They Are Who We Thought They Were: NFC North - Week 11

Minnesota Vikings (8-1, 1st)
Last week: Def. Detroit 27-10 at home
Next up: Seattle at home
We thought: Free ride for a couple weeks.
They are: For a few minutes, they had some people nervous against the Lions (mainly survivor pool people). On a happy note, a couple weeks of non-intriguing matchups means a break from Favre Media Love.

Green Bay Packers (5-4, 2nd)
Last week: Def. Dallas 17-7 at home
Next up: San Francisco at home
We thought: Extremely desperate for a win they'd probably get, as long as it didn't come down to the final few minutes.
They are: Intriguing. And after what he did Sunday, and having seen these occasional flashes of brilliance from Charles Woodson, is he underappreciated or one of these guys who's never really tapped his full potential?

Chicago Bears (4-5, 3rd)
Last week: Lost to San Francisco 10-6 on the road
We thought: Primed for a shoot-out because their D is horrible.
They are: It's easy to pick on Jay Cutler because he seems to have this antagonstic personality, but we refuse to blame him for all 5 picks (although a couple of them were brutal), and don't buy the notion that he's not a winning QB.

Detroit Lions (1-8, 4th)
Last week: Lost to Minnesota 27-10 on the road
Next up: Cleveland at home
We thought: Missing Kevin Smith, who was a fantastic soundbite last year, as he seemed to be the only one on the team to be upset at the losing.
They are: Hey, at least they compete. Not well, but they do compete.