ESPN NFC North Blog

[w_huisman]

Is it just me, or did that blog turn into 75% Packers / 25% Bears, Vikes & Lions?

It's almost comical how lopsided towards the Pack it is anymore, should just rename it to "ESPN Mostly Packers Blog".

[IrishViking]

Is it just me, or did that blog turn into 75% Packers / 25% Bears, Vikes & Lions?

It's almost comical how lopsided towards the Pack it is anymore, should just rename it to "ESPN Mostly Packers Blog".

Obviously we had a good week but one of the major story lines of the last week was a Diminished Rodgers and he came roaring back to life. That Blog aside, I am seeing a lot of love and coverage for us.

[w_huisman]

I should have said that this seems to have been the case for a while, more than a year, maybe even two.

How long has it been since Kevin Seifert was a contributor?

[DMB1MT]

Is it just me, or did that blog turn into 75% Packers / 25% Bears, Vikes & Lions?

It's almost comical how lopsided towards the Pack it is anymore, should just rename it to "ESPN Mostly Packers Blog".

ESPN is garb anyhow. I got nothing else!

[mansquatch]

Yes, the Packers are back on track against a putrid Lion's defense. WAY TO GO! The Lions defense is allowing an average of 340 yards passing and 115 yards rushing so far this season.

It is just like all the gushing over Carson Wentz. I'm glad the guy is having success but he has played three terrible defenses in the Browns, Bears, and Steelers. (Yes, the Steelers are bad defensively, they're opponents are averaging 330 passing yards against them. They were terrible last year also.)

This is typical for the first 4-6 games of the season. Weeks 6-12 are when the contenders separate from the pretenders. A good litmus test is to look at who is playing elite defense and then see who they've played. See how the league's offensive leaders have fared against strong defenses. If they fall apart, they are playoff posers, if they play tough, then they are legit. If there are any statistical offensive juggernauts that have yet to test their moxy against one of those teams then they should be viewed with suspicion. One other thing to ask is of the elite defenses which ones can both play coverage and rush the passer. AZ can play elite coverage, but their pass rush is mediocre. CAR has an elite rush, but weak coverage. (They miss Josh Norman) DEN and MIN are strong at both, SEA has been strong at both in the past, but their pass rush seems to lack the punch it had when they won the SB.

[Cliff]

Obviously we had a good week but one of the major story lines of the last week was a Diminished Rodgers and he came roaring back to life. That Blog aside, I am seeing a lot of love and coverage for us.

Was it Rodgers coming back to life or Rodgers not playing the Vikings? I hear that Cam Newton fella looks pretty good in non-Vikings games too lol

Rodgers had 3 Tds and nearly identical passing yards the week before the Vikes game too.

Sent using tapatalk. Typos should be expected.

[halfgiz]

Ha...Panthers lost because of protesters/rioting. And RODGERS THROWS 4 TD's

[Norv Zimmer]

Ha...Panthers lost because of protesters/rioting. And RODGERS THROWS 4 TD's

As someone who likes to read other teams message boards. I read that too how the Panthers we're going to unite and dominate the Vikings because of the strife going on in their City. But when they got beat it was because of the riots and turmoil going on in their City. It really sucks what is going on in Charlotte right now what to use that as false hope and then to use it again as an excuse is kind of sad.

[J. Kapp 11]

Man, you guys aren't kidding. The NFC North blog today is Bears article, long Packers article, long Packers article, short Vikings article, Lions article, long Packers article. The Packer bias is simply amazing.

Then there was an article that the Vikings' start is unsustainable. They cited their 25% turnover rate on defense and the fact that 3 return TDs in 3 games ... completely overlooking the fact that their league-leading sack and pressure rates are very sustainable given the depth and talent on this defense, and the fact that the offense may actually end up better than 31st in the league in yards gained.

Certainly the Vikings have improvement to make, especially on offense. But the lack of respect shown by ESPN is laughable. NFLN is much more balanced.

[cstelter]

My youngest son has gotten into the habit of turning on ESPN in the morning as he eats his breakfast. This morning on a SportsNation segment they did a very positive Vikings take (no doubt a preparation to build up their MNF game against the Giants). They were singing our praises and displaying some pretty impressive gaudy stats comparing our defense to last year's Broncos. They also showed what our defense did to Both AR and CN when they faced us.

Sadly, I suspect the PTB at ESPN are thinking--- Man, the Giants are going to crush the Vikings next Monday, so we have to build them up for our audience so that we can get more people to tune in and watch. Sound about right given the mass of evidence seen in their east coast bias.

[mansquatch]

Right now there are 5 undefeated teams: Ravens, Broncos, Eagles, Vikings, and Patriots. Patriots and Eagles are getting all the love. The Patriots deserve it given their QB situation. The Eagles have had a pretty soft schedule so far, but since the major outlets had the Steelers as a superbowl darling, the love fest is transferring to Philly. All QB all the time.

We face Philly on the road in Week 7. If we win out heading into our bye we'll be 5-0 and off a bye heading into that game. (This seems possible, given what we've seen so far.) The east coast media tools will probably be totally intoxicated with the Eagles by then, even more than they are now. That game might be the one that puts us in the spotlight.

It really is a testament to the overall crappiness of the sports media though. In back to back weeks we made arguably the best QB in the NFL look pedestrian and then we went into the defending NFC champion's house and quite literally man handled them. It is little bit ridiculous that we are not getting much love after what we did to Carloina on Sunday. Oh well, less media attention is a good thing IMO.

[Nunin]

Just curious, why is it so important to some of you that the team be in the national media 'spotlight'?

[fiestavike]

Right now there are 5 undefeated teams: Ravens, Broncos, Eagles, Vikings, and Patriots. Patriots and Eagles are getting all the love. The Patriots deserve it given their QB situation. The Eagles have had a pretty soft schedule so far, but since the major outlets had the Steelers as a superbowl darling, the love fest is transferring to Philly. All QB all the time.

We face Philly on the road in Week 7. If we win out heading into our bye we'll be 5-0 and off a bye heading into that game. (This seems possible, given what we've seen so far.) The east coast media tools will probably be totally intoxicated with the Eagles by then, even more than they are now. That game might be the one that puts us in the spotlight.

It really is a testament to the overall crappiness of the sports media though. In back to back weeks we made arguably the best QB in the NFL look pedestrian and then we went into the defending NFC champion's house and quite literally man handled them. It is little bit ridiculous that we are not getting much love after what we did to Carloina on Sunday. Oh well, less media attention is a good thing IMO.

Be interesting to see how Wentz copes with this defense and some of the looks he'll get. I'm assuming, based on what I've heard, that Pittsburgh has transitioned to Tomlin's weak zone defense since they moved on from LeBeau?

[mansquatch]

I'm not sure what style PIT is running, but they have been porous for the last few seasons. They've been drafting LB for several cycles, but James Harrison continues to win starting snaps which tells you how well those guys have turned out. I just looked at the stat line for the season and their defensive stats vs. the pass are not very good.

I get a sense that they are similar to GB in that they are riding their HOF QB. I was surprised they were getting so much Superbowl buzz at the start of the season. Antonio Brown is legit and so is Big Ben, but that team had a lot of problems last season. They did win a playoff game, but that was the Vontaze Burfect debacle where the CIN D handed them the game via 30 yards of stupid penalties at the end. It doesn't feel like they've done a great deal to improve from last season either, at least not given their current defensive performance.

Weeks 6-12 tend to show who is real and who is fraud in the NFL. Then there is the question of how well a team will match up vs another powerhouse. I think the Vikings will get a good test in week 5 vs. the Texans front (Clowney/Wilfork/Watt) and provide a "prove it" game against the Eagles in week 7. (I think Wentz will get exposed in that game.) We also play AZ at home, which should be a legitimate "prove it" game for us. If the Defense plays like it did in week 3 we could be looking at being undefeated going into that Week 11 game vs. the Cardinals. (I expect Ariens to have righted the ship by then) The Bears and Lions are in shambles right now and the NFC East was weak last year and doesn't look too hot this season either. Certainly lots of football to be played, but as I 've been saying most of the season, we have reason to be excited. This has potential to be a very special year.

[PacificNorseWest]

Bears are in shambles, but I don't think the Lions are.

And I wasn't high on Arizona coming into this season. Carson looks done.