Independence Day. 4th of July. Fireworks. Cookouts. And around Fantasy Healthball, the celebration includes the heralding in of Training Camp Month. July is the month all NFL teams begin Training Camps and officially the countdown begins to Kickoff 2009! As the time for camps approach, we thought we would take a look around the divisions and see what may be in store this upcoming season. We will start this week with the NFC North.
The NFC North, formerly the NFC Central. Long known as the “Black and Blue” division. Why ‘Black and Blue’? Because these teams have been known for hard-hitting defense and punishing power running games for years and years. But what is that we see as we gaze toward 2009? Big, fast receivers and big-time quarterbacks now populate the division.
The biggest splash this off-season was made by the Chicago Bears acquisition of Jay Cutler. Cutler is a Pro Bowl quarterback and the Bears will re-tool their offense from “we run getting off the bus” to “we’ve got a quarterback with a cannon arm and we’re not afraid to show it off.” Expect Devin Hester to catch more than a few deep bombs from Cutler this season. But we at Fantasy Healthball feel the biggest fantasy impact will come from TE Greg Olsen. Olsen will catch 8-10 TD’s this year from Cutler. Mark it down.
The Packers return a Pro Bowl quarterback themselves in Aaron Rodgers. Brett who? Rogers helped ease that pain by throwing TD after TD and giving the Packers continued aerial muscle in their attack. With Greg Jennings healthy and entering his 2nd year full-time with Rodgers, expect this dynamic duo to make many fantasy owners happy all season long.
The Vikings are still pursuing Brett Favre at QB, and that still has possibilities. If that comes to fruition, expect Bernard Berrian, now in his first full off-season with the Vikings, to show off the deep threat ability that landed him his huge free-agent contract with the Vikings one summer ago. Another passing game threat will be newly drafted RB/WR Percy Harvin. Harvin is a sure-handed, versatile player that just may make a major impact on this Vikings offense in ‘09. All this, and we haven’t even mentioned Adrian Peterson, their All Pro running back. With Peterson, the Vikings will have no problem keeping opposing defenses focused on stopping the run first, keeping all their receivers available to make plays. The only question is who will be the trigger man.
Even the Lions can boast at the QB and WR positions this year. The Lions used the #1 overall draft selection this year to pick Georgia QB Matt Stafford. Stafford immediately becomes the face of this struggling franchise. And with a terrific young receiver in Calvin Johnson, Stafford has some tools to work with immediately. There will be growing pains for sure, but we expect the Lions to roll out their new top investment and let him fill Ford Field with spirals.
It seems the only thing ‘black and blue’ this year in the NFC North, may be opposing defenses trying to figure out a way to slow down their suddenly potent passing attacks. When you’re preparing for your fantasy football draft this year, don’t be afraid to load up on the quarterbacks and receivers in the North. — Jeff Hagen
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