Training camp is getting underway around the NFL and, despite the Chicago Bears dominating a lot of the offseason talk, the NFC North is still not yet theirs. Right now, most would agree that it belongs to the Detroit Lions.
And, one former Bear sure sounds more motivated than ever: Lions running back David Montgomery.
"Everybody's tired of being close. That's not what you want to be known for, especially when you know you've got the guys, you've got on this team," Montgomery said during training camp. "You want to finish it, so this is the year for us. The year of the reckoning and the year that we choose that we need to finish."
David Montgomery made it painfully clear that the Bears won't easily have the NFC North anytime soon
Once again, the Bears might have won the offseason (insert rival joke here, if you must) but the Lions are still the best team on paper. They are still returning an offensive group full of firepower. Jared Goff, Amon-Ra St. Brown, Jameson Williams, Jahmyr Gibbs and, of course, Montgomery, are arguably the league's best offense when they're clicking.
Their defense survived last year, despite many injuries. But, this year? Aidan Hutchinson is back, and so are many of the others who missed extended time last season. Remember, Hutchinson was leading the league in sacks before he went down for the year.
This is not a team to be taken lightly, but thankfully, Ben Johnson knows them inside and out. Now, Johnson is of course in Chicago, where fans are hoping to see a huge step from quarterback Caleb Williams.
In order to knock off the Lions atop the North, the Bears will need every bit from Williams in Year 2. And, the Bears' adversity doesn't begin and end in Detroit. No, the North is great from top to bottom and could be the best division in football on any given Sunday.
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Montgomery might believe this is the "year of reckoning" for Detroit, but the Bears are set to do everything they can to make sure that doesn't happen.