One Sneaky Big Question for Every Team in the NFC North Heading into the 2020 Season

What is up guys, today we’re checking out the NFC North, a division that is pretty much up for grabs this season. Tomorrow, we’ll check jump back over to the NFC West for more sneaky big questions!

Detroit Lions

Q: Why didn’t Detroit just let Darius Slay play out his contract?

Understatement of the offseason: Darius Slay and Matt Patricia didn’t get along. In an interview with the Detroit Free Press, Slay detailed an incident in their first training camp together: “He told me in front of the whole team, in the team meeting room, showed clips of me in practice getting a ball caught on me or so in practice. I posted a picture (of a wide receiver on social media), and he told me, stop sucking this man’s private.” Not only was Slay not a fan of Patricia, but he made it very clear that he was unhappy with management about his contract and with their decision to trade away Quandre Diggs last season.

It’s clear that Slay was not re-signing with the Lions, but I thought they were much too quick to trade him. The Eagles sent over a 3rd and a 5th for Slay, but that trade would have still been on the table in October. Slay is one of the best cornerbacks in the league and with Jeff Okudah on the other side, Detroit could’ve had one of the best secondaries in the NFL! The behind the scenes might have been even worse than Slay has described, but I would have held onto him at least until the deadline.

Slay could have followed in Le’Veon Bell’s footsteps and held out, but he needed the 2020 season to prove to other potential suitors that he can still play at an elite level because as we’ve seen CBs fall off a cliff fast. Cornerback is one of the most important positions in football and I would have really liked to see what Okudah and Slay could have done together.

Chicago Bears

Q: Why isn’t Cam Newton on this team again?

The history of Chicago Bears starting quarterbacks is probably the bleakest of any of the 32 NFL franchises. Mitchell Trubisky, Rex Grossman, Kyle Orton, Jay Cutler, and Jim McMahon, this team has just never had a reliable quarterback. They’re giving Trubisky one more shot as he’s been named the week 1 starter, but it would be pretty surprising if Nick Foles didn’t take the reins at some point this season.

When I got the Bleacher Report update that Carolina was moving on from Cam Newton, the Bears were the first team that popped into my head. GM Ryan Pace trading for Nick Foles instead of signing Cam is actually pretty indefensible. First of all, Foles’ contract with Jacksonville was terrible. The Bears restructured the deal so that he’s making just $8 million/year, but the Bears had to fork over a 4th round pick in the trade as well. Newton on the other hand was on the market for months and signed for the veteran minimum. You can’t tell me that if Chicago had offered Cam $3-$4 million, he wouldn’t have just taken the money and run.

Put all the contract considerations aside, the most egregious part about the Bears not making a push at Cam is this: Think about the fans!! Signing Cam Newton is 10x more exciting for the fans than just trading for Nick Foles. If I’m a Bears fan, I’d be furious every time I saw Cam in a Pats uniform. I think Newton still has something left in the tank and if he’s awesome in New England, Ryan Pace is getting the axe without question.

Minnesota Vikings

Q: Will their offseason additions outweigh their offseason losses?

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The Vikings are coming off a solid 2019 season, as they went 10-6 and even upset the Saints in the Wild Card round. Minnesota had one of the busier offseasons in the league, as they lost several key pieces this spring. The Vikings parted ways with Xavier Rhodes, Everson Griffen, Trae Waynes, Linval Joseph, Mackenzie Alexander, and Stefon Diggs. Not only that, but newly signed DT Michael Pierce opted out of the season as well.

The Vikings looked to replace these losses with rookie WR Justin Jefferson, CB Jeff Gladney, and OT Ezra Cleveland in the draft, as well as trading for Jacksonville’s Yannick Ngakoue. With very little time to prepare and no preseason, can this team really make another playoff run with so many new faces on this roster?

The biggest concern for the Vikings this year is the cornerback position. Minnesota has the youngest cornerback group in the entire NFL, as Mike Hughes is the ‘veteran’ at just 23 years of age. Right now, Hughes and Holton Hill are the projected starters for this team and I don’t trust either of them. With the loss of Michael Pierce, the defensive line is also pretty lackluster as they’ll be deploying Shamar Stephen, Jaleel Johnson, and Ifeadi Odenigbo to start the year. Mike Zimmer is an excellent coach, but this team just hasn’t had a lot of time to get a bunch of new acquisitions and rookies up to speed in their system. I have no idea what to expect from the new-look Vikings in 2020.

Green Bay Packers

Q: How would we view Aaron Rodgers’ career if he hadn’t defeated Pittsburgh in Super Bowl XLV?

Over the last 10 years we’ve been witnesses to the greatest quarterback decade of all-time. Drew Brees, Big Ben, Peyton Manning, Tom Brady, Russell Wilson, Matt Ryan, Philip Rivers, but the consensus ‘best QB in the league’ over the last eight or nine years has always been considered Aaron Rodgers. Not surprisingly, Rodgers’ resume is pretty incredible. He holds a 113-60-1 record as a starter, he’s an 8x Pro Bowler, 2x MVP, Super Bowl MVP, and he holds numerous NFL records. However, what gets swept under the rug is the brutal playoff losses he’s suffered over the last decade. Let’s go through them real quick shall we:

• 2019: 37-20 L @ SF  Mostert ran for 200 yards, 4 TD
• 2016: 44-21 L @ ATL blown out by Matt Ryan and Co.
• 2015: 26-20 L @ ARI in OT, Larry Fitzgerald walk-off toss play
• 2014: 28-22 L @ SEA in OT, Jermaine Kearse walk-off 50 yard TD
• 2013: 23-20 L vs. SF, Phil Dawson last second FG as time expired
• 2012: 45-31 L @ SF, Kaepernick rushed for 180 yards, 2 TD
• 2011: 37-20 L vs. NYG, Eli and company were the #6 seed

Rodgers and company endured another dreadful postseason loss in 2019, as they found themselves down 34-7 to the 49ers at one point. The Packer’s sneaky big question doesn’t really pertain to the 2020 season, but I just wonder where we would put Aaron Rodgers on the ‘All-Time Quarterback Pyramid’ if he didn’t get that ring in 2010. With the accumulation of these brutal postseason defeats, would we view Rodgers a hair above Matt Ryan? Is he thought of as this generation’s Dan Marino? It’s hard to say.

Yes, the Packers have done him no favors in the weapons department over the years. Yes, Mike McCarthy should have been fired a long time ago. And yes, he’s always played with pretty atrocious defenses. However, it’s been nine years since Green Bay’s last SB appearance and at least some of the blame has to be put on Rodgers.

Coming into the 2020 season, the Packers should at least sneak in as a Wild Card team, but I don’t think their ceiling is very high compared to teams like the Bucs, the Seahawks, the Saints, and the Cowboys. With Jordan Love breathing down his neck, I think it’s going to be very hard for A-Rod to get that coveted second Super Bowl ring.

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