We continue our in depth break down at the depth of every NFL team by next looking at the NFC North. Three of the four defenses in the division didn’t live up to expectations in 2011, which means we should be looking at a number of changes for 2012. There are a fair share of big names in the division as well, which means some things will remain the same. Big name or small, staying the same or changing, we’ll take a look at it here.
Chicago Bears
Julius Peppers leads the defensive line with 12 sacks and 70 total pressures. He played 82.3% of snaps and has a few years left on his contract so nothing will change at his spot anytime soon. On the other side is Israel Idonije who actually played more snaps (944) than Peppers who had 919. He is very good at stopping the run with a +7.4 run defense rating, but not so good at stopping the pass with a -9.0 pass rush rating. Idonije is an unrestricted free agent who the Bears likely want back, as their backups Chauncey Davis and Corey Wootton only had 172 combined snaps on the season. At defensive tackle the Bears in recent years had multiple players they would frequently rotate in and out unlike at end. Henry Melton leads the way with the most snaps, and seven sacks and nine hits. He is in a contract year, so he very well could be looking for a big season for a big pay day. Last year the Bears gave Amobi Okoye a one year try out which ended up going well as he achieved a +4.4 overall rating which was the third highest on the line. Chicago should look to bring him back. Both Matt Toeaina and Stephen Paea are behind them on the depth chart, but both were outplayed by Melton and Okoye. Thanks to the release of Anthony Adams, both are looking to gain more snaps in the future, but should remain backups.
For over a decade now, Brian Urlacher has been the middle linebacker of the Bears when healthy. He had an amazing combination of a +11.1 run defense rating mixed with a +8.0 coverage rating. This is the last year on the five year contract he signed back in 2008, so he is looking to show he can maintain that level of play for another pay day. Joining him for 100% of plays was outside linebacker Lance Briggs. He had the second highest run stop rate at 11.3%, and he looks to remain in with Urlacher no matter the situation as long as both are healthy. The other starter is Nick Roach who managed 21 stops despite getting taken out of the nickel defense. He just signed a two year deal at the beginning of 2011, so he is also in a contract year. Backups Dom DeCicco and Patrick Trahan had just two snaps each in the 2011 season. Neither player sounds like they will have any bigger of a role next year, with JT Thomas who was a sixth round pick last year as the only other player on the depth chart to possibly keep an eye on.
Charles Tillman leads the defensive backs with a +9.5 overall rating and 92 tackles on the season which was the second most for all cornerbacks. He still has two years left on his contract which includes making a lot of money. Opposite of him was Tim Jennings who had 73 tackles which is third most. He wasn’t far behind Tillman in terms of ratings either with a +7.4 overall rating. He is a free agent, as is the player the Bears tried to replace him with Zackary Bowman. From Week 14 to Week 16 he saw significantly more snaps, but showed he wasn’t playing as well as Jennings. In the slot we saw D.J. Moore who had four interceptions without allowing a touchdown. Corey Graham is also a free agent cornerback for the Bears, and played well in his few games in the slot. At safety it looks like Chris Conte and Major Wright will get the starting jobs. They played just 606 and 592 snaps respectively, and the Bears like rotating safeties in and out which is unlike most all teams, so it greatly hurts their fantasy value. Both Brandon Meriweather and Craig Steltz are free agents, which leaves a lot of question marks to how the Bears secondary will look come the 2012 season.
Detroit Lions
Cliff Avril led the defensive linemen in both snaps at 890 and sacks with 12. He is one of the biggest defensive linemen in free agency, but the Lions are trying to bring him back. Starting opposite of him was Kyle Vanden Bosch who is entering the third year of his four year contract. He was by far the weakest link of the line with a -10.5 overall rating which might not bold well for his contract and the depth behind him. Lawrence Jackson and Willie Young are both set to make significantly less but had +11.2 and +12.4 overall ratings respectively. Moving to the inside of the line, Ndamukong Suh leads the group with 24 stops and two batted passes this past season. Fellow tackle Corey Williams is entering his last year on his contract, and it might be his last year in Detroit. He will very well still be a starter, but first round rookie Nick Fairley who managed a +7.4 rating last year will get more snaps. Sammie Lee Hill has been a backup for a few years, but has played well in the run game with 18 stops on the season. This unit it full of young talent all wanting to take snaps from each other.
The linebacking crew in Detroit had a makeover last year, with Stephen Tulloch getting added to the middle of the line. He had 99 tackles and a total of 59 stops. His contract was just a one year one, but with how well he played the Lions will likely want to bring him back. He was joined in free agency by Justin Durant. He is more of a two down linebacker but posted a +8.1 run defense rating, and he had signed a two year contract which means this is a contract year for him. While DeAndre Levy’s PFF rating of -8.6 doesn’t look all that strong, he had 86 tackles on the year which was sixth most for 4-3 outside linebackers. He currently is a restricted free agent, and will likely sign a one year contract and be unrestricted next year. One of the bigger problems with the three is they all had between 11 and 12 missed tackles on the season. While it’s possible that all three could be gone after this year, there isn’t much depth behind them to potentially replace them. Bobby Carpenter had 261 snaps on the year, but most of his PFF rating came from a +2.6 coverage rating, and he is an unrestricted free agent. Fifth round rookie Doug Hogue had just 13 snaps on the year all coming in Week 8.
At cornerback the Lions have Chris Houston leading the way. He is half way through his two year contract, and had the only positive overall PFF rating of the starting four defensive backs. Across from him was Eric Wright. Although he had 11 passes defensed over the course of the season, he also allowed 879 yards and allowed at least four catches in 12 of his 17 games this season. He is an unrestricted free agent, and the nickel back Aaron Berry looks ready to have a starting role. He had the highest coverage rating of all the defensive backs with +3.7. They also have Alphonso Smith, Don Carey and Brandon McDonald on the depth chart and if Wright leaves, one of them could replace the nickel role spot. At safety the Lions have a pair of young players in Amari Spivey and Louis Delmas. The two of them combined has a -18.5 run defense rating which is not strong at all. Both players are in contract seasons. The Lions tried to add depth to their roster by adding Erik Coleman and Chris Harris, but neither was able to permanently crack the starting lineup, and both had just signed one year deals so both are free to sign elsewhere. They also have John Wendling, but he showed he wasn’t any better in his 170 snaps.
Green Bay Packers
The Packers leading snap getter on the defensive line was B.J. Raji, who played 79.3% of snaps as Green Bay typically used two men front. He had just 13 tackles on the season and just one sack despite all of his playing time. He has two years remaining on his five year contract. Next to him is Ryan Pickett who also has two years left. He was the best player on the line with a +8.4 run defense rating, but didn’t have a sack or hit, and had just six pressures. His top backups are Jarius Wynn who had 478 snaps, and C.J. Wilson who began seeing a big increase in playing time at the end of the season. Both are above average run stoppers, with Wilson having 19 stops on the season. While Wynn had three sacks, he had just eight pressures otherwise. Howard Green had 236 snaps on the season, but is an unrestricted free agent and doesn’t look like he’s coming back. Second year Mike Neal saw 169 snaps late in the season, but had injuries these past two years, and only had a hit and five pressures on his 130 pass rushes.
At inside linebacker, Desmond Bishop leads the way. He lead the team in both tackles (103) and stops (47). He also had the second most sacks with five despite having just 149 pass rushes. A.J. Hawk has been his partner in crime in the middle. While he was fine in coverage, he had a -5.0 run defense rating. He might get competition from D.J. Smith, who played 267 snaps as a rookie thanks to injury. In that time he had a +4.8 run defense rating. All three players are under contract for three or more years. At outside linebacker, Clay Matthews is possibly the most well-known player on the Packers defense. Although he had just six sacks, he had 22 other hits and 43 other pressures. The other outside linebacker spot is a little more confusing. Erik Walden started the majority of the season. He ended up with a -20.5 overall rating, and by the end of the season the Packers were rotating players in and out at the position. He is an unrestricted free agent who also likely won’t be back. Backups Frank Zombo and Brad Jones had exactly 146 snaps each, but didn’t look much better in the time that they were in. Both are in contract years. Undrafted rookies Vic So’oto and Jamari Lattimore also saw some time late in the season, and there was nothing at the end of the season to indicate any of the four linebackers are ready to replace Walden.
At cornerback the duo of Tramon Williams and Charles Woodson led the way. They had 60 and 66 tackles respectively, although both struggled more in coverage than they had in past years. They are two of the highest paid players in Green Bay, with both players under contract for three more seasons. The nickel back playing in most situations was Sam Shields who had a disappointing sophomore season. He had a -7.3 coverage rating which was the worst coverage rating on the team. In the playoff game he shared time with Jarrett Bush who typically played in the dime defense. Bush is a free agent, and is coming off a season where he had a positive rating in five of his first seven games, and a rating of zero or lower in nine of his last ten. Special teams player Pat Lee is also a free agent, while the Packers have fourth round rookie Davon House who could take more of a role next year. At safety, Nick Collins is the star, but after 132 snaps he was lost for the season. While he still has two years under contract, it’s unsure if he will be ready for the season after this injury. Second year safety Morgan Burnett has the other starting role, and had the third most tackles amongst safeties with 83. He signed a four year contract as a rookie so he has two years to go. For a second straight year Charlie Peprah ended up as a starter due to injury, but after a -10.0 overall rating this year, the Packers might want to insure that he doesn’t have to start again.
Minnesota Vikings
The star player on the Vikings defense is Jared Allen. He had 24 sacks on the year, and had a total of 46 stops. He has two years left on his six year contract. He is one of the rare defensive ends that plays nearly every snap, with seven games where he played 100% of downs. Across from him is Brian Robison who plays nearly as much. He played 936 totals snaps on the year, and had 54 overall pressures. He could have a big second year as a starter since he is in his contract year. In the middle Kevin Williams is also in the middle of a big contract. He played 88.4% of snaps which is very high for defensive tackles, and had a +17.8 overall rating which is also very impressive. Behind them are five players who all saw similar amounts of playing time, and were rotated in and out regularly. Both Fred Evans and Letroy Guion are unrestricted free agents this offseason. Remi Ayodele typically starts the games even though he played the seventh most snaps on the line, and isn’t worth the money they are paying him with how little they play him. Both Everson Griffen and Christian Ballard are recent fourth round picks who could be seeing more playing time in the future. Of the five rotating players, Evans was the best in run defense with a +8.1 rating, while Griffen was the best pass rusher with a +1.9 rating.
The best known player is Chad Greenway. He was an every down player although he looked much more like a two down player. He had a high 111 total tackles, but also allowed 67 catches for 717 yards and five touchdowns on the year. He signed a new contract prior to last year so he will be on the team for years to come. The other two starters was E.J. and Erin Henderson who are both unrestricted free agents. Both players were amazing in run defense, with a +35.5 combined run defense rating. E.J. was typically used for nickel downs, although Erin had the much better pass coverage rating. If either player were to leave in free agency, it doesn’t look like the replacement is on the roster. Kenny Onatolu had the most snaps of the backups with 65, and is an unrestricted free agent. 2009 fifth round pick Jasper Brinkley is the other man who looks like he would see time if a starter were to leave in free agency or face an injury.
Thanks to injury, the Vikings had ten different players play 250 snaps or more. By far the best player is Antoine Winfield who should be returning to the starting lineup. He has both the highest run defense rating and pass coverage rating of the group. Thanks to his ability to play in the slot, he makes for a fine fantasy option. Opposite of him at cornerback is Cedric Griffin who was close to average but had ten total penalties which hurt his rating. Both players are signed for many more years. Behind them on the depth chart are Asher Allen and Marcus Sherels, but they combined for a -21.6 coverage rating which were both liabilities to the defense last year. Both players are in the last year of their contract. Benny Sapp is also on the roster but is a free agent, while Chris Cook remains on the roster as well. At safety, Jamarca Sanford remains under contract but had the lowest rating of all safeties in 2011. Husain Abdullah is projected to be the other starter. He had 16 stops which is the most of all the Vikings safeties, but missed half the season due to injury and his contract is up. Sixth round rookie Mistral Raymond is behind them on the depth chart. He allowed only five catches, with three of them ending up in touchdowns. However he also had three passes defensed. Tyrell Johnson also saw time at safety, but he is also a unrestricted free agent, and had a -7.3 overall rating.
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