Tony Cosentino (2 minute read)
Baseball is no longer America’s greatest past time. America now enjoys infighting about politics above all else. However, when Uncle Randy isn’t sparking fights at family dinners Americans love nothing more than to gamble on sports. Which is why we’re talking NFC over/unders for win totals for the 2022 season.
We’ve got a little over a month to go before the season begins and teams have all started training camp. Before another one-handed end zone catch takes the collective internet by storm, let’s go through our picks for the NFC North.
NFC North
At the time of writing this, the Green Bay Packers had their line set at 11. Which means they need to win 12 if you want the over to hit. They were 13-4 in 2021 and we’re well aware at this point of their lack of star power at the wide receiver position. The offensive line is ranked top 5 going into the season though and the defense projects to be a strength for this Green Bay team that still plays in a division against the Bears, Vikings, and Lions. It’s also important to remember that the Packers are led by the reigning back-to-back MVP and Con-Air fanatic, Aaron Rodgers. That counts for something and is in large part, why we like the Packers to hit their over and win the NFC North in 2022.
The Minnesota Vikings have a line set at 9. They finished the 2021 season at 8-9 and despite us taking the Packers over and picking Green Bay to win the division, we’ve also got the Vikings to hit their over. In 2021, they lost SEVEN games by 1 score or less. There were a lot of close games that just didn’t swing their way. They also moved on from Mike Zimmer and brought in a branch of the Sean McVay coaching tree in Kevin O’Connell. Additionally, they signed Za’Darius Smith, Harrison Phillips, and Jordan Hicks to bolster their defense. We like the coaching hire. We like the offense. We like the improvements on defense.
Moving on now to the ankle biting Detroit Lions. They’re scrappy. They’re young. They’re hungry. The Lions finished 2021 at 3-13-1 which ultimately landed them Aiden Hutchinson in this year’s draft. They also brought in help at the receiver position in DJ Chark and rookie Jameson Williams. Williams may take some time to get on the field recovering from his torn ACL. The offensive line projects to be a strength for this team which bodes well for D’Andre Swift’s 2022 campaign. They’re ranked top-5 per PFF. We like the over for the Lions this year but expectations don’t go beyond 7 or 8 wins.
The final team in the NFC North and the one we have the least faith in is the Chicago Bears. They’re line is set at 6.5 and they finished the 2021 season at 6-11. Matt Nagy is out and Matt Eberflus is in. Eberflus was the defensive coordinator previously for the Indianapolis Colts. The Bears also brought in Luke Getsy from the Green Bay Packers to call plays on offense. Getsy was the passing game coordinator last season. In addition to the coaching staff changes the Bears also traded Khalil Mack to the Los Angeles Chargers, released NT Eddie Goldman, signed Byron Pringle, and traded for N’Keal Harry. If these moves feel like they hurt the Bears and/or do not get you excited about their 2022 prospects….well, that’s because they don’t help the Bears this season at all and the reason we’re in on the under. New coaching staff, an offensive lines that grades out to 31st in the NFL, and an underwhelming roster make this an easy call for us.
We’ll continue rolling out articles for the rest of the NFC divisions as well as the AFC in the coming weeks. Please keep in mind that the odds and lines for each team will shift as we inch closer and closer to the start of the 2022 season. If you feel good about a line, ensure you’re going after it before it changes.
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