I’m writing this because I’ve noticed there has been much debate over who should be considered favorites in the NFC North this upcoming season. Specifically, I want to talk about the Bears and Vikings. Why, you ask? The main reason is because I’ve noticed that a lot of Bears fans think very, very highly of their own team. So much that a lot of them are already crowning themselves 2009-2010 NFC North champions. They are already talking about winning the conference and wondering who they will face in the Super Bowl. I just want to point out that they should worry about their own division first before talking about deep playoff runs because I believe the Vikings are a superior team. To prove this, I will compare both teams position by position.

QB- Obviously the Bears have a new QB in town in Jay Cutler. He is Pro Bowl QB who has an awesome arm and is very accurate. I think he will have a large impact on the Bears offense and help Devin Hester tremendously. The Vikings on the other hand have the incredible Sagvaris Jacksonfels combo at QB. I think they have potential to be decent, but I’ve watched the Vikings too much the past few couple years to trust their QB’s.
ADVANTAGE: Bears

RB- There really is no competition here. The Vikings have the BEST running back in the league in Adrian Peterson and a backup in Chester Taylor who I believe could be a top 12 RB in the league if he started on another team. They form one of the best 1-2 punches in the league. Meanwhile, the Bears have Matt Forte and Kevin Jones. Matt Forte had an impressive rookie season last year and is a very versatile back who is great at catching the ball from the backfield. The Bears running game is nothing to laugh at, but it’s no where near as explosive as the Vikings’.
ADVANTAGE: Vikings

OL- The Bears added Kevin Shaffer, Frank Omiyale, and Orlando Pace to the offensive line this off-season. They should have an improved offensive line this year but Orlando Pace and Chris Williams are huge question marks due to their injury history.  The Vikings don’t have the vaunted the o-line they once had but it’s still an above average line anchored by all-pro guard Steve Hutchinson. Anthony Herrera is serviceable, Bryant Mckinnie is inconsistent but mostly good, and the addition of Phil Loadholt should help erase memories of Ryan "False Start" Cook.
ADVANTAGE: Vikings

TE- The Vikings have a nice duo of tight ends in Jim Kleinsasse and Visanthe Shiancoe.  While Jimmy focuses on mauling opponents during running plays, Shiancoe was a pleasant surprise last season when he remembered how to catch a pass and was for awhile T-Jacks favorite target. This is also an area of strength for Chicago because they have two good tight ends in Desmond Clark and Greg Olsen. Olsen is an extremely talented tight end who could thrive with Jay Cutler as the QB this upcoming season.
ADVANTAGE: Bears

WR- This is an area of extreme concern for the Bears. While I think Devin Hester could one day become a great number two wideout, he will never be a number one like the Andre Johnsons and Larry Fitzgeralds of the world. After Hester, the Bears have absolutely nothing at wide receiver. Rashied Davis is Troy Williamson 2.0, Brandon Lloyd is always hurt, and Earl Bennett had a grand total of wait for it….. 0 receptions last year. Juaquin Iglesias is their new receiver this year but as evidenced by Earl Bennetts success last year, we shouldn’t expect much. The Vikings aren’t loaded at WR but they have a great speedster in Bernard Berrian and serviceable slot receiver in Bobby Wade. Sidney Rice has potential but the big question mark really is Percy Harvin who has the potential to be a total bust or the Offensive Rookie of the year.
ADVANTAGE: Vikings

DL- Like RB, this one is not even close. The Bears have perennial underachiever Tommie Harris anchoring a D-line that couldn’t put together anything resembling a pass rush last year. Although, to their credit they are fantastic against the run as long as #28 isn’t on the other side of the line. As we all know the Vikings on the other hand have the modern version of the purple people eaters consisting of Jared Allen, the Williams Wall and Ray Edwards. To put in perspective how awesome the Vikings line was last year, they formed 75% of the NFC D-Line in the Pro Bowl last year.
ADVANTAGE: Vikings

LB- The Bears have Pro Bowler Lance Briggs and Brian Urlacher. While this once was a fearsome LB crew, Urlacher is now a shell of him former self. The Vikings have an emerging LB core which consists of rising star Chad Greenway, the always reliable Ben Leber, and E.J. Henderson who I believe will be a top 5 middle linebacker soon.
ADVANTAGE: Vikings

DB- The Bears DB’s are just plain awful. Nathan Vasher is bad, Kevin Payne is bad, Josh Bullocks lead one of the worst pass D’s in New Orleans, and I think I just saw Bernard Berrian run past Charles Tillman again. The Vikings have Pro Bowler Antoine Winfield, and two good safeties in Madieu Williams and Tyrell Johnson. Cedric Griffin really impressed me last year. He seemed to improve every game and he pretty much shut down Larry Fitzgerald last year.
ADVANTAGE: Vikings

As you can see, the Vikings are a superior team in almost every category. I’m not just some blind homer who believes his team is the greatest in the world. The fact is that the Bears are not Super Bowl contenders and until proven otherwise, the Vikings are NFC North Champs.