2011 Regular Season Re-cap

In August, I blogged about my predictions for the 2011 season. And I don't want to sound too proud of myself, but I was pretty darn good! Here's a re-cap of the NFC North:

Packers

My Pre-season Prediction: 11-5, 1st in the division
Actual: 15-1, 1st in the division

The Packers surprised a lot of people by remaining undefeated into December, myself included. I knew the offense was good, but I didn't know they were THIS good. I think that they surprised even more people with the lack of defense. This team had had a top 5 defense 2 years in a row (2009-10), but fizzled in 2011 with the injury to Nick Collins and the loss of Cullen Jenkins. The pass rush has been pathetic and the secondary coverage has been almost as bad. The redeeming factor has been the turnover margin. The Packers have dominated the league with over 30 interceptions. Will the dependence on turnovers make or break the team in the playoffs? We'll start to find out in 2 weeks!

Lions

My Pre-season Prediction: 9-7, 2nd in the division
Actual: 10-6, 2nd in the division

I said all along that Stafford's health would determine the success of this team. And he has started all 16 games. The Lions came out of the gates strong, winning their first 5 games. But then they started to tail off down the stretch. The suspension of Ndamukong Suh seemed to be a big blow to this team. But they have since rebounded and earned a playoff spot for the first time in over 10 years. Granted, they are the 6 seed but it is still impressive. The Lions have a lot of young talent in Calvin Johnson and Matthew Stafford and on the defensive line. If they can find a RB that can stay healthy they will be tough in the years to come. The question at hand now is whether they can go to New Orleans and upset the Saints in the wildcard playoff game this weekend.

Bears

My Pre-season Prediction: 7-9, 3rd in the division
Actual: 8-8

This was the prediction I was most nervous about 10 games into the year. The bears were sitting at 7-3 and looked like a team that nobody wanted to play. But then the injuries started. First Jay Cutler went down with a hand injury after trying to make a tackle after an interception. Not the end of the world...but then the worst thing imaginable for the bears happened...Matt Forte who accounted for almost all of their offense went down with a knee injury and that ended pretty much all hope for the bears. They finished the season 1-5 and missed the playoffs. Mike Martz and their GM are gone and the Bears will go into a pseudo-rebuilding mode in 2012. It will be interesting to see what the future of Matt Forte holds. He is an unrestricted Free Agent. It's likely that the bears will use the franchise tag on him to keep him from signing elsewhere. We're all hoping they get an offensive coordinator that neglects Forte and trusts Cutler's arm. That always seems to benefit the Packers.

Vikings

My Pre-Season Prediction: 5-11, last in the division
Actual: 3-13, last in the division

Well, the Donovan McNabb experiment failed. And I predicted that by midseason Christian Ponder would be the starting QB. I think everyone figured out quickly that the queens would struggle this year. I just don't think anyone thought that they would struggle THIS much. McNabb was awful. They released him and he hasn't signed with another team. Ponder has looked like a rookie. He may develop into a good QB, he may not. And the biggest blow came in week 16. Adrian Peterson went down with a torn ACL and MCL in a meaningless game. His status for the beginning of the 2012 season is in question. I never like to see anyone get hurt. So we here at the Malnarn wish him the best in his recovery.

All in all, I am very pleased with the result of the regular season. The Packers own the best record in football and are the #1 seed in the playoffs, the bears and queens are done, and barring a huge upset Aaron Rodgers should be the MVP. Let's enjoy this weekend of stress-less football watching. GO PACK!

Pre-Season Predictions

August is over, so is the preseason. It's less than a week until REAL football starts. So that means it's time for us to make our pre-season predictions.

PACKERS

The Pack return 21 out of 22 starters from the Super Bowl run of 2010. I believe that the loss of Cullen Jenkins will prove to be a mistake, but not a big enough one to lose the division. I predict that Rodgers shreds defenses with the help of JerMichael Finley, the running game is mildly improved (but not substantial), and the defense led by the Claymaker will be top 5 for the 3rd year in a row. Packers win the division with a record of 11-5.

LIONS

I was a believer in the Lions in 2010 and thought that they would finish ahead of the bears until Matthew Stafford went down for the season. This year there is a lot of hype surrounding the defense and Stafford's impressive pre-season performance. I think the Lions are on the verge of making a big splash in the NFL. They have a ton of talent on both sides of the ball, but injuries have been their downfall. Even this pre-season they have lost their first 2 draft picks. If Stafford stays healthy, it will be a tight race (but not too tight) at the end of the season. I have the Lions finishing 2nd in the NFC North with a record of 9-7.

BEARS

I think this will be the year that the bears luck will catch up with them. They have historically had a better record than their ability and I find it difficult to believe that they can do it again this year. Cutler will be 2nd in the league in INTs only behind Eli Manning. And the new kickoff rule will kill the bears' field position and take Hester/Manning partially out of the game. Along with an aging defense, I think this will be the beginning of the decline of the bears. Opposing defenses will catch more touchdowns from Cutler than Roy Williams. The Bears finish 3rd in the North with a 7-9 record.

Vikings

The Queens are an intriguing team, but not really that intriguing. The acquisition of Donovan McNabb will bridge the gap between Brett Favre and QB-of-the-future Christian Ponder. The O-line has major problems, and the defense and receiving corps have big question marks. I see the vikings giving up on the playoffs just after midseason and handing the reigns to the rookie QB to gain experience. Last in the division at 5-11.

Those are my predictions for 2011. Make sure you have your brats, cheese curds, and Miller beer ready to go for next Thursday against the Saints. GO PACK!

Draft Prospects: Everette Brown, DE, Florida State

Unanimously projected as a first round draft pick, Everette Brown could fit perfectly into the Packers’ new 3-4 defensive scheme. He is big enough to play defensive end at 6’4” 260lbs (although he could stand to put on a few more pounds in the weight room), and fast enough to play linebacker. Although at FSU he was strictly on the defensive line, Brown is talented enough to adapt to any position in the front 7.

The questions have to do with Brown’s ability to cover tight ends and running backs in the 3-4. But his absolute upside outweighs his downside immensely. I had the privilege of watching Everette play in Tallahassee and at the Bowl game in 2008, and he is the type of player that fits the mold of Mickey Andrews’ FSU defense. He has the potential to have a career worthy of being mentioned in the same sentence as FSU and NFL greats such as Peter Boulware, Darnell Dockett, Cameron Wimbley, and Broderick Bunkley. He is fast enough to run around and strong enough to run through offensive linemen and running backs, he stands up well to a double-team, provides good run support, and seems to always find his way to the opposing QB regardless of the offensive blocking scheme.

Teams that run the 3-4 prefer their outside linebackers to be 6-3 or taller, and the weight generally ranges from 240 pounds to 265 pounds. Teams look for long and streamlined athletes such as Miami’s Joey Porter (6-3, 255), because they have to be versatile enough to rush the passer from the outside, hold up adequately at the line of scrimmage against the run, and cover at least the flats, and often more, in pass coverage. I believe that with the obvious need being in the front 7 for the Packers, Everette Brown would bring depth and explosiveness to the d-line and linebacking corps, making him a perfect fit at the 9th pick. Need more proof? Just watch the video below…

An Early Look at the 2009 NFL North: Chicago Bears

Offense:
The Bears livelihood does not revolve around their offense and it never has. However, over the last couple of seasons, the notorious Bears D has gotten a little older, and a lot less dominant than they were when they made it to the Super Bowl. And recently, their offense has been coming together slowly and has shown that they can produce.

The Bears have a three pronged offense with Devin Hester, Greg Olson, and Matt Forte. Devin Hester is a dangerous player whenever he gets his hand on the ball, Olson really emerged as the top target for Kyle Orton this season, Matt Forte is a great young talent who makes the Bear's offense more dangerous. However, the one bright spot for the rest of the defenses in the NFC North is the hole at the quarterback position. Yes, Kyle Orton did have a decent season in 2008, but he is not a good quarterback. There is a lot of speculation this offseason as to whether or not the Bears will go after a QB in free agency or the draft, and with Rex Grossman potentially leaving as a free agent, the Bears have a big bench space to fill. Sorry, I can't even type that with a straight face.

Defense:
The Bear's defense is definately not what it used to be. Urlacher is on his way out, their secondary has holes that have become more and more evident, and they dont strike the fear into their opponents like they used to. Just like all of the other teams in the league, the Bears are going to address their concerns in free agency and the draft.

2009 Prediction:
I expect the Bears to struggle this season on offense if their offensive success rests on the arm of Kyle Orton. I think that the Bears will pick up some quality players on defense this offseason, but when it comes down to it, I believe their offense will not be strong enough to carry them to the top of the North. The Bears finish somewhere in the middle of the conference this season. I'm not going to say where I think the Packers will finish, but I will say that I expect the Bears to finish behind the Vikings in the conference in 2009