Alright, the NFC North! Great post man. :)

I agree, I think the Bears will be a strong contender for the NFC North division. Trubisky is good and definitely overshadowed by the star Kalil Mack on defense. I think the Bears will be competing with the Vikings for the division and might win it for the 2nd year in a row.

I disagree on the Packers. I think Aaron Rodgers is great but the team around him isn't all that great. I think their defense looks a bit weak. The offense is pretty much all #12 and opposing teams know that. I think the head coach change will make things different for the Packers this year and typically new coaches struggle a bit their first year. I think the Pack will end as 3rd in the NFC North.

Next, the Vikings. As you know, I'm a Vikings fan and somewhat biased. I want to believe we have the strongest team in the NFC North right now. I think a 2nd year for Cousins should prove to be a more consistent. The defense looks good, as it has since Zimmer took over. The big question for me is the offensive line. They made moves and changes but was it enough? Can the new guys gel right away? I don't know.
As for the Keenum switch, a lot of Vikings fans shared your sentiment when it happened. I wish Keenum the best, but I do think Cousins is an upgrade. At the time we were paying a total of around 23 million for all our QBs (Bridgewater, Bradford, Keenum, Sloter). Last year when we got Cousins, we were paying 26.5 million for all QBs. This year he's a bit more of a cap hit, but if he proves to be 'the guy', then the contract will seem right. I'm not sure how much longer Keenum will last in the league, we might be done seeing him as a starter...

Finally, the Lions. I don't know what to say other than I like your analysis and I pretty much agree with your take on the Lions. They have to do something big to surprise me too. I like Stafford, but the guy needs a better team around him on both sides of the ball. I want to see this team do better and compete for the division, but like you said I think they need to redefine themselves. Hopefully they can this year.