The Packers may have a new coach, but the NFC North storylines for the season all feel like re-treads from last year. Thankfully they are still pretty sweet. We rank the very best for 2019.
Last month, ESPN released an article diving into each team’s most important storylines for the 2019 season. Ther staff of team beat writers offered up what they believed was the biggest narrative to follow for their respective teams. We read them all and now we’re ranking them.
As the offseason continues and we get nearer to the 2019 NFL regular season, let’s tackle these stories division by division — today concerning the NFC North — and answer two questions.
1. Which team has the best story? (“Best” means whatever you want it to mean.)
2. Which story is least likely to become a dominant tale of the season?
Two brothers from New York, Dan Salem and Todd Salem, debate the NFC North in today’s NFL Sports Debate.
NFC North
Chicago Bears – Is Mitch Trubisky a franchise quarterback?
Detroit Lions – Will the Lions buy into Matt Patricia?
Green Bay Packers – Will Aaron Rodgers and Matt LaFleur clash or thrive?
Minnesota Vikings – Can Kirk Cousins take the team to new heights?
Best Storyline
Todd Salem: The best storyline in this division definitely comes down to the Packers and Vikings. Each has their eye on a division title and run through the playoffs. Yet both teams’ success will depend almost entirely on the questions posed. Green Bay won’t do anything if Rodgers and his new coach can’t get on the same page.
Likewise, Minnesota is bound to fizzle again if Cousins can’t lift this team. The reason I lean toward Green Bay as the better story is twofold: it’s more interesting, but also, I think a competent Cousins season can still get Minny into the playoffs. The rest will come down to his teammates: better blocking, more playmakers, etc.
The Packers just have a fun story. Rodgers is cementing his reputation as a difficult teammate. A new coach, so young and inexperienced, feels doomed to fail if he can’t stand up to his quarterback. But if the two find a rapport, who knows how good this offense can become.
Dan Salem: Three of these four stories are holdovers from last season. Has anything changed at all in the NFC North? Even Green Bay’s story is a re-tread, although worded anew. Insert name of head coach here. How does one determine the very best story, when all four were the defining headlines of last season? I look towards the best team in the division.
The best story is in Chicago, even if its a moot point. Trubisky is a fine quarterback right now and he doesn’t need to be anything better than consistent for his team to win. Keep the ball in the hands of the offense and away we go.
That being said, the term “franchise quarterback” refers to a player who can step up and win a game for their team. If the Bears are down by 14 points with under six minutes to play, will Trubisky lead his team to victory? Those extra few victories define franchise quarterbacks and will vault the Bears into the Super Bowl conversation, rather than a winning team that everyone assumes will lose in the playoffs.
Least Likely Storyline
Todd Salem: The other two NFC North storylines seem to miss the mark. Is Mitch Trubisky a franchise quarterback? A better question for 2019 is whether he even needs to be for Chicago to excel. Will the Lions buy into Patricia? The better question is should they buy into him; is he a legitimate NFL head coach?
Patricia’s competence as a head coach will weigh on this team all year. Perhaps it is splitting hairs to ask if the team should, rather than will they be buying into his shtick. He is the man it is stuck with right now for better or for worse. I don’t feel the same resignation when discussing Chicago and Trubisky. It isn’t a question of his failures holding them back. He’s a fine quarterback. Trubisky feels like a non-story unless he becomes one of the best passers in the game, which I don’t see happening.
Dan Salem: I too am enamored with the stories in Minnesota and Green Bay. The success or perceived failure of Cousins and Rodgers will determine the success or literal failure of the Vikings and Packers. Cousins has always played well, but never got his team over the hump. Rodgers is in a tailspin when compared to where he once was. Both of these stories have sticking power.
The story in Detroit has no legs. I would argue that the Lions already bought into Patricia last season. They started out awful, getting humiliated by the Jets after having over a month to prepare for their Week 1 matchup in primetime. Detroit rebounded to a respectable finish. They still have a franchise quarterback. We don’t know if Patricia is a good head coach just yet, but it seems like his team has his back. Where’s the story?