I'm having a difficult time ranking the Packers. So much has changed, on defense, and the offense has ostensibly become better, most specifically through experience. Guys who seemed marginal at best at the beginning of last season, are showing they just might be the guy for the job, including on the offensive line.
I also believe Josh Jacobs is an upgrade at RB, even though it's as of now, just my opinion. I think we will find his running style, of quick cuts, and seeing slivers of openings in lines, is exactly what the Packers needed. I also believe that the battle between Kraft and Musgrave, for #1, has the makings of them both becoming exceptional players. I see the time coming, where one will be traded for some solid compensation, to help the Packers become even better, in other areas. How good can they be? I think both have the ability to be one step below what Gronkowski was, and that, in my opinion, is pretty darned good.
I'm not even going to go into how good Caleb Williams is in Chicago. Let it play out on the field. I don't think for a moment he's going to lead them to the promised land, by parting the waters of Michi Gami, so they can walk around at will. That hype is strictly for the Chicago yokels, who think the Bears are resurrected from the dead, even though nobody has a clue as to how good they are on offense or defense at this point.
Detroit? Good. Probably still a half-step ahead of the Packers, "overall." I'm not going to rank their offense and defense against ours, because we've grown on offense, and have a complete re-do on defense, by adapting this team to the 4-3, which in my opinion was an excellent decision, because I've always seen the players we have had as more suited to playing in that format. They could be pretty darned good, but that again, is my opinion. We have to wait and see how it plays out on the field.
What I will say is that we've improved a lot. Probably as much, if not better than the Bears, who got Williams. He's only one player. Odunze is good, but they need to get him the ball. We'll see. Still two players do not make a team.
Detroit, in my opinion is about the same as last year. I don't honestly think they've grown. Once again, opinion only.
The Vikings. Sorry. I don't even included them in the group to be honest. They are in deep trouble at QB, and I think they've actually fallen back a half game from last year. They have a lot of changes that need to be made, and to do them, they have to be bad enough to get some really good picks in the draft, and probably trade away a couple of top level players they have before next year, so they can get additional picks, to make it happen.
Where we suffer most is in our kicking game. I'm concerned that it's going to effect the play calling by LeFleur. If he doesn't trust it, he'll take risks he shouldn't, figuring that the automatic 3 on the boards just ain't there. People fail to see the ripple effect from bad kicking, that hurts both the offense and defense by putting them in worse predicaments. In a thread somewhere, it was mentioned by a poster that we could lose 1 or 2 games because of our kicking game this year, but it could be even worse, because it could dramatically effect the play calling leading up to those opportunities. The offense will try to do too much.
Anyhow, I see the Packers in the thick of it with the Lions for the title. The Bears will not be anointed champs, or even close to it. They may beat the Packers in Chicago, and the Vikings twice, but they will not beat the Lions, in my opinion. They'll be 3-3, and in all honesty, that's not bad at all, considering where they have been. Of course the win over the Packers is their face saving game, because of the rivalry, and their equivalent of a Super Bowl.
But, no matter what I think is going to play out, injuries on every team will make attaining goals tougher. The team that ends up healthiest will do better, but in the division, the only two capable of being decent would still be the Lions and Packers.
Just my preseason analysis. We all have different thoughts on the subject.