Last year, the Chicago Bears mauled early, hibernated late, and woke up enough to get to the Super Bowl on the strength of their stellar defense. It didn’t hurt that Minnesota, Green Bay, and Detroit lined up like so much salmon to be eaten. In the season coming up, will the Bears have reason for concern in the NFC North, or will it be 2006: The Sequel?

From bottom to top, the NFC North in 2007-08:

Detroit Lions: For a team than hasn’t won 10 games in a season since 1995, the Lions, at least outwardly, are confident beyond measure going into the season, QB Jon Kitna and WR Mike Furrey being the heads of the “We’ll Win 10 Games, At Least” Club. Well, here’s a few reasons why the bandwagon isn’t that large, Matt Millen being the biggest one. The general manager continues to draft wideouts, and, best player on the board or not, it’s time to go in another direction (as if Mike Williams and Carlos Rogers’ often spectacular flameouts weren’t enough evidence). The defense is poor at best, and they’ve lost Dre Bly to Denver to make things worse. They did sign RB Tatum Bell, but when you’re the only rock in a slingshot firing at UZI’s, chances for success aren’t good. Prediction: 6-10, fourth place

Green Bay Packers: This just in: Brett Favre may or may not retire at the end of the season. Stay tuned. But first, one may wonder what, exactly, he returns to. He has only Donald Driver to throw to, basically. Ahman Green left for Houston. And Favre had a decent year, but, at a year older, was that the start of an upwards trend or a mere aberration? Defensively, the Packers are good, with A.J. Hawk and Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila the standouts on last year’s 12th-ranked defense. But a good defense can only elevate a team with a mediocre-at-best offense just so far. Which will leave two questions at the end: Will he? And what does the future hold, with or without him? Prediction: 8-8, third place

Minnesota Vikings: It’s about time for an upswing in the Twin Cities, and some fresh young talent will help push them in the right direction. Drafting Oklahoma superback Adrian Peterson was a great move, especially since he can learn behind a good, solid starter in Chester Taylor until he’s ready to take the reins. This is all Tarvaris Jackson’s team now, which will help the young man’s confidence, and he should see improvement this year. Defensively, no real changes to report, which may or may not be a good thing. Sure, they were eighth overall, but 31st against the pass. The pass defense must improve to help the team improve. This up-and-down franchise is looking for the stability they had in the early Culpepper-Moss days, and it could start this year. Prediction: 9-7, second place, wild-card team

Chicago Bears: This will be a huge year for Rex Grossman, and will go a long way to deciding his future, both with this team and in the NFL. He will have to show, once and for all, that he’s the man in the Windy City. What will make his job tougher is the fact tha RB Thomas Jones has traded navy blue for Jets green, and Cedric Benson may not be the answer in the backfield. The Bears did a good job in drafting TE Greg Olsen, and he’ll be a big target, which can only help Grossman. If there’s anything the Bears are and should be confident about, it’s their defense, and it’s hard not to be when you’ve got LB Brian Urlacher, perhaps the best in the league, right in the middle, and excising the distractions that Tank Johnson brought along can’t hurt, either. So, all fingers point to the young man wearing number eight. How he goes could determine how the Bears go. Prediction: 11-5, division champion

The Bears are still the top dog, but the rest of the pack is closing in, looking to change the view the only way they can, by taking the lead.