As the NFL season is right around the corner, optimism is at its finest. Every team is 0-0, tied for first place. No team has been eliminated from the postseason yet. Every rivalry’s bragging rights are still up for the taking. Every player could have THAT career-defining year. The point of these articles is to give every team’s hopeful season and every team’s disaster season. While some teams’ best scenarios involve Super Bowls, other teams are simply hoping for signs of great potential from young players. I will disregard injuries in worst case scenarios (unless talking about an injury-prone player) because obviously anyone can get injured in football. This article will focus on the four NFC East teams: Green Bay, Chicago, Detroit and Minnesota.
BEST AND WORST CASE SCENARIOS IN THE NFC NORTH
Green Bay Packers
Best Case: The breakout year of Davante Adams allows Packers fans to recover from the horrible loss of their number one wide receiver Jordy Nelson to injury. Aaron Rodgers solidifies the Packers offense as one of the best in the NFL and their defense looks a lot like it did in the first three quarters of the NFC Championship game in Seattle. After a brutal loss last year, the Packers take out their frustrations on the rest of the NFL in 2015. They have the best record in football and make a deep postseason run to try and win a Super Bowl.
Worst Case: The loss of Nelson proves crucial for an offense that was once almost unstoppable. Adams doesn’t fill the hole opposite Randall Cobb, forcing the Packers to stall in the redzone without Rodgers’ favorite target. Meanwhile, the defense gives up too many points and the Packers struggle against other elite teams in the NFL on their schedule like Seattle, Kansas City, Denver and Dallas. The Packers barely miss one of the wildcard spots and finish the season 9-7.
Chicago Bears
Best Case: Jay Cutler leads a new-look Chicago attack that features similar weapons but a different system. Cutler cuts down on turnovers and continues to feed Alshon Jeffrey. Jeffrey finishes in the top five in receiving yardage in 2015 while Matt Forte continues to be great out of the backfield. The Bears defense is better than in 2014 and the team sneaks into the playoffs as a six seed.
Worst Case: Jay Cutler is officially hated by everyone in Chicago as the Bears win two games and have the first pick in the draft. Any Bears fans reading this are already prepared.
Detroit Lions
Best Case: A healthy Calvin Johnson revitalizes this offense into a postseason-caliber team. Rookie running back Ameer Abdullah is the perfect change of pace complement to Joique Bell and the Lions have great balance on offense. Ziggy Ansah becomes one of the better pass rushers in the NFL and the Lions win the NFC North at 11-5.
Worst Case: The Lions offense is not as good as everyone thought it would be in 2015. Stafford turns the ball over more than necessary and the ground game is not very good either. The offense struggles to find options outside of Calvin Johnson. The defense is good, but not good enough to carry the team, and they finish around .500.
Minnesota Vikings
Best Case: Teddy Bridgewater continues his development into a quality quarterback and makes every team regret not choosing him in the 2014 NFL draft. Bridgewater is a game manager, as he doesn’t turn the ball over and lets workhorse Adrian Peterson carry the offense. Mike Wallace, Charles Johnson and Kyle Rudolph are all talented options for Bridgewater to utilize and the Vikings make the playoffs at 10-6.
Worst Case: Mike Wallace looks lost as he enters another new system and Peterson never gets going in 2015. Bridgewater is forced to throw too many times and makes mistakes, hurting his confidence and the team’s record. The team struggles in a tough division and only wins six games.
