Defensive Notes

Green Bay and Detroit had two of the league's best offenses last year, and they benefit from facing soft NFC North defenses -- each others', and Minnesota's. Things are trending similarly this year.

Detroit cut Aaron Berry (multiple arrests) and could be without Louis Delmas (knee surgery) early on, making a soft secondary even softer. Green Bay lost leading tackler Desmond Bishop (hamstring) to what could be season-ending surgery. Minnesota had too many holes to fill to offer anything of concern aside from its Jared Allen-led pass rush.

Now we learn that Chicago's Brian Urlacher has undergone knee surgery and his availability for Week 1 is in doubt. He says he'll be ready, but players always say this. Chicago is using Nick Roach at middle linebacker in Urlacher's absence, and that's a downgrade.

Chicago, Green Bay, Minnesota, Detroit. Maybe there used to be a lot of tough, low-scoring games in this division back in the day, but that was then and this is now. Not that you needed a reason to target components of Green Bay and Detroit's passing game in fantasy drafts, but the divisional schedule just makes them even more appealing.

And the same can be said for Percy Harvin, Brandon Marshall, and maybe even the likes of Christian Ponder, Jerome Simpson and Kyle Rudolph. NFC North defenses are going to give up plenty of yards and points this season.

--Andy Richardson

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