptions for 2,012 yards and found the end zone 24 times. Don't be surprised to see them post a similar stat-line this season.

The Packers will continue to stretch the field next season, and their receivers will give defenses fits with their ability to gain yards in bunches after the catch.

The teams in the NFC have all had good off-seasons. It wouldn't surprise anyone to see three out of the four teams in this division competing for playoff spots next season,

At the end of the day the Packers are not only the class of the NFC North but of the entire NFC. 

Green Bay is now waiting for September so they can show the entire football world that they own the NFC North.