2011 NFL Team Needs: NFC North

Chicago Bears: OT, WR, CB, OG, C, OLB

Let’s be honest here. Not many people—myself included—gave the Bears a chance at the playoffs, let alone the division coming into the year. Well-coached and dominant on special teams, the Bears remained healthy and rallied around one of the best defenses in the game and the live arm of Cutler. They could continue to live on that for the next decade, or decide to afford Cutler some protection up front and allow the offense to contribute more to the winning efforts. The remodeling of the offensive line, which gave up the most sacks this season, must begin on the perimeter. A couple years ago, the Bears thought they had found their left tackle of the future in the athletic Chris Williams. After struggling early in his career, they moved him inside and have found only a pedestrian player. He’s still young enough whereby he could still improve, but they can’t count on it. Rather than turning to the draft to solve their problems, the team may look to free agency to do so. In the draft, they should target the offensive line early and often, as no starter from 2010 is assured of a position in the starting lineup two years from now. The other big potential improvement this offseason could be to invest heavily on a true number one receiver. It seems like a lot of teams may be in the market for one, but this is a rich class in both free agency and the draft. Defensively, the Bears just need to stay healthy and will continue to flourish on the shoulders of their terrific trio up front (Peppers-Urlacher-Briggs) and the well-executed scheme. While Tommie Harris has been a disappointment again, several young players have broken out and figure to be a big part of the future up front. If they can re-sign Danieal Manning, their biggest need on defense will be at cornerback. This cornerback has to be in the brand of a physical player that can jam at the line of scrimmage, which their defense calls for. The strongside outside linebacker could be improved, but is likely to receive little to no attention this offseason.

Detroit Lions: CB, OLB, OG, WR, S, OL depth

Under the leadership of Coach Jim Schwartz, the Lions emerged with a 6-10 record that should have been at least 7-9 (think Chicago), and could have been even better. Heading in a positive direction, it’s come to a point after two solid drafts where the Lions can look to focus a little more heavily on need rather than just go BPA virtually every draft pick. Ndamukong Suh had a remarkable rookie season and helped improve the pass rush even beyond his league-leading 10 sacks from the interior. The selection to bring him to Detroit was a no-brainer. Now comes the difficult part in revamping the secondary that’s currently filled with former busts and cuts. This class is very talented at cornerback and finding one at their slot may just be the perfect value pick as well. If they can pair a top notch talent with Alphonso Smith, they’d have something to work with. Chris Houston is another player that may have a future here. Another area of great weakness is at linebacker, particularly on the outside. Adding an impact player at that level will help create more stops and get the defense off the field. At safety, Amari Spievey could be the long-term solution next to Louis Delmas, but adding depth at the position would be wise in case he regresses from his second half form. Offensively the Lions did a much better job of protecting the quarterback, allowing a whole sack less per game. The remaining problem on the line is at right guard, where Stephen Peterman hasn’t played up to the level he can. Adding a presence inside could also help open up the running game. Depth on the line should also continue to be improved. If Matt Stafford could stay healthy, it could prove to be a big boost to the passing game by itself, but upgrading the receiving corps could help embolden the impact. As it is, Calvin Johnson sees regular double teams and finding another receiver to capitalize on that type of attention would bring the offense up a notch.

Green Bay Packers: 3-4 OLB, OT, WR/RB/KR, CB depth, DL depth, OL depth

The Packers are another one of those teams with very few glaring holes on either side of the ball and will go BPA on draft day. Their Achilles heel has been special teams and like the Chargers, some of that may be attributed to injuries that forced new faces into the unit. The other interesting byproduct of the injury-riddled season is that with the impressive play of certain additions off the street, such as Erik Walden and Charlie Peprah, roster space next season will be very limited. History has shown GM Ted Thompson doesn’t love to trade up, but he has done so in the past 2 drafts and may again this year. The biggest need for the Packers is at outside linebacker, though Erik Walden’s play down the stretch has opened eyes. If the Packers can find a LaMarr Woodley for their James Harrison (Clay Matthews), they could move Matthews back to his more natural fit on the right side and allow Dom Capers (with the iffy assumption he stays) to disguise his defense even more. On the defensive line, Cullen Jenkins has been productive when healthy, but some expect that his salary may exceed the team’s interest, allowing him to go elsewhere. Though the defense will return rookie Mike Neal who made splashes as a pass rusher before suffering a season-ending injury and Johnny Jolly from suspension, depth at the position could be a concern. At corner, the Packers feel they’ve found a gem in undrafted rookie Sam Shields, who is only in his 2nd year playing cornerback, but behind him, depth could be pursued to strengthen an already talented secondary. Offensively, sorting out the tackle situation will probably be a priority again. First rounder Bryan Bulaga has played well, minus a few mental lapses, but the other tackle position is still uncertain, though TJ Lang may be able to play the right side if Bulaga plays the left. Depth on the line could also be targeted, especially since Daryn Colledge and Jason Spitz are free agents this offseason. The other big need, depending on the decision reached with James Jones, could be to add another receiver. If Jones re-signs, running back could replace receiver as a need. This draft pick could be coupled with the single biggest improvement that could be made for next year: finding a dangerous returner. If a potentially elite running back catches their eye, the combination of Grant and Starks won’t convince them otherwise.

Minnesota Vikings: QB, OT, S, OG/C, CB, OLB

These are the team needs with my own assumptions on what the Vikings may do this offseason. With about 100 players set to become free agents this offseason, I can’t really even get into what I think will happen, nor would it be anything better than pure speculation. I do believe that this will be a pivotal offseason for the Vikings moving forward. One Super Bowl window of opportunity has closed and it depends on this offseason when the next will open and how long it will remain open for. It seems implausible that they could patchwork together a roster for the present while jeopardizing the future. Ideally though, this offseason will bring them an adequate starter at quarterback for 2011 and another prospect in the wings for the future. In pass protection, Bryant McKinnie and Phil Loadholt played up to their near 700 combined pounds on the perimeter—in other words, not well. Favre, Jackson, and Webb were constantly abused by pass rushers and making sure that doesn’t happen in the future will be important this offseason. At the very least, they need someone who can realistically push McKinnie at left tackle before his play deteriorates even further. The middle of the line has only brought the offense inconsistency. A change is also needed in there, most likely at the center position. While the guard play isn’t great, it’s doable. On defense, the defensive line needs to get to the quarterback quicker, but that improvement will come internally. The secondary needs more talent from the outside. Winfield played surprisingly well given his age, but Asher Allen can’t be handed the starting job again. He flashed some talent, but no consistency. Chris Cook is expected to challenge him next season, but don’t be completely surprised if he plays the majority of his career at safety, which is an even bigger need for this team. The organization has had rotten luck in free agency and the draft in trying to find a decent, reliable cover safety. Madieu Williams is not of starting quality. Outside linebacker only becomes a need if Ben Leber is allowed to walk away. It’s almost a certainty that the Vikings will re-sign their ace, Chad Greenway.

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