NEWSLETTER
It’s not much of a stretch to suggest that the team that most improved itself in during the offseason resides in the NFC North.
However, former Pro Bowl quarterback and current NFL on CBS analyst Tony Romo might see things differently than you and I.
“I think the Packers probably got better more than any team I saw this offseason,” Romo told WTMJ while hosting his 15th annual football camp at Burlington High School. “The Jimmy Graham thing is a big deal, people don’t understand. You’re going to see old school Jimmy Graham. You pair him with Aaron Rodgers, you’re going to see a little bit of a different animal. In the red zone, that will be almost unstoppable. If the secondary is a little bit better, I think they’re the team to beat.”
The Chicago Bears spent this offseason upgrading nearly every position of weakness that kept the 2017 team from reaching its potential. So much so, there is an argument to be made that the improvements at head coach, tight end, and wide receiver have created an upgrade at quarterback. But I wouldn’t expect Romo to be brave enough to offer up the idea that Chicago was the most improved team in the division. I definitely wouldn’t peg him to be wild enough to suggest the Bears as the team to beat, either.
So maybe Romo is playing to the home-state crowd. Or maybe he’s onto something.
Green Bay was going to be better for not having to give nine starts to Brett Hundley, as it did when Aaron Rodgers went down with a collarbone injury. And I suppose adding Graham to that group of pass catchers and Muhammad Wilkerson to the defensive line addressed a pair of issues that were weaknesses last season. Certainly, the Packers are better than last year … but so is every other team in the division.
The NFC North already figured to be one of the toughest divisions in football, and having Green Bay as the most improved and listing them as “the team to beat” is quite a double-whammy. It’s certainly something you didn’t want to hear if you’re a fan of the Bears, or any other team in the division for that matter.
