Windy City Gridiron
Will the Bears be the next team from the NFC North or will someone else emerge?
The fans of the Chicago Bears are hopeful that this franchise is finally on the right track. With Ben Johnson and Caleb Williams as the team’s head coach/quarterback combo, many Bears fans are thinking, “If this doesn’t work, it’s never going to work.” However, I also believe that the confidence is high that this will work.
But when we think about the Bears' hopes for the future, you also have to look at the division. The NFC North is arguably the toughest division in the NFL. The Bears fan base is confident, but let’s be honest, the rest of the division’s fan bases are also confident about their teams’ futures.
This question is tough, so let’s break down the contenders.
My answer. Let’s start with the Detroit Lions. I think their window is starting to close. I think Lions fans will say I’m a biased homer who hates the Lions, but I just don’t know if this team can recover from the losses it sustained on its coaching staff.
Not only that, but I don’t think Jared Goff is good enough to win a Super Bowl. Goff turns 31 this year, just lost an elite play caller, and I think Goff’s best days are behind him. That doesn’t mean I expect him to be bad at this point, but just not at the level he’s been.
While the Lions roster is loaded, I think when some of these contracts are going to come due, they are going to start getting into salary cap issues, and I think the roster starts to bleed some talent as well.
The Lions' year to win it all was 2024. The window is still open this year, but the coaching staff losses will cause they to regress. I think the Lions will need to reload this coaching staff and this roster in a few years, and after not taking advantage of their tremendous 2024, the Lions aren’t going to be a Super Bowl team.
I don’t get the Green Bay Packers. I think Matt LaFleur is one of the top coaches in the NFL. The Packers roster is good, I just don’t think it’s spectacular. I don’t buy Jordan Love as an elite quarterback. He’s a very good quarterback, but I don’t think he’s at a level that can win a Super Bowl.
The Packers have a bunch of solid receiving weapons, but they don’t have top-end talent. It’s a team of several good players that are going to win more games than they lose, but without the top-end talent, I just don’t know if this roster is at a Super Bowl level.
To me, the Bears and Vikings are the most interesting teams. The Bears are the biggest wild card. How good will Caleb Williams be? How good...
