The NFC North was prime for the taking last season as all four sides had excellent chances to secure the title, but the favourites won out as the Green Bay Packers secured the crown.
Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers missed the majority of the campaign, but returned late in the season to guide his side into the playoffs.
The Chicago Bears, the Detroit Lions and the Minnesota Vikings were all kicking themselves for missing the opportunity, and as a result two of those teams have new head coaches for the 2014 season.
Here, Sports Mole breaks down the prospects for the NFC North teams.
Green Bay Packers
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Last season: 8-7-1 – Wildcard-round loss
Notable ins: Julius Peppers (Chicago Bears), Ha Ha Clinton-Dix (Draft), Letroy Guion (Minnesota Vikings), Davante Adams (Draft)
Notable outs: MD Jennings (Chicago Bears), Evan Dietrich-Smith (Tampa Bay Buccaneers), James Jones (Oakland Raiders), CJ Wilson (Oakland Raiders)
Outlook: The Packers managed to survive the loss of Aaron Rodgers for seven games of the season to reach the playoffs again as they claimed the NFC North title. However, they fell to a defeat in the first game of the post-season to their nemeses the San Francisco 49ers as their inability to handle the threat of Colin Kaepernick re-emerged from the 2012 season.
Green Bay made some moves in the off-season to try to combat their struggles in the 2013 campaign without Rodgers, whose play papers over a lot of cracks. Julius Peppers has moved across the division from the Bears and will provide a threat at pass-rush that could allow Clay Matthews to return to his best form and forge a fearsome duo off the edge.
Their run defense could be a worry with the loss of BJ Raji for the season, but on the positive side of things their young secondary looks to be in good shape ahead of the campaign.
Prediction: 12-4 – Divisional-round loss – Rodgers is the best quarterback in the NFL and will guide his side to a 12-win season as long as he manages to stay injury-free. Their defense may be the thing that holds them back in the playoffs as their line looks suspect and their depth at linebacker beyond Matthews and Peppers is non-existent.
Chicago Bears
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Last season: 8-8 – Missed playoffs
Notable ins: Jared Allen (Minnesota Vikings), Lamarr Houston (Oakland Raiders), Willie Young (Detroit Lions), Josh Morgan (Washington Redskins), Kyle Fuller (Draft)
Notable outs: Josh McCown (Tampa Bay Buccaneers), Henry Melton (Dallas Cowboys), Corey Wootton (Minnesota Vikings), Zach Bowman (New York Giants), Major Wright (Tampa Bay Buccaneers)
Outlook: The Bears proved to be one of the best offenses in the NFL in the 2013 season despite losing Jay Cutler for a short period of time. Marc Trestman's men lost the shootout clash with the Green Bay Packers for a place in the post-season in the last game of the campaign, but weren't really a threat to win it all last year anyway.
The club have regrouped in the off-season and rebuilt their defensive line with the additions of Jared Allen and Lamarr Houston to provide a good pass-rush and to make the defense stout against the run, which was the weakness of the club last season. Cutler will have a career year this season as wide receivers Brandon Marshall and Alshon Jeffery will continue to terrorise opposition cornerbacks with their speed and size and pile on the points for the Bears this season.
Prediction: 10-6 – Wildcard-round loss – The Bears reach the playoffs for the first time since the 2010 season, but they fall at the first hurdle as their secondary isn't quite ready for the big time yet and may require another off-season of rebuilding before it's ready for playoff action.
Detroit Lions
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Last season: 7-9 – Missed playoffs
Notable ins: Golden Tate (Seattle Seahawks), James Ihedigbo (Baltimore Ravens), Eric Ebron (Draft)
Notable outs: Chris Houston (Free agent), Louis Delmas (Miami Dolphins), Willie Young (Chicago Bears), Jason Fox (Miami Dolphins)
Outlook: The Lions parted company with head coach Jim Schwartz following their capitulation at the end of the 2013 season. The club should have able to reach the post-season after starting 6-3 in their first nine games, along with injuries to Rodgers and Cutler in the division. However, they lost six of their last seven to miss the post-season.
Former Indianapolis Colts head coach Jim Caldwell was named the new man in charge and has already brought in some exciting new players to the offense including Golden Tate and Eric Ebron in the Draft. Those players added to Calvin Johnson and Reggie Bush should make quarterback Matt Stafford a happy man heading into the campaign.
Defensively their secondary is a major issue and is what will probably hold them back this year. As good as their defensive line is, Cutler, Rodgers and the other opposing quarterbacks could slice through the coverage with ease.
Prediction: 7-9 – Miss playoffs – The Lions will fare well against teams without a quality quarterback; unfortunately for them they face Cutler and Rodgers twice along with Tom Brady, Drew Brees and Matt Ryan. The offense will score points and perform to a high standard, but their defense stills needs a lot of work.
Minnesota Vikings
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Last season: 5-10-1 – Missed playoffs
Notable ins: Linval Joseph (New York Giants), Captain Munnerlyn (Carolina Panthers), Corey Wootton (Chicago Bears), Anthony Barr (Draft), Teddy Bridgewater (Draft)
Notable outs: Jared Allen (Chicago Bears), John Carlson (Arizona Cardinals), Toby Gerhart (Jacksonville Jaguars), Letroy Guion (Green Bay Packers), Kevin Williams (Seattle Seahawks)
Outlook: The Vikings also changed their head coach in the off-season as Leslie Frazier was fired and replaced by former Cincinnati Bengals defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer. Minnesota continued their recent run of investing in top-level talent in the first round of the Draft as they added linebacker Anthony Barr and quarterback Teddy Bridgewater, taking their tally of first-round selections to five in two years.
Running back Adrian Peterson is still the vital piece to the club's fortunes on the field and expect him rack up the yards on the ground this season as Matt Cassel was chosen to be starting quarterback. A lot will also be expected of young playmakers such as Cordarrelle Patterson and Kyle Rudolph to boost their side's offensive production in the 2014 campaign.
Defensively there are concerns as the club allowed veteran defensive end Jared Allen to leave and invested the cash in Everson Griffen and the 26-year-old will be under immense pressure to fill the void. In the secondary, young players Xavier Rhodes and Harrison Smith need to improve and become key players for their side to justify the first-round picks used on them.
Prediction: 6-10 – Miss playoffs – The Vikings are a team in transition and Cassel is not the quarterback to guide them forward, and it may take a while for Zimmer to realise that fact. Peterson is good enough to carry his team to six wins, but in a tough division life will be difficult for the Vikings in 2014.
Simon Sinclair
