NFC North at the Quarter Mark

Green Bay Packers (2-2) - Ah, from the best division in the league to one of the worst, and what better place to start by the center of football hype 2008? Aaron Rodgers clearly is not the under-the-radar phenom everyone was saying he was after beating amazing teams like the Vikings and the Lions. Reality check folks... even the Falcons destroyed the Lions. Yes, the Atlanta Falcons. Ryan Grant hasn't earned a penny of his big contract extension to date, and now Aaron Rodgers is hurt and could end his starting streak at 4. So much for replacing Brett Favre. Meanwhile I heard something about how Favre had an OK game against the Cardinals this week. The Packers should still win the division but lets face it; only because the NFC North is so awful as a whole. Whoever makes it to the playoffs is just going to be first-round fodder. The Pack has a lot of questions going into week 5 other than Rodgers and Grant with a season ending injury to DE Cullen Jenkins and a semi-severe spleen injury to Al Harris who will miss at least some time recovering. If the offense can't move the ball when faced with good defenses (like Tampa Bay, who were really only threatened by Ronde Barber's sudden loss of balance) Green Bay is going to fall far short of the high offseason hopes.

Chicago Bears (2-2) - Kyle Orton? Really? We'll see how long he lasts. The Bears were flying under the radar in the race for "most retarded QB controvery in the league" this past offseason, but Orton managed to beat the Eagles and the Colts, two teams who traditionally aren't as bad against the pass as one would think. On the positive side, Matt Forte looks like the real deal. He's like a Deuce McAllister, except with two good knees. However like 2006 Larry Johnson, worries are surfacing about his workload. The defense has improved by leaps and bounds from last season, aided by the return to health of many key defensive starters. For now at least, the defense should be able to mollify at least a portion of the inevitable offensive bumbling.

Minnesota Vikings (1-3) - Brad Childress. Look, the guy even has the important part of "Child Molester" in his last name, and he even looks the part. Calling time out to throw the challenge flag and lose another time out? Come on. I will give credit where it's due for benching Tarvaris Jackson after he clearly regressed from the final four games of last season, but you have to look at it differently because Jackson is African American. Gus Frerotte won't last a full season anyways, so we'll see Jackson again soon enough. Meanwhile, where's that defensive front four that even scared the commentators in the preseason? Jared Allen has done an adequate job, but I don't think you could find one person that knows anything about the game to say he's lived up to expectations. The pass rush can't be that great if the Vikings keep getting killed through the air. And running (literally) a ball control offense doesn't work if nobody fears your quarterback(s).

Detroit Lions (0-3) - At least the Matt Millen era is over. On one hand it's unfortunate because you could count on him to draft the most hyped up player available and watch him fail miserably. Roy Williams worked out (kind of, he's not good enough to lock into a long term deal apparently) and Calvin Johnson in my humble opinion hasn't lived up to his #2 draftee status, although he's not a bust by any means. Jon Kitna was even keeping it close with the Packers until he threw two pick-6s in the fourth quarter. No, the problems with the Lions start and end with the defense. You'd think that Millen, a former linebacker, would be able to draft at least a couple of decent ones. Yet Ernie Sims is the only one that has worked out, and the Lions' front 7 holds less water than a sieve. While they're not wretched to the degree of the St. Louis Rams, they're pretty close. Luckily they still have several division games left, so 0-16 should be out of the question.