Chicago Bears: How Big Is The Jump Of Justin Fields This Season?

The Chicago Bears killed the offseason. Fresh off a regular season where Justin Fields looked electric, the future seemed bright for the Bears. They traded the top overall pick for multiple picks and D.J. Moore. They signed big names on defense such as Tremaine Edmunds and T.J. Edwards. Their offense was reloaded with the signings of D’Onta Foreman and Robert Tonyan. All these transactions positively impacted the offense and defense. Giving Fields all these weapons will make the Bears look much improved and will be a stepping stone for the future.

Detroit Lions: Are The Lions The Best Team In The Division?

After all the jokes and miserable seasons, the Detroit Lions may be the best team in the NFC North. The Bears and the Packers still have their young QBs so a rough road is expected. The Vikings are dealing away key players left and right. That leaves the Lions. They ended the season winning eight of their last ten games. Jared Goff is probably the most competent QB in the division and HC Dan Campbell is making them believe. They improved their team by signing David Montgomery and C.J. Gardner-Johnson and drafted a strong group that can make an impact. Now might be the time Lions fans. The 2023 season could be a special one.

Green Bay Packers: Will Jordan Love Be The Future Of The Packers?

The Aaron Rodgers era is over and the Packers move on to their next QB. It was amazing luck that they went from a Hall of Fame QB to another Hall of Fame QB. Now, all eyes are on Jordan Love. He signed a one-year extension worth up to $22.5 M. The Packers did add some help by drafting three offensive weapons with their first four picks of the draft. He’ll still have Aaron Jones and Christian Watson to aid him. If Aaron and the Packers felt he was ready, they wouldn’t have traded away Rodgers. Love hopes to show the promise scouts saw him when he was drafted.

Minnesota Vikings: Is A Rebuild On The Way?

The Minnesota Vikings were disappointed with the way they finished their season. A sad loss in the Wild Card round to the Giants may have shown that Minnesota’s regular season may have been just a fluke. Now, there are a lot of questions, especially with the recent moves of the front office. They released Adam Thielen, Eric Kendricks and traded Za’Darius Smith. All three are high-level players for the Vikings last year. There are rumors that Dalvin Cook will be waived if no one will trade for him. Amidst all the chaos, it feels like a shakeup is on the way and more names will be on the move in the future.

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By: Jake Rajala

The Minnesota Vikings haven’t won the frigid NFC North since 2017. It’s clear that the Green Bay Packers have been a true superpower in the NFC North, as they’ve won their division in each of the past three seasons. With that said, I believe fate (and talent) will lead the Vikings to an NFC North title in 2022. Here are a few reasons why the Vikings first-year head coach Kevin O’Connell can win an NFC North title next season.

• Healthy star players

The Vikings had many key players miss significant game-time in 2021. Adam Thielen missed four games, Danielle Hunter missed 10 matchups, and Dalvin Cook was out of the line-up for four contests.

They clearly missed Hunter more than anyone else last season. The Vikings had 51 sacks (second in the league), but they also gave up the fifth-most passing yards in 2021. Hunter was also on a monster pace, as he notched six sacks in 7 games a season ago. The Vikings impressively managed to win eight games last season with many of their Top 10 players MIA. Expect Hunter, Thielen (10 touchdowns in 2021), and Cook to be important profiles for their team in 2022.

• The demise of the Packers

It’s safe to say that the Packers don’t need to worry about adding a quality WR2 this offseason. They really need to focus on adding a talented WR1! It’s great news for the Vikings that Aaron Rodgers doesn’t have Davante Adams in his arsenal anymore. The Packers also don’t have DE Za’Darius Smith (26 sacks from 2019 and 2020 combined), who was actually inked by the Vikings in free agency. The Packers starting TE Robert Tonyan is also coming off a torn ACL, so Rodgers could struggle to be in sync with an impressive weapon.

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By: Jake Rajala

The legendary, thor-like defender Clay Matthews is the Green Bay Packers all-time sack leader (83.5 sacks). Here is a closer look at how potent Matthews was for the Packers in his career:

• six-time Pro Bowl selection
• All-Pro in 2010
• six seasons of 7.5+ sacks
• 15 forced fumbles
• 121 tackles for loss

The mythical Packers defender exited cheese land in the 2019 offseason and suited up for the Los Angeles Rams in the 2019 season. The former USC walk-on notched eight sacks in his first season as a Ram.

Matthews hasn’t played in the league since 2019, but he hasn’t officially retired. It should also be noted that he wasn’t “washed up” in his most recent season of play. Matthews’s sack total in 2019 (eight) was his highest single-season sack tally since 2014. He also had nine tackles for loss. It should also be well noted that he accomplished these feats in 13 games in the 2019 regular season.

Matthews may have split with the Packers, but that hasn’t stopped the Packers MVP QB Aaron Rodgers from poking at Matthews half-seriously to return. I feel very confident that the Packers nation would find it poetic to have their former Super Bowl champion LB help them find gold for their second Lombardi trophy with Rodgers.

It would be very fitting if the Packers brought Matthews home in 2022. They recently cut ties with the expensive edge rusher Za’Darius Smith (who carried a cap number of $27.6 million) and they could clearly use a replacement for Smith. The recently released prominent Packers LB made the Pro Bowl in 2019 and 2020 with the Pack. They could look to bring in a familiar, athletic face in Matthews.

The Packers could elect to bring Matthews back for a “last hoorah” and they could still draft an edge rusher early in the 2022 NFL Draft. Matthews would be an excellent third-down pass rusher at the very least. Matthews might be 35, but I believe he can still be a contributor at this stage in his career. The workaholic James Harrison was a quality asset to the Pats at age 35+ in his career and I believe Matthews also has some gas left in the tank for the team that drafted him. The NFL world saw Tom Brady come out of retirement this offseason and football fanatics might also see the well-rested Matthews return to help his old, pass rusher needy Packers squad this offseason.

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