Inside The North: 2026 NFC North preview, predictions, breakout candidates

0:00And now it's time for Inside the North, presented by Five Hour Energy, a show dedicated to the team you love and the teams you love to hate. In a legendary black and blue division, starring former Chicago head coach Dave Wonstett. Caleb knows your offense. God, they were emotional and then shifted. Former Green Bay kicker Mason Crosby. Is it worth investing? Getting that guy gets this from for is not going to get it done right now. Minnesota legend, Chad Greenway. He started to see us draft different types of defensive players to fit a system where you're going to have to drop in coverage. You got to blitz and pressure. That's the type of player that's going to thrive in this defense. Former Detroit lineman T.J. Lane. Jared Goffs, you know, hitting his drop back and guys are still 15 yards down the field with their back turned to him and then it's kind of like, okay, like where's my guy? And now here's your host from the scoring Chicago, David Haw. Welcome to Inside the North, the weekly show looking at one of the best divisions in the NFL, the NFC North. Of course, I'm David Haw from the Han Peyton Show on 104,

1:02three, the score in Chicago and Odyssey sports. I'll be joined weekly by Dave Wonsett on the Bears, former coach of the Bears and the Dolphins T.J. Lane of the Lions, formerly Mason Crosby of the Packers, longtime familiar kicker and Chad Greenway, longtime linebacker for the Minnesota Vikings. Guys, thanks for joining us. Big season ahead cannot wait. Well, it's not one of the best divisions. I think it's the best division, fellas. Top of the box. All right. I mean, obviously you look at the NFC West and you say, hey, they're pretty top heavy with Seattle and LA and San Fran, but you know, when you're talking about the team that I represent, the Lions, you go nine and eight and you end up in last place last year. That's a pretty competitive division. Should be again, again this year. I will make the edits for next week. I will not make that mistake again. So let's jump right into the 2026 season week one. Right around the corner, right here and now. And starting with the defending NFC champion,

2:03Chicago Bears, coming off an 11 and six season, right for regression, some would say, others might say, third year, Caleb Williams, second year of Ben Johnson, they're ready to win and go one step further. So we're going to go around the horn and we're going to start with, obviously, day one step, the expert on the Bears in Chicago. Dave, could ask three questions for each of the guys. And I want you to start with the Bears here. What do you think was the biggest offseason edition for the Bears and how will that impact this year? So far it has impacted all. I mean, Bryant, the safety, Kobe Bryant, the safety from Seattle. God, I was up in practice sitting there talking to Dennis Allen before, and they love this kid. I mean, he came in, obviously he's a young guy, but when you look at the results that he's had in the plays he's made over his career, their short career. I mean, the guys had sacks, interceptions, a lot of tackles. He did it all and he was a great guy.

3:05I mean, everybody in the team kind of gravitated to him. So, you know, he will be back. So I'm optimistic it's going to be, you know, a couple more weeks and he'll be back. But that was a position that was a big, big need because he's going to be playing next to a rookie, and there are number one pick. But I mean, he really, if you put the money aside, I think from a defensive standpoint, he was a guy that our whole defense needed. He obviously was needed in a secondary that drafted a rookie first-rounder, Dylan Theanam, into play alongside him. Now that he's not there, they signed Xavier Woods and maybe fill in their, Dave, is secondary the biggest question in the team or how would you answer that question? What is the biggest weakness do you think the Bears have to really worry about heading into week one? I'm scared of decked about their defensive tackles. You know, I thought Big Dexter got better as the year went on

4:05and second round pick, it was his third year. You know, he's coming into a contract year so you know you're going to get a great effort. And he started making plays and when I was up there, I couldn't get anybody to make a positive comment at the bottom, practice, and build Johnson, the D-line coach or anybody. And now we've got some guys, I don't know much about. I mean, you know, they've got, you know, Jared Grady started at one tackle. He's a great guy, everybody loves him. God made one and a half sacks last year. You know, he's kind of a situation guy to make. And then the other tackles, I don't know much about the street kid. There's a kid, Gala Moore. They are really, really high on this six-round pick out of a Georgia Tech. He might end up starting Jordan Vanderberg. Keep an eye on him. He's going to be in the three-man rotation, but it's going to be, you know, they're going to rotate defensive tackles the entire early part of the season and see,

5:07and these other guys are good players. You know, the Gala Moore guys are good players, streets a good player, but they've all been with three, four, five, six teams. And, you know, they just haven't stuck. So the Bears will get a great effort at them, but the defensive lines are concerned. We can talk all day, we want about the secondary, but to me, it all starts up front. And right now, you know, they've got some issues that they're trying to figure out, you know, two days before the opener. He's in what's realistic to think the Bears can accomplish this year in Ben Johnson's second season. What's realistic, David? I think playoff, I just think our division is going to be so much tougher, you know, and being in this a long time, close to 40 years, you know, my experience has been for player and talent and has done it. And the team says they don't want you anymore, and they kick you out wherever you go.

6:09It may be for one year, but you are out to prove a point with a chip on your shoulder. So I think the Vikings are going to be back in the mix. I did not realize their defense wasn't as good as it was. And hey, I always look at teams, but it's probably crazy to say, I'm, I'm, I'm many new games do you have? Last year, I think Detroit had three new games. Everybody thought they were going to be super bowl contentors. And, you know, they got hit right in the face, they're going to come back. That's, Dan Campbell's not going to let that happen. They got the offensive coordinator, everything square away. I think a green base is going to be green base. So the answer to your question, playoff to me for the, for the bearers would be a very positive. And then who knows what happens in the playoffs. But I think that's the expectation that, that I'm looking at that I think is real, hopefully realistic. All right, let's move up to Detroit, TJ Lang, former Lion, offensive lineman, TJ, when you look at this season,

7:09the Lions return after going nine and eight. There's a lot of consternation about what they didn't accomplish last year. I wonder about the pressure on Dan Campbell, if there is any and how much he might feel. When you look at the off season, what did they get done? What was the Lions biggest off season edition? Yeah, well, I think they tried to really address both Lions of Scrimmage. And Cade Maze was the center that they wanted to bring in to solidify that interior spot. Obviously he's not going to be available, right? He's on the IR, he's going to miss, who knows, maybe four or five games. I think they've had a week six buy that they're probably eyeballing to say, maybe we can get him back in, but they brought in a lot more youth on that offensive line with Ben Barch and with juice grugs, who are probably going to play a lot throughout these first couple games to try to solidify that offensive line. Because we all know Dan Campbell wants to run the football. Jared Goff said his best when he is protected in the play action game. And this, that was the focal point. Then you go to the defensive side as well,

8:09where bringing a guy like DJ Wannum, who had a lot of really good years in Minnesota and in Carolina. I mean, he's a guy that can get you, you know, hopefully seven, eight sacks. That's the biggest question that Brad Holmes and Dan Campbell probably faced over the last two or three years is, what does it look like? We know you have Aiden Hutchinson. What does it look like on the other side, right? And I think they've tried to address that with DJ Wannum. And Derek Moore, second round pick out of Michigan that it's been a little banged up during training camp. We got to see him, I think in one of the preseason games, how to, you know, you definitely showed some talent, but those two spots, offensive line, defensive line, or what I'm always going to watch. And you can't go without also talking about the secondary. Obviously, everybody knows that they had some hiccups with Brian Branch, you know, with the Achilles last year, Kirby Joseph, who's been an all pro guy at that free safety position, has a knee injury, don't know how long those guys are going to be out. And then we don't need to really rehash it. But what went on with Terry Arnold and the off season former first round pick

9:14that they had to let go. So there's a lot of moving pieces in that secondary as well. But for me, I think it's going to be the pieces that they added on the offensive line, the juice scrugs and the bend barge and defensive line, DJ Wannum, Derek Moore, how can you kind of rejuvenate this group a little bit and find a way to get back to the Dan Campbell style of Gritty football, right? Like we don't care if we win three to two. Can we just make the other team kind of feel that physical impact that we're going to unleash on you the entire 60 minutes? And don't care if the other team has 600 yards, but can we find a way to win the game? And that's, that to me is, it was really a focal point. And we got to see a lot of these guys, even another guy in the offensive line Blake Miller, right? First round pick who a lot of people are going to be very excited to see, you know, how he feels in with Penaisuil moving to the left side. So that that that front seven, that particularly the defensive line and particularly that offensive line,

10:16they're going to have a lot of chemistry and a lot of jelling to do pretty quick because we know when week one comes around, man, you haven't played a lot together in games yet. And those bullets are flying and it's going to come fast. And you're going to have to find ways to adjust. And you're going to have to find ways to communicate to each other and get on the same page and build that chemistry. Definitely, if I'm a lion's fans, I'm a lion's fan. I'm watching that defensive line and offensive line come Sunday against the Saints. Staying healthy has to be the key to the lions because the injury is just ravaged. Lend the last year. It's such a different Jared Goff when he's got a clean pocket versus when he's pressured. You look at the numbers and they support that. So you look at Sue will go into the left side and they drafted the rookie on the right. And you wonder if they're able to do that because if they are, they're going to be back in the playoffs. Last year they missed for the first time since 2022. This season, what is realistic in terms of expectations for the Detroit Lions? Realistic, I think, if I think they expect to compete for the division

11:18and I don't think that's unrealistic, realistic, I think that, you know, if I'm not really into the gambling game, but if you're looking at, you know, 11 wins, I would say that's where you got to get to. I know it's different now and Mason can attest to that with, you know, being in Green Bay for so many years, Mike McCarthy used to say, let's get to 10 wins. Let's get to 10 wins and everything else will kind of settle itself out. Now with the extra game, I think it's, hey, let's get to 11 wins, right? And like Coach Dave Onstead said earlier, when you get to the playoffs, man, this isn't NBA. This isn't baseball where you get a best to seven series. You get one chance and anything can happen once you get to that level. So I think Lions fans feel pretty bullish about the season right now. I think they're getting some guys back that you missed a lot of time with last year. When you're talking about Sam LaPorta and some of the tight ends and, you know, you talk about, uh, Jameer Gibbs kind of taking that next step and being that bell cow guy. I think that the, the, the expectations are fair where we should be able to compete for the division and, you know, whether that's 11 wins, whether it's 12 wins.

12:20I mean, a couple of years ago, it took 15 wins to win this division, right? Minnesota was 14 and three in the Lions end of 15 and two. And it's just like, man, like you never know how much it's going to take. But, uh, competitive division, they know that realistic expectation. They should be right in the hunt. All right. Let's go up to the green bay with the Packers and Mason Crosby, Mason. When you look at this off season, they're facing a lot of questions that had very little to do with what was going on on the field. Josh Jacob situation is murky. You look at the injury situation with Michael Parsons may be coming back as early as week five. Perhaps so a lot of things may be outside of their control. But when you look at the off season and the biggest addition to the green bay Packers roster, what was that and how much impact will he have? Well, you know, for me, I'm going to have to, I'm going to have to hit on special teams right away. So, you know, they, they went and they got a returner and Skymore. They went and got a, well, what's wrong? You don't want me to talk about special teams? These guys, you know, I have to do it.

13:22But I feel like this was like the ultimate Packer, Packer off season, right? Where they didn't go and, they didn't go and chase like last year they went and got Aaron Banks. They went and got a Nate Hobbs. They went and like tried to get guys from other teams this year. They did get Javan Hargrave, Detackle from Minnesota, who was released. They got another good backup after they lost Malik Willis. Again, they went and got a returner, which is wild that they're actually investing in their special teams, which they haven't done in the past very often. And then we, we got Zaire Franklin, we got Sean Ryan, who was here and we resigned. And because I love TJ and I love those big guys up front, I'm always looking at the O and D line as well because they're usually the ones that protected my, you know, my butt out there on the field, whenever I was going out there to kick field goals. So I look at those guys and that's the wild thing about this team right now. They have so many question marks. I'm hoping for this Packers team that with those question marks, they can maybe

14:22try to use that to their advantage and go and sneak up on some people. There's a lot of unknowns, Josh Jacob situation. Can Jordan love? Is he elite? I mean, that's like the, the always the wild question, right? So I think some of the pieces they added, hopefully, be good in the return game. They drafted a kicker. They are looking to start their, they're starting corner. One of their corners is going to be out there who they drafted in the second round this year. So a few question marks, but I still think this team looks really solid on paper. The craft comes back. Matthew golden is a year older. You wonder of Jordan love is you said reaches that elite status. What the offense is capable of doing? Then if parses comes back, then I think it's a much different defense with a lot of different potential. So when you look at what's realistic for this Packer team, they might be one of those teams that again gets better as the season gets older. Last year they get into the playoffs at nine, seven and one. Is this year a return to the post season? Yeah, you know, I look at these first five games and they're all winnable games.

15:26But things have to go right as well. So you don't have Josh Jacobs, you don't have your, your bell cow there at the running, in the running game. You're not going to have Micah Parsons rushing the passer. So you get out a lot of question marks. Can you get to the quarterback without Micah Parsons, which I didn't prove to do last year. So I think everybody's writing this team off a little early, saying without Micah Parsons, they lost five in a row. If they can't run the ball, it can Jordan love carry this thing. So I think we'll get a lot of answers early, early on from this team. If Jordan love can take that next step, I was talking to James Jones this week and he was talking about his relationship with Aaron. And I think now they have Christian Watson, Jaden Reed, Matthew Golden, Tucker Kraft. If those guys can get that chemistry going like Aaron did with ever his guys through through my time there, this thing could really get going early. And they can find a way to if they can't get pressure, if they can't stop people on offense, at least go out there and make it a gunfight, right? Like go out and score 35 points and see what you can do.

16:29So my hope for this team is that that offense gets in sync. They, they get to a good spot through those first five, six games where either three and two, two and three, just keep it in reach and see what happens when Micah Parsons, if Josh Jacobs, you know, is able to come back and they can try to make a run. But I see this team as a playoff team again, just like everybody in this NFC North, this is going to be the toughest division. You look at NFC West, NFC North, these are going to be tough, tough games, weekend and week out. And I think the winner of this division is going to have to get to that 13, 14, 15 games to go out there and win this division. Let's go up to Minneapolis and talk to Chad Greenway about the Vikings. Chad, I think it's easy to understand Kyler Murray, the biggest offseason edition. The big question is what version of Kyler Murray do you expect for the Vikings? Yeah. I mean, obviously, off season was pretty straightforward as what's the biggest question mark we have to get answered. And you know, you answer that with Kyler Murray, you have this, you know, quarterback battle through training camp.

17:30We can call it that, you know, what was it really? Got to answer watch training camp practices a few different times. And quite honestly, I thought they were all about the same. I thought Carson Wentz looked like the best quarterback for a couple of those games or a couple of those practices. But the reality is, is, is settle on Kyler Murray and, and what version of Kyler are you going to get? I think you nailed it when you say, are you going to get that guy who's going to come in as a veteran to say, I'm going to go prove myself again. Obviously incredibly talented, you know, putting up video game numbers, but has it ever actually gotten you wins? And can you come into a team with a pretty good roster and a roster they can win right now? And can you be that quarterback then take you, take you that next up? Since 2022, the Vikings, there are only four teams that have one more games than their 68 regular season victories. And yet they're all in two in the playoffs. So this year is this the breakthrough season? Can Kyler Murray lead this team to the playoffs? And is that defense good enough to carry them to maybe the first post season victory in a long time? Yeah, I mean, that's the question that Kevin O'Connor is going to have to answer

18:30as well, right? As you come as a young football coach, everyone's excited about him. Have a good year, have a down year. Can you kind of yo-yo back up and have a great season? And it's going to hinge on a lot of this, you know, the quarterback. You always talk about, you know, the one position you have to have as a guy who can come in here and make the plays. You know, the one question I have is Ken Kyler, you know, with the downfield passing that the KOC wants to do. Can he get to those routes? Can he make those throws consistently? And then when he's flushed out the pocket, can he still make plays with his feet? You know, in training camp and all the talk in the off season, as he clearly can, and there's nothing worse as a linebacker, drop it back into zone coverage or man and get your head turned and you look back and you have an athlete like Kyler Murray running at you. I mean, good luck. He's good as a running back. So, but, you know, I think the question is going to be answered across the board as a whole organization. Is this this team organization defense ready to take the next step? I do think, you know, the biggest offseason edition, I guess we could throw Harrison Smith back in the mix on that one, because we get him last week, pulled the all time vet move, which we all love as beds to say, hey, you don't miss it up, training camp.

19:31I'll come back right when the T's right when the T's hot and that things blow in and whistling. I'll come back and get ready for the game this week and I have every intention of him playing this weekend. When we come back, we're going to go around the horn again and find out who will be the breakout performer on each team in the NFC North. You are listening to inside the North presented by five hour energy. We now return to inside the North presented by five hour energy featuring Dave Wandsett, Mason Crosby, Chad Greenway and T.J. Lang. And here's your host, David Haw. Welcome back to inside the North presented by five hour energy. I'm David Haw from the hot and paid show on one of four three, the score in Chicago and Odyssey. Every year, every team has a break up performer. So we're going to go around the horn with Dave Wandsett in Chicago, T.J. Lang in Detroit, Mason Crosby in Green Bay and Chad Greenway in Minneapolis about the Vikings. Who are going to be the breakout performers, the under the radar guys to make

20:34a contribution to the season that maybe we haven't talked about enough during training camp. Let's start with Chad Greenway up in Minneapolis about the Vikings. When I say that, Chad, what name pops into your head? Yeah, I think the name that pops in my head is Dallas Turner, former first from pick from Alabama. I've seen this kid, you know, in pads out of pads, this he looks the part. I mean, this is a kid who's just been waiting. He's grown. The growth in his game has been impressive from a development standpoint. Something you'll talk about enough is can organizations develop talent, even if you come in as a first round pick, a high rank, you know, pick, can you continue to develop your career? He's done that. I think this is a year for a breakout, you know, playing opposite of Andrew Vane, Ginkgo's going to get a lot of attention. Can he have that breakout year where he gets a template, sack total and bring some pressure on the other side? I think that's where I would look. How about the draft? Did they get a whole lot of help that they were looking for in the draft with, they had a lot of changes in the front office. So maybe there was some uncertainty there about the, what, what you were looking for immediately, how would you assess the draft and their contributions? Yeah.

21:34I think there I look at a weakness in the interior of our defensive line, right? Look at the defensive line for the Vikings and the way they get, the teams were able to get push up the middle last year against this. And we all know this in this division when it is going to be a coin toss, right? I mean, every weekend when you roll out, you know, green Bay and Minnesota this weekend playing a division game. I mean, this is these are going to be battles and, and I don't care what, what way green Bay thinks they're lipping into this game? It's going to be an absolute battle. And I think we have the same answer. Is this an 8, 9, 10, 11 win, 12 win team? Because I think we're all capable of that. The reality is is we have to go to stop the run, make teams one dimensional and make them hurt you in one way. And I think the biggest issue there was defensive line. Now you go to the draft, you go to get a kid like Caleb Banks from Florida. The kid is just like Adana. I mean, he has the most beautiful look and three technique you can see. And, and now we can see if we can develop and can he grow as a player and a rookie and come in and take some big snaps. All right, Mason Crosby. The Packers did training camp without Micah Parsons. They also might start the season without a pass rusher that they might end up

22:36adding to the mix. If they believe the rumors or reports about Josh sweat, but of the players who are there getting opportunities to maybe catch the eyes of the coaching staff and make contributions when the Packers need them, especially early in the season. Who might that describe? Yeah, I'm looking at one guy on the offense, one guy on the defense. I think the expectation is that Matthew Golden is going to take a big step this year on the offense side of the ball. Him, Christian Watson, Jayden Reed, those are our three primary receivers. So Matthew Golden's route running his ability to separate and catch the ball. I mean, his hands seem to be amazing. So I think he is going to take a huge step and they're going to depend on him to take a huge step on that offense. And then I got to go over Lucas Van Nass on the defense, right? I mean, waiting for him. He's had some injury issues. He has not just ever been able to fully go through a season being healthy and get that full full run of downs. And he showed well last year when Micah Parsons was there, he was starting to look

23:38like he was a dominant player. He looks good through preseason. So I think Van Nass, this is his time. He got his fifth year option. He's playing on that. If he can have a great year, he's going to go get himself paid either in Green Bay or somewhere else. And I think he's going to be a difference maker and he has to step up while Micah Parsons is out. Josh Jacob situation being as murky as it is. It's been maybe given some people an opportunity to get a, get a longer, harder look that they might not have ordinarily gotten. Yeah, with Josh Jacob's out, I mean, Martian Lloyd is the guy on everyone's lips right now, right? As like as Martian Lloyd going to be able to stay healthy, stay on the field, show the, like kind of reap into and tap into the potential that everybody has been expecting from him where he just hasn't been able to be on the field. I mean, we haven't seen him run since his days at USC. So I think that is going to be a big piece. He's going to need to step up. If they're going to go to Minnesota, if they're going to be able to do the things they want to do on offense, they're going to need one of these young

24:41running backs, traded for Caleb Johnson, have Martian Lloyd. One of these guys has to step up. And I think the big expectation there in Green Bay is that Martian Lloyd's going to be able to carry that weight. All right, let's go to Detroit and the Lions, TJ Lang. When you look at the people who might be under the radar, I wonder if they've won the bigger contributions might not even be from a player. If you could answer Drew Petsing as a guy, a lot of expectations on the offense according to coming into revive the offense since Ben Johnson left. Ben Johnson had obviously went to Chicago. We'll talk about the Bears in a second, but who among the players might be the under the radar performer, a guy that expected to maybe make a contribution that might not be noticed as much? Yeah, you kind of led me right into that one where, and I don't know if it's under the radar, but you talk about guys maybe coming off of injuries or a down season. And the first name I think of on offense is Sam LaPorta. And he's a kid who had a tremendous rookie year, kind of took the league like that. He's the next big thing, right? He's the next Cal Cs, the next George Kittle had some injury concerns the last

25:45couple years. I think you only played eight or nine games last year, but when you look at Drew Petsing, the new offensive coordinator and the success that he had in Arizona with Tramock Bride, right? And Tramock Bride, coming off of a year with, you know, 1200 yards and 11 or 12 touchdowns in the year before I think he's still surpassed 1100 receiving yards. That to me, if Sam LaPorta can stay healthy, he's going into a contract year. He's trying to prove coming off injury that he can be a centerpiece of an offense and a guy that is going to be one of those top, call it three or four tight ends. I really look for Sam LaPorta to have a huge year. And there's one guy giving out defense. I'll kind of stick with the same where Alimic Neal a couple years ago, I mean, this kid was, I think it was a second round draft pick had a breakout season got rewarded with a huge contract. Last year he was coming off of another injury.

26:46He didn't have the off season. He didn't have OTAs. He didn't have training camp to practice. And he got thrown out last year, but he was like, what happened to Alimic Neal? Where is he? He came back for Tampa Bay. I think he was running off pure adrenaline. They're middle of the season and then just kind of faded a little bit. He's a guy that's making a lot of money that they count on, you know, on the interior of that defensive line outside of, you know, what you have with Aiden Hutchinson on the edge. And those two names have just stuck out to me for, you know, months now. In Alimic Neal, I genuinely feel are going to have that if they can stay healthy, that all pro prove it. I'm back. Right. Like, yep, last year was a fluke. And they're going to need those guys to do that. We obviously know, like you mentioned with Drew Pets and coming over, we're going to see a lot of 12 and 13 personnel. Not only do you have to be reliable in the passing game, you got to block guys. You got to go block a defensive one on one and Sam LaPorta has proven that he can do

27:49that. And I think that he's he's due for one of those kind of sneaky, whoa, okay, like man, he's a dude type of years. And Alimic Neal on the same for the defensive side. I think he's he's he's very motivated to kind of show, yep, I signed a big deal. I know I didn't live up to it. I know I had some injuries, but now I'm healthy. I got a full off season under my belt. I got a full training camp under my belt. And I'm back and improve that. You're worth, you know, the big contract that he signed. So those two names, I just I'm super excited to watch those guts play here this Sunday. All right, Dave one sets. So if you would have asked Ben Johnson this question, my sense is that when he told Bears fans and the media to buy some stock and Luther Burden III back in during OTAs, this is guy ready for his breakout season, perhaps. Who do you think will be the breakout performers on offense and maybe one on defense for the Bears? I did not know Ben said that, but he is my guy for this reason.

28:52You know, last year as a rookie, he proved that he was durable. When he came out of Missouri in the draft, he was the second best receiver behind. I believe his name was Macmillan, the kid from Arizona with yards after the catch. And this guy is explosive now. I'm telling you, if you, when he catches a ball, if you don't get him on the ground, he's going to go for the end zone. He's going to make big plays. And I was surprised because usually, you know, you bring a rookie, at least my experience of the wide receiver. And you stick them outside because they can't learn all the slot stuff and the motions and teams changing, coverages and on and on. This guy was the slot receiver. He played outside some. He can play everywhere. And he only had 47 catches. I looked for him to double that this year because, you know, DJ Moore, who was kind of

29:55the go-to guy, no one wants to admit it in Chicago. But DJ Moore was, was their best receiver. He's gone. He's up in Buffalo now. And Roma Dunezay, this is his year of contract year, him and Caleb, you know, it's his third year. You know, he's limping around again. I mean, a guy can never get anything going consistently for whatever reason. And then what he did, he dropped a few passes. So, you know, everybody, hey, Colson, Lublin, their tight end is truly their number one receiver. Right? We know that he was the biggest target. He's some catches on and on. They use him as a wide out. They can flex him out. You know, he can do everything. This guy though, he was going to be, you know, he was a little, he was a surprise last year. Tight end, they came out of Michigan. People don't want, it's like tight ends are come out of Iowa. You know, they don't, what, what are they going to do other in block?

30:57Particularly, this guy played for Jim Harbock. He played as a freshman at Michigan in the National Championship game as a freshman. And he led Michigan in receptions. That's not brag a much because they don't throw much. But the point is, this is an 18 year old kid that did that. So yeah, he's going to be number one. They're going to, I look for teams that cover him with a lot more respect. The burden is my guy on offense. And he asked me on defense real quick, David. I know the clock's running. I would say, and I am just, this guy drives me crazy. When he was a rookie, Austin Booker, he's my type of guy everywhere I've been from the University of Miami to the Cowboys, you know, the Jason Taylor, the undersized defensive and that could run like hell. That was the guys we wanted in our four three defense. And this Austin Booker guy, you know, he got up there in the first pass rush and he spun

32:03inside and when he got the quarterback, and I'm standing next to Ryan Poles of GM and I said, you see what he just did there? Ryan said, yeah, I said, Jimmy Johnson used to say, let's go draft those guys and recruit those guys that do things that we don't have to coach. I said, that play that kid made you ain't coaching that. He did that. He's got given talent. And for some reason, he's either buying up, they got to listen to his backup this week. You know, I don't know. I mean, to me, if the Bears want to get a little pass rushing, get it going, Austin Booker has got to be in the lineup. Find out if he is against the Panthers in a week one. And we'll look at each of those matchups for week one in the NSE North for the Bears, for the Lions, for the Packers and the Vikings. When we come back, we'll take a look at the week one schedule right here on inside the North presented by five hour energy. Let's get back to more inside the North presented by five hour energy breaking down this week's

33:08matchups in the black and blue division. Welcome back to inside the North presented by five hour energy time now to look at the week one matchups. And it's great to have a head to head battle. Vikings and Packers, Packers and Vikings, let's start with Mason Crosby. Mason, what do the Packers have to do to beat the Vikings in week one? Oh, that's a great question. Well, we got to deal with that crowd noise over there at that crazy stadium and their horns going and all the show that they have. So they got to combat that first and foremost and be able to kind of control the controllables, right? Well, be able to be efficient on offense when all that noise is happening. Take everything that that Vikings defense throws at them because they're going to be unique and they're going to bring some fronts and some looks that are just difficult to play against. Obviously, the goal every week, try to establish the run. My thought is the Vikings defense for it, they're going to want this Packers team to,

34:10they're going to dare them to run. And Marcia and Lloyd carry the weight of that. Can you bring Johnson in and get him some running? And they're going to try to keep Jordan love from airing this thing out and spreading this thing down the field. So I think they have to be able to run the ball at least just effectively so that Jordan love can get in that play action game. He can, he can help this team to go win in a tough environment. And then defensively, you got to, you got to keep Kyler Murray in the pocket. Just keep him in the pocket. Try to get quick pressure on him so that he checks it down. I was looking at his numbers. I did not realize he's a 67% career passer on completion completion percentage. He is efficient. He's going to take an early look if you get quick pressure on him. So I think this Packers defense needs to get that quick pressure on him. Keep him in the pocket because he is electric with his legs. And once he moves outside the pocket, you know, stuff opens up. So just try to get that ball out of his hands quick quick pressure. That's dialing up lits is that's what they got to do.

35:11So and then ultimately into the day, go out there and score more points than the Minnesota Vikings. You know, that's a, you got trace smack now. They're hoping for the next, you know, Mason Crosby, the next kicker there. So hopefully he goes out and has a great day and special teams can find a way to win this thing. All right, Chad. So everyone's going to talk about Kyler Murray and his first start as a Minnesota Viking quarterback, but it will come down to maybe Brian Flores in his defensive plan. Where is Smith back in the fold? What do the Vikings have to do to slow down the Packers? Yeah, it's funny that Mason talked about, you know, scoring points like coming from this, you know, points leader like in all time history of just Packers history and probably NFL for all. I know I haven't checked those records yet. And I had to mention TJ too. You guys are in love through Petsing now. He was, he got his, he got a start over Minnesota at the end of my career. That guy knows how to work. He's a grinder. Now it's the last nice thing I'll say to you, TJ, all year. But that's, yeah, he's a good one. You know, listen, I'm going to flip this a little bit. I'm going to talk about Kyler Murray again because I think it's the most important talker,

36:14but I'm going to talk about Jonathan Ganon and his defense to walk it in here. And I think that's going to be an interesting play is he's watched Kyler Murray for the last number of years be his, his quarterback and what he does well and doesn't do well. And I think that's going to be the biggest focal point of this. I think there's a chance that Green Bay sits back and plays zone and sits back and plays man and makes him throw from a well. Keep him contained. Which would be number one thing. Ken Kyler react in response to that when you're going against a guy who knows what you do well. And do you send pressure to the ball of his hands early and make him throw from his back foot? Well, then Kyler can be really athletic and get out of the pocket and make plays. And now you're probably in man coverage down the field, which is a problem. So there's all sorts of ways to look at this thing. But I'm going to go back to what Mason said about the Green Bay Packers. Our running game up here, we've talked about it all off season. We're going to be more physical. We can use a fullback or use emotion. We're going to get him involved. And I think that the running game of Vikings is going to look a lot different than what it's looked like in the past. And it's going to be a focal point, which I think will be really, really impressive. If we can get it going, and if we have more Russian attempts than his past attempts,

37:16Kyler's past attempts, we win this football game by 10. Thanks for driving over. Enjoy your flight in the way back Packers. But we'll take this first dub one zero. 10. Wow. Wow. All right. How about that? All right. Let's go over to see the Bears going down to North Carolina to play the Panthers. Homecoming for Ben Johnson, the North Carolina native Dave. I know he's unsenamedo and wanted no part of talking about that. He said he'll let his wife handle that. He'll do the coaching. The Bears are going to be serious about wanting to start one and oh. Can they start one and oh? Yeah. Yes, they definitely can. The thing that people lose sight of, you know, Carolina did win their division. They were eight and nine. You know, we know that. But the fans don't know that. I mean, the fans, it's going to be a full-hassy Carolina. They just like everyone in Chicago expects the Bears to take the next step, win into division. So does the people with Carolina.

38:18Now Carolina has spent some money. They added, oh, God, I think six, seven and a lot of them were backups on the offensive line on offense, but on defense on defense. I want you to, I mean, Jason Phillips, okay. I kid out of Miami. This kid can get after it. And they signed him as a defense of lineman. They signed Devin Lloyd, the all pro linebacker. And they drafted this kid, this lead hunter kid out of Georgia Tech, Texas Tech, that I loved. And he's starting at nose guard. 120 pounder, six, three, mates plays. So my point is that this defense for Carolina, they're offense stunk last year. They were five worst offenses in the NFL. Their defense was kind of in the middle of the pack, not bad at times. You add these guys, they're playing at home. You know, the Bears offense has to be real efficient, real efficient.

39:24And then the same last point is the turnover show. Last year the Bears led the NFL and take aways on defense with 33. You know, the league average is around 15 to 17 turnovers, somewhere in that neighborhood made 20. So they're not going to have as many opportunities to set their offense up as maybe they were a year ago. And everybody's backing on Caleb Williams, you know, seven comes, come backs in the fourth quarter. That could be a trap. That could be a trap. Well, they're also going to use Deandre Swift. He just got paid. He had a contract extension three years, 33.75 million, 27.5 guaranteed in the offseason of the running back. Deandre Swift's going to be the focal point of that offense, Dave, right? Yeah, absolutely. Yeah, common unguys, but he'll be play, but he never was going to be the focal point anyway. So he's kind of a goal throughout running back if that makes sense. All right, TJ Lang, the Saints, come marching into Ford Field, good opener for the Lions,

40:35or do the, do you think too many people are maybe sleeping on Tyler's truck in the Saints because they have been not, you haven't heard a lot of talk about them being one of the, the breakout teams of 2026. Yeah, it should be a favorable matchup for the Lions here. And I say that really because one reason they're at home, they don't have to worry about communication. Now, last year when you go to week one, Lions had some new pieces on the, specifically on the offensive line had to go to Lambo Field, Loud, Rowdy, a lot of communication errors that led to them kind of getting beat down in week one last year. So going back at home, I know there's still some new pieces, but the communication, particularly on offense should be pretty clear, right? Your center should be able to talk to the guards, the guards should be able to tack the tackles, talk to the tackles, everybody should be able to hear the communication going on. And I think that that's going to help them a little bit with all those new pieces. But week one, I always look at and coach kind of hinted on it a little bit.

41:35It's always going to come down to situational football. It's always going to come down to number one, who can take care of the football on offense, who can take the ball away? Can you get a big takeaway on defense to set your offense up in the short field? Who can be better on third downs, right? Offense, can we keep the drives going? Can we wear the defense out a little bit? Defense, can we get off the field? And then, you know, red zone, or you get maybe some two minute drills. Those are always going to be the biggest factors to me when it comes to week one, because I don't think there's going to be any teams. We've already seen a couple games throughout this week, right? Where it looked a little sloppy. These coming out a week one, saying, man, we're firing on all cylinders. We're right where we need to be. You're always going to have things to work on, but the situational football is really going to make a difference. And I look at the Saints team. I think that they kind of are underrated. I know a lot of us said, hey, that NFC South is pretty weak. Like, oh, you were eight and nine and won the division last year. Like, congratulations. We were nine and eight and last in the division last year.

42:35You said, here's a Lions fan. But that doesn't mean you're not playing competitive football and you're not a good football team. So I don't think that the Lions are going to underestimate what Tyler Schuck and what this Saints team can do. I know they've got some injuries. Camp Jordan, who's been around forever, right, is not going to play this week. Alvin Camarri, I believe, is listed as questionable for this afternoon. Chris Alave is going to be their guy. Jordan Tyson, I think they've already ruled out. I think he's on IR. They're number one pick, you know, to help them out at that wide receiver position. But if you're the Lions, it's got to come down to situational football and just hearing Calvin Shepherd and Dan Campbell talk about, you know, I don't care if the other team has 600 yards or 700 yards of offense. If we can get them in the red zone and make them kick field goals, we're going to win the game. And it always comes down to that. So I think I feel pretty good about where the Lions are at right now. I don't think I'm going to watch the game film or any of us are going to watch the game, you know, this afternoon and say, wow, man, they're fired on all cylinders.

43:38But I think that, you know, if you can play good situational football, which Dan Campbell is one of the best coaches I've ever seen coach those situations and how important they are and put such an emphasis on, you know, the third downs and the red zone, then, you know, I feel pretty good about the Lions starting one now and going after Chad, I got a disagree with you. I think the Packers are going to bring it to you as well, buddy. I know I'm kind of wearing two shirts here. I've played this this year. I played eight years in Green Bay, but, you know, I feel right. I feel right. I'm on Mason side, man. I think Packers, Packers, I think Lions start one and L-Men and let's get this division kicked off the right way. I will say this that history in my experience, 40 years of doing this, the first three games of the season, there's as many plays in special teams, yes, that have a determination on the outcome as offense and defense. For Mason Crosby, for Dave Wands set, for TJ Lang and for Chad Greenway.

44:41I'm David Hough from the score in Chicago, one of four point three. Thanks for joining inside the North, presented by five hour energy week one is going to be a lot of fun. We'll be back here next week, breaking it down and talking about week two. Thanks for joining us.