NFC North

[wadesworld]

Jay bee, where you at?  C'mon, man.  Don't wait until you know for sure whether or not the Vikings win the division to talk.  Man up dawg!

I'm rooting for the Bears to win the division...what has this world come to?

[MU B2002]

Last night was almost too much to handle.  First Dom hits the big 3 then the Bears get 2 good offensive drives all game, and somehow manage to win.



Also, who here HATES Tony Kornheiser on the MNF broadcast as much as I do?
He adds nothing, not even comedy, to the group.

[Jay Bee]

Jay bee, where you at?  C'mon, man.  Don't wait until you know for sure whether or not the Vikings win the division to talk.  Man up dawg!
I'm rooting for the Bears to win the division...what has this world come to?

  I'm right here, little guy.  Like I said, the Bears bl0w and the Packers suck.  Man, that was some ugly stuff last night.  0-8 for Erin this year now, although you can't place the failure of their final drive of the fourth quarter on him (but you can't place the field position the team got on him much, either).  At any rate, both teams eat it big time.
 
  Who knows what will happen this coming weekend.  Nothing would surprise me.  Hopefully the Giants will be resting... but still, they will probably be much like your mom, wadesworld, and put 8 men in the box at one time.  Hopefully T-Jack can come through.  As long as we don't fumble effin 7 times we'll have a good shot.  Plus, Chicago is so awful that they will lose, more likely than not.
 
  The idea of Minnesota or Chicago having a home game in the playoffs this year is laughable.  Oh well, hopefully the Vikes will make the most of it.  At any rate, Green Bay's putrid year has given me reason to smile and no matter what happens in terms of the NFC North championship, there may be no better holiday gift than Detroit beating the Pakuerz.  Hopefully the game ends with Detroit picking off Erin. 
 
edit .. come on, dude.

[Hards Alumni]

lets all agree that no one in the NFC north deserves a playoff spot.

I think Ted Thompson learned a valuable lesson this offseason.

NEVER TRADE AWAY DEFENSIVE LINEMAN.

[RawdogDX]

lets all agree that no one in the NFC north deserves a playoff spot.

right but arizona, dallas and tampa bay do?

Does anyone know why the vikings have a tie breaker over the bears?
They are tied in record, head to head, conference record.  After that doesn't it go to points?  The bears are 8 behind in points but i haven't heard anyone say that if the bears score more than the vikings they could earn the tie breaker.

[MU B2002]

record against common opponents comes before points.  VIkes have the edge

[mu_hilltopper]

Vikings will beat NYG next week.  NY has the #1 seed wrapped up.  Nothing to play for.  Their starters will be in for the first quarter, then depart.

For the Vikings, it WILL be a playoff game.

[RedWebster]

Houston will murder the Bears, regardless of the Minnesota/NYG game.

[MU B2002]

Houston will murder the Bears, regardless of the Minnesota/NYG game.

THen how the hell do they get stomped by the Raiders?

[wadesworld]

right but arizona, dallas and tampa bay do?

Does anyone know why the vikings have a tie breaker over the bears?
They are tied in record, head to head, conference record.  After that doesn't it go to points?  The bears are 8 behind in points but i haven't heard anyone say that if the bears score more than the vikings they could earn the tie breaker.

Wait you're a Cubs fan for baseball and a Vikings fan for football?

[Jay Bee]

SK 0L, VIKINGS, LETS GO!!!!

Good 6-10 season, a-packers.  Bears are losers too.

HOME FIELD next week, baby!!! 

[Blackhat]

Vikings are a charity case.   

I think the football gods just felt bad for you and said "we'll let em make the playoffs but they'll still suck"

[spiral97]

somebody had to win the division.. and nobody should feel good about it.  wow the north just flat out sucked this year.

[IAmMarquette]

Fav-ray is about to lose too... oooh, what a glorious day!!!!!!!!!

On that we can agree.

[MUFan71]

 How would the NFC North change is Mike Shanahan ends up in Detroit? I know they are bad but they have some weapons and good draft picks coming. He would look nice in green and gold too.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jm_GPt2jmT8wZDlX03VHkBlZYgkAD95DACR81

[bs4173]

I highly doubt Shanahan would go to Detroit. That place is a train wreck, and it's not like there's a shortage of other teams looking for a new coach-- Jets, Browns, Raiders. Besides, the Lions' problems are their management and the fact that just about half the team was injured this season. Now that Millen's gone (obviously he had a huge hand in the 0-16 record this year), they'll maybe shape up. The head coach isn't going to make too much of a difference.

[reinko]

Detroit should throw a bunch of money at Matt Casell then draft O-lineman to protect Cassel and support Kevin Smith.

I think drafting a rookie QB (Bradford) at #1 would be a huge mistake.

[Hards Alumni]

conversely I think the team that throws a bunch of money at Matt Cassell will be sorely disappointed.

he is a product of Bill Bellicheat and the team around him.

[muarmy81]

somebody had to win the division.. and nobody should feel good about it.  wow the north just flat out sucked this year.

The NFC West was worse..

[Hards Alumni]

lets not forget the AFC W(orst)est.

[MU B2002]

conversely I think the team that throws a bunch of money at Matt Cassell will be sorely disappointed.

he is a product of Bill Bellicheat and the team around him.

But if your QBs were John Kitna, Daunte Culpepper, Dan Orslosky, and Drew Stanton, Gus Ferrotte, Travaris Jackson, Kyle Orton, Rex Grossman... wouldn't an overrated Matt Cassell be an upgrade?

[Hards Alumni]

in my opinion, no.

Trade their Dallas #1 pick for a QB that is a back up currently but could probably run a team (like what Houston did with Schaub), and then draft a QB in the 3rd round or so with their other pick and DEVELOP him.

In Detroit there will be no quick fix.

Honestly, I would keep Culpepper around (for a year or two to develop a young guy), and let him throw bombs to the Megatron like he used to in Minnesota to Moss.

[MU B2002]

I agree with that logic, expect a #1 might be a little high for a backup, and that would seem to be the smart thing to do, but when has the Ford family traveled down that thought path. 

Oh, maybe they can take Rex off our hands in Chicago. 


Fast Forward to the draft...

Detroit Lions Select Michael Crabtree....

[Hards Alumni]

or just keep culpepper and use the #1 pick on a big Left Tackle that can anchor the line for years.

Rarely does a team go wrong picking a DT or an OL in the draft.

its not sexy, but its better than picking a WR 3 (or is it 4) years in a row with their first pick.

[reinko]

Living in Boston, at first I thought the same thing about Cassell.  But he is legit, true he was throwing to Welker and Moss, but he had no running game and average at best O-Line.  He has an arm, can run a bit, and made good decisions.

They won't be able to trade the #1 because of the $$$ implications. 

So either sign Cassell or a strong backup, then just go after D Line or O line. 

Hopefully the Ford family doesn't read MUScoop.  Go Pack!