A division that looked like one of the surer things in the 2015 NFL became very unsure in week two of the NFL Preseason. When Green Bay wide receiver Jordy Nelson went down with a season-ending injury, the Packers’ advantage over their three division rivals went with him. Now, this division is an open race, and all four teams could stay in contention through Thanksgiving. The PiRate Ratings for the Packers will change between this entry and the opening week of the season, as Nelson is almost as valuable to the green and gold offense as Aaron Rodgers.
Detroit now becomes the co-favorite in the old “Black and Blue” division with a rifle-armed quarterback in Matthew Stafford and two all-pro receivers in Calvin Johnson and Golden Tate. But, a running attack that has no star will allow defenses to key on Johnson and Tate. Losing Ndamukong Suh will affect the defense.
Minnesota is the tiger in the tall grass in this division. The Vikings are on the verge of becoming relevant again with an improving defense and more consistent offense. The return of Adrian Peterson should allow Teddy Bridgewater to have more holes in pass defense coverage to locate new receiver Mike Wallace. Our PiRate Ratings have a pre-set automatic improvement with this team if the Vikings start the season 3-0 like we think they have the chance to do.
Chicago is at a crossroads. The Mark Trestman era was a short-lived failure, and the John Fox era begins after Fox left Denver following a lackluster blowout loss to Indianapolis, in which the Broncos did not act like they were happy to be there. The Bears start over on defense with the switch from 4-3 to 3-4. Jay Cutler lost his favorite receiver in Brandon Marshall. The Bears could go either way this year. Fox could bring the Monsters of the Midway back to respectability and challenge for a 9-7 season, or the Bears could sink to the bottom of the NFC, effectively ending the Cutler era in the Second City. As the Vikings’ schedule gives them a shot at starting 3-0, the Bears are looking at a tougher start and could begin 0-3.
CHICAGO BEARS
| Bears Starting Lineup | |
| Offense | |
| WR | Alshon Jeffrey |
| WR | Eddie Royal |
| WR | Marquess Wilson |
| TE | Martellus Bennett |
| LT | Jermon Bushrod |
| LG | Matt Slauson |
| C | Will Montgomery |
| RG | Kyle Long |
| RT | Jordan Mills |
| QB | Jay Cutler |
| HB | Matt Forte |
| H-B | Dante Rosario |
| Defense | |
| DE | Ego Ferguson |
| NT | Jay Ratliff/Eddie Goldman |
| DE | Jarvis Jenkins |
| LB | Pernell McPhee |
| LB | Shea McClellin |
| LB | Christian Jones |
| LB | Jared Allen |
| CB | Kyle Fuller |
| S | Antrel Rolle |
| S | Brock Vereen |
| CB | Alan Ball |
| N5 | Ryan Mundy |
| Special | |
| Kicker | Robbie Gould |
| Punter | Pat O’Donnell |
| KR | Marc Mariani |
| PR | Marc Mariani |
| Chicago Bears | |
| Head Coach | John Fox |
| Off. Coordinator | Adam Gase |
| Def. Coordinator | Vic Fangio |
| 2014 W-L-T | 5-11-0 |
| Pts | 19.9 |
| Opp | 27.6 |
| Ratings | |
| PiRate | 95.8 |
| Mean | 95.1 |
| Bias | 95.8 |
| Average | 95.6 |
| Grades | |
| Running | C |
| Passing | C- |
| Vs. Run | C+ |
| Vs. Pass | C |
| Special Teams | C |
| Coaching + Intangibles | A- |
| Predicted W-L | 6-10-0 |
| Division Rank | 4 |
| Conference Rank | 14 |
| Overall Rank | 26 |
| Postseason | No |
DETROIT LIONS
| Lions Starting Lineup | |
| Offense | |
| WR | Calvin Johnson |
| WR | Golden Tate |
| TE | Eric Ebron |
| TE | Brandon Pettigrew |
| LT | Riley Reiff |
| LG | Laken Tomlinson |
| C | Travis Swanson |
| RG | Larry Warford |
| RT | Cornelius Lucas |
| QB | Matthew Stafford |
| HB | Joique Bell |
| FB | Mike Burton |
| Defense | |
| DE | Darryl Tapp |
| DT | Haloti Ngata |
| DT | Tyrunn Walker |
| DE | Ezekiel Ansah |
| LB | Tahir Whitehead |
| LB | Stephen Tulloch |
| LB | DeAndre Levy |
| CB | Darius Slay |
| S | James Ihedigbo |
| S | Glover Quin |
| CB | Rashean Mathis |
| N5 | Josh Wilson |
| Special | |
| Kicker | Matt Prater |
| Punter | Sam Martin |
| KR | Jeremy Ross |
| PR | Jeremy Ross |
| Detroit Lions | |
| Head Coach | Jim Caldwell |
| Off. Coordinator | Gunther Cunningham |
| Def. Coordinator | Teryl Austin |
| 2014 W-L-T | 11-5-0 |
| Pts | 20.1 |
| Opp | 17.6 |
| Ratings | |
| PiRate | 102.9 |
| Mean | 101.8 |
| Bias | 103.4 |
| Average | 102.7 |
| Grades | |
| Running | D |
| Passing | A |
| Vs. Run | C |
| Vs. Pass | C |
| Special Teams | D |
| Coaching + Intangibles | C |
| Predicted W-L | 9-7-0 |
| Division Rank | 2 |
| Conference Rank | 5 |
| Overall Rank | 10 |
| Postseason | No |
GREEN BAY PACKERS
| Packers Starting Lineup | |
| Offense | |
| WR | Randall Cobb |
| WR | Davanbte Adams |
| WR | Andrew Quarless |
| TE | Richard Rodgers |
| LT | David Bakhtiari |
| LG | Josh Sitton |
| C | Corey Linsley |
| RG | T. J. Lang |
| RT | Bryan Bulaga |
| QB | Aaron Rodgers |
| HB | Eddie Lacy |
| FB | John Kuhn |
| Defense | |
| DE | Letroy Guion |
| DT | B. J. Raji |
| DE | Mike Daniels |
| LB | Clay Matthews |
| LB | Sam Barrington |
| LB | Nate Palmer |
| LB | Julius Peppers |
| CB | Casey Hayward |
| S | Morgan Burnett |
| S | Ha Ha Clinton-Dix |
| CB | Sam Shields |
| N5 | Micah Hyde |
| Special | |
| Kicker | Mason Crosby |
| Punter | Tim Masthay |
| KR | Ty Montgomery |
| PR | Micah Hyde |
| Green Bay Packers | |
| Head Coach | Mike McCarthy |
| Off. Coordinator | Edgar Bennett |
| Def. Coordinator | Dom Capers |
| 2014 W-L-T | 12-4-0 |
| Pts | 30.4 |
| Opp | 21.8 |
| Ratings | |
| PiRate | 108.5 |
| Mean | 107.5 |
| Bias | 109.1 |
| Average | 108.4 |
| Grades | |
| Running | B |
| Passing | A |
| Vs. Run | C |
| Vs. Pass | C+ |
| Special Teams | C |
| Coaching + Intangibles | A- |
| Predicted W-L | 9-7-0 |
| Division Rank | 1 |
| Conference Rank | 1 |
| Overall Rank | 1 |
| Postseason | Yes |
MINNESOTA VIKINGS
| Vikings Starting Lineup | |
| Offense | |
| WR | Mike Wallace |
| WR | Charles Johnson |
| WR | Cordarrelle Patterson |
| TE | Kyle Rudolph |
| LT | Matt Kalil |
| LG | Brandon Fusco |
| C | John Sullivan |
| RG | Michael Harris |
| RT | T. J. Clemmings |
| QB | Teddy Bridgewater |
| HB | Adrian Peterson |
| FB | Zach Line |
| Defense | |
| DE | Brian Robison |
| DT | Linval Joseph |
| DT | Sharrif Floyd |
| DE | Everson Griffen |
| LB | Anthony Barr |
| LB | Audie Cole |
| LB | Chad Greenway |
| CB | Terence Newman |
| S | Robert Blanton |
| S | Harrison Smith |
| CB | Xavier Rhodes |
| N5 | Josh Robinson |
| Special | |
| Kicker | Blair Walsh |
| Punter | Jeff Locker |
| KR | Cordarrelle Patterson |
| PR | Marcus Sherels |
| Minnesota Vikings | |
| Head Coach | Mike Zimmer |
| Off. Coordinator | Norv Turner |
| Def. Coordinator | George Edwards |
| 2014 W-L-T | 7-9-0 |
| Pts | 20.3 |
| Opp | 21.4 |
| Ratings | |
| PiRate | 100.5 |
| Mean | 97.4 |
| Bias | 101.9 |
| Average | 99.9 |
| Grades | |
| Running | A |
| Passing | C- |
| Vs. Run | B |
| Vs. Pass | B |
| Special Teams | C |
| Coaching + Intangibles | C+ |
| Predicted W-L | 9-7-0 |
| Division Rank | 3 |
| Conference Rank | 9 |
| Overall Rank | 18 |
| Postseason | No |
The Pi-Rate Ratings 