In the NFC North, there are the Green Bay Packers, and then there is everyone else. The Packers are giant –300 favorites at press time to win their fifth consecutive division title in the Aaron Rodgers-Mike McCarthy Era. The Detroit Lions and Minnesota Vikings are fighting for table scraps at +600, and the Chicago Bears are trying to rebuild, making them +1200 long shots.
The Packers are one of the elite teams in the NFL, but they do have a weaker defense, and linebacker Nick Perry might not be healthy for the start of training camp after having offseason surgery on his shoulder. Tackles Letroy Guion and BJ Raji are also under the microscope after playing poorly in 2014.
Switching to Fox
There's still a giant gulf between the Packers and the rest of the NFC North. But that gulf is closing quickly, after the Lions and Vikings both made promising upgrades over the past year or so. Detroit might be further ahead, despite losing defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh to free agency. Minnesota will be interesting to watch with running back Adrian Peterson returning to the fold alongside sophomore quarterback Teddy Bridgewater (85.2 passer rating).
Chicago fell to 5-11 (7-9 ATS) last year, buried by injuries and something of a mutiny against head coach Marc Trestman. John Fox will take over the reins, and there's been plenty of roster turnover, but the Bears will only go as far as quarterback Jay Cutler (88.6 passer rating, 18 INT) will take them.