I’ll be the first to share my prediction!!!
Packers- 10-6 to 12-4
I think it was pretty obvious that we were better then our 6-10 record would indicate. Our downfall was our D and I think we have made improvements there, and though the 3-4 is hard to transition into, I feel we have the talent to do it fairly early on in the year. I think how we do in the conference will decide whether we win the division or not.
Vikings- 10-6 to 12-4
They have a very good D and the best running game in the league. I think the loss of Birk will hurt them more than many people suspect, and if the Williams’ are out for 4 games that will also hurt them. They also have their QB situation to deal with, which doesn’t look like a positive one.
Bears- 8-8 to 10-6
Made good improvements with Cutler and the draft. Cutler still doesn’t have any wr’s to throw too, and I don’t think their D is anywhere near the D of 2 years ago.
Lions- 4-12 to 6-10
Yes, they were awful last year, but they have made a lot of improvements. They did a lot in free agency and the draft. I think it will come down to whoever their QB is, and how well he can perform.

I’ve been looking a lot at the kind schedule the NFC North has. For instance, in their first 8 games, the Packers only play two teams that made the playoffs last season; Minnesota and Tampa Bay. Also, in 2008, the Packers played all the NFC and AFC South teams and went 1-7 against them. With Raji and Matthews providing an immediate upgrade to the run defense, anything short of 10-6 is a disappointment.

Minnesota has a kind schedule too. But their defense is so good that it’s not likely to get any better. If anything, it will slip. Adrian Peterson will be great again, but he’ll also lead the league in fumbles. And I don’t believe in Tarvaris Jackson. He’s the man in Minnesota, barring a Brett Favre sighting, and he just can’t make any difficult throws. 10-6 at best.

Chicago seemed to be headed in the right direction with Jay Cutler, then I read how they’ll be running the ball a lot and using a lot of 2 tight end formations because they don’t have a good group of wide receivers. That’s the same old, low powered offense the Bears have been running for years. The defense is still good, but they’re rebuilding the secondary. Sounds like an 8-8 team.

Detroit is so bad. With the exception of a few players, they have to rebuild that entire team. They have a lot of work ahead of them just to get back to a 4 win team. Unfortunately for them, outside of TE Brandon Pettigrew, who was a nice selection at No.20 overall, I didn’t like their 2009 draft. They took a lot of chances on players with high upside and high bust potential.

we where better than our record. Lots of our losses could have gone either way. And though you never want to root against your team if they can technically make the playoffs, some of those losses against Houston and Jacksonville at the end actually made a significant change in our draft position. I may have not been happy when we lost some at the end of the season when a playoff berth was incredibly unlikely, but imagine how much worse our draft would have been if we were 9-7 and missed the playoffs.

I remember long before Cutler was traded there was a poll on Windy City Gridron that asked where he would end up and almost everyone picked the Bears. Even as a Bears fan, I didn’t think we would get him. I bet if they had this poll on the Lions blog, they would all say the Lions would win the division. LOL!