Bruno Boys Fantasy Football

Each NFL season can only have one champion, and in 2009, the New Orleans Saints claimed that title. The good news, though, is that right now for the 2010 season, every team is sitting even. With that in mind, the Bruno Boys got to thinking about what each NFL team needs to do in order to hoist the Lombardi Trophy next year. Thus, was born the Bruno Boys latest series which will examine the key needs that need to be addressed by all 32 NFL teams. Bruno Boys Larry takes a look at the NFC North in Part 2 of this 8-part series.

NFC NORTH

Being born in raised in the Midwest has allowed me to watch NFC North football my entire life. It’s a division that has bolstered some great defensive teams and some of the greatest nicknames in football history. Teams like the “Monsters of the Midway” and the “Purple People Eaters” played in a division referred to as the “Black and Blue” division, but those days are long gone. It has been more then a decade since a team from the NFC North has won a Super Bowl. It’s also a division that has possibly the worst team of the decade in the Detroit Lions. Despite the Lions continued struggles, the Minnesota Vikings and the Green Bay Packers both made the playoffs in 2009 and look to be putting the division back on the map. The two bottom teams in the NFC North, the Chicago Bears and the Detroit Lions, have both been extremely active early in this off-season. So let’s take a look at what else we might expect from these four teams during the 2010 NFL off-season.

Minnesota Vikings

The addition of Brett Favre proved to be better for the Minnesota Vikings in 2009 than most of us expected. Favre, along with a good defense, a top notch running game and good play from their wide receivers helped the Vikings to a 13-3 record. They went to the NFC Championship game where they lost in overtime to the eventual Super Bowl Champion New Orleans Saints. This is a talented team who should once again be in the mix for the NFC North title with the hopes of making it to the Super Bowl this season. Decisions on whether or not to retire by Favre and defensive tackle Pat Williams will dictate which direction this team goes with off-season acquisitions; however, this should definitely be a team to reckon with once again in the NFC.

Team Strengths:

- Dominant Defensive Line (Pat Williams, Kevin Williams and Jared Allen are as strong as it gets up front on defense. Pat Williams has hinted at possible retirement, but I think as close as this team is to a possible Super Bowl he comes back for one more year)
- Adrian Peterson (If he is not the best running back in all of football, he is in the top two or three. AD topped 1,300 yards and 10 touchdowns in each of his first three seasons and is coming off of a 1,383 yard 18 touchdown performance in 2009)
- Sidney Rice (He broke out in his third season in the NFL with 83 catches for 1,312 yards and eight touchdowns, but if he is going to repeat that type of performance in 2010 he will need Favre to return for one more year)

Team Needs:

1. Getting Brett Favre to Return - To say this team needs Favre to return if they want to compete for the NFC North crown and a Super Bowl championship is an understatement. He had possibly the best season of his career in 2009 with 4,202 passing yards with 33 touchdowns and a career-low seven interceptions. The team is happy to give Favre all the time he needs to make his decision, even if it goes into training camp, but if he decides not to return the Vikings can kiss any championship aspirations good-bye. Neither Tarvaris Jackson nor Sage Rosenfels can fill a void left by Favre.

2. Cornerback - The Vikings will be looking for a cornerback to play opposite Antoine Winfield after Cedric Griffin tore his ACL in the NFC Championship. The injury will keep him out until at least October; however, it could very well take until 2011 before he returns to form. There is some good depth at cornerback in this year’s draft and Minnesota could target one late in the first round.

3. Improve the Offensive Line - They have one of the best offensive guards in the NFL in Steve Hutchinson; however, right guard Anthony Herrera struggled to open up running lanes for Adrian Peterson and center John Sullivan did not look very good in his first year as a starter. Imagine how good Peterson could be if he had the flexibility to run to the right side of the field, instead of relying on running behind Hutchinson. They could target both guard and center positions in the early-to-middle rounds of the upcoming NFL draft.

Green Bay Packers

After a shaky start the Green Bay Packers finished 2009 winning seven of their last nine games. An 11-5 record was good enough to get them into the playoffs, where they lost to the Arizona Cardinals 51-45, in what might have been the best playoff game of the year. This Packers team has a good mix of young talent and veteran leadership. Quarterback Aaron Rodgers has many fans saying Brett who (Favre of course). With a few key off-season acquisitions this team has a legitimate chance to not only fight for the NFC North crown, but could also make a push to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl.

Team Strengths:

- Aaron Rodgers (Many people were skeptical about Rodgers being able to replace Brett Favre in Green Bay. In just two seasons he has elevated himself into an elite NFL quarterback)
- Charles Woodson (At 33 years of age Woodson continues to play at an extremely high level as he proved so by winning the Defensive Player of the Year award in 2009)
- Clay Matthews (51 total tackles, 10 sacks, three fumble recoveries, a forced fumble and touchdown is a pretty good stat line for Matthews in his rookie season for the Packers)

Team Needs:

1. Cornerback - Yes they do have the reigning Defensive Player of the Year at cornerback in Charles Woodson, but he will be 34 in October. Al Harris is 35 years old and is coming off ACL surgery in November. Fourth-year man Tramon Williams filled in nicely for Green Bay after Harris’ injury, but the Packers will likely look to add a talented young corner in this year’s draft, which appears to be deep in talent.

2. Improve the Offensive Line - Whether it’s through free agency or the NFL Draft the Packers have to find a way to keep Aaron Rodgers off his back, as he was sacked 51 times last season. Many people blame Rodgers for holding onto the ball for too long; however, if you watched Green Bay player in 2009 you would have noticed that poor offensive line play was a big contributor. In all fairness several injuries forced the team to use many line combination’s throughout the year. They did play much better after left tackle Chad Clifton returned and the team did just resign him, though he is aging and injury prone. They will definitely look to solidify the line heading into the 2010 season.

3. Another Outside Linebacker - Green Bay had to be thrilled with the play of rookie OLB Clay Matthews as mentioned above in Team Strengths, but they could use another rush OLB to play opposite him. The Packers run a 3-4 defense and it is extremely important for the linebackers to get to the quarterback. Matthews had 10 sacks last season; however, Brad Jones managed just four on the other side of the field. In order for this defense to continue to be successful they will need to find another OLB to put pressure on the quarterback.