NFC North Know-It-All 8/20/13

Aug 17, 2013; St. Louis, MO, USA; Green Bay Packers running back Eddie Lacy (27) carries the ball as St. Louis Rams cornerback Janoris Jenkins (21) defends during the first half at the Edward Jones Dome. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports

The NFL Preseason is halfway over with, which means we’re only 32 total games away from the regular season. A lot is still to be decided. Unlike most divisions, the NFC North hasn’t been bit by the injury bug as bad as most teams have during this preseason. Instead of dealing with injuries, NFC North teams have had to deal with some offensive woes in the preseason.

The NFC North Know-It-All is to help others, especially Bears fans, know what’s going on around the NFC North. And also give fans an idea as to how it will affect their play against the Bears.

Green Bay Packers

The Packers slid past the St. Louis Rams with the score of 19-7 in Week 2 of the preseason. Aaron Rodgers went 10-for-12 for 134 yards and no touchdowns. Jermichael Finley had a pretty decent game hauling in four catches for 78 yards. Maybe Finley finally is getting his stuff together.

Everyone was looking at running back Eddie Lacy this week as he made his preseason debut with the Packers…and as a starter. He had great powerful runs that were quite impressive. He basically bounced off Rams players to get plenty of yards after contact. Aka…the Lacy hype may be real and he could be a big potential threat.

Detroit Lions

The Lions lost 24-6 against the Cleveland Browns on Thursday. Matthew Stafford threw 11-for-16 with 76 yards, with the Lions failing to score a touchdown.

Through two weeks of preseason games, we’ve gotten a sneak peak at how running back Reggie Bush might be utilized. He’s definitely going to be the featured back, but hasn’t done much outside swing passes from Stafford. His runs straight through the middle of the line have done absolutely nothing. If the Lions use him as a Darren Sproles-like player, he has a ton of potential. But if they plan to run him up the middle…I don’t see any threat.

The Lions starting receivers against the Browns, Nate Burleson and Pat Edmonds, did almost nothing. Just thought I would poke that the only real threat in the air is Megatron. Without him, they’re basically screwed.

Lions added two defensive veteran players this week: linebacker Rocky McIntosh and cornerback Rashean Mathis. The Lions are trying to piece together a defense that is effective since their preseason play has not dictated anything of the sort.

Minnesota Vikings

The Vikings lost a close one in Week 2 of the preseason to the Buffalo Bills 20-16. The most apparent Vikings flaw was the offensive line, right off the bat. The first play of the game was a sack. Whether they were having a bad day or not really caring since Adrian Peterson wasn’t there, they were atrocious.

Sighs of relief came from Vikings fans with the knowledge that rookie Sharrif Floyd didn’t tear something in his knee last week. This week the rookie had a procedure done to his knee leading him to sit out for the remainder of the preseason. It’s likely to set back the progression of Floyd.