NFC North offseason exit interview 3 goo

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The roster-building Khyri Thomas Jersey portion of the NFL offseason is all but over. Your favorite team's lineup is pretty much set, with the big names in free agency all snatched up and the 2016 NFL Draft in the books. How did your favorite team do addre sing its biggest needs heading into May and June OTAs? We're taking a team-by-team look with offseason exit interviews for each division. We kicked off our look around the league with and now it's time to jump into the NFC North. Three positives 1. Kyle Long moves back to guard For all the mistakes ex-GM Phil Emery made (see: ), his decision to draft Kyle Long in the first round of the 2013 is sure helping his succe sor. Long immediately stepped in at guard as a rookie and flourished, using his athleticism and toughne s to dominate in the running game. He was so good and flashed so much potential during his first two seasons that the new regime in town, led by GM Ryan Pace, moved him to right tackle. Long didn't flop as a tackle -- he experienced his ups and his downs -- but he wasn't dominant. Because the Bears signed right tackle , Long will be moving back to guard, which he announced on Twitter in a unique way. Back in busine s Kyle Long (@Ky1eLong) And that means the Bears offensive line just got that much better. Last year, right guard was a position of weakne s for the Bears (Vladimir Duca se started 11 games). With Long back, right guard should become a position of strength again. 2. A revamped inside linebacker group It took Pace one offseason to turn perhaps the worst inside linebacker group into Last season, defensive coordinator Vic Fangio -- who brought over his 3-4 defense to replace the Bears' traditional 4-3 approach -- worked with converted linebacker Shea McClellin and . An example of their work: This year, he'll insert and into those spots. Trevathan led the in combined tackles last year and Freeman finished as highest-graded linebacker against the run. 3. A real backup quarterback When mi sed Dewayne Dedmon Jersey a game last year due to a hamstring injury, stepped in. The Bears punted on Seriously. important Jay Cutler hair update after watching Jimmy Clausen play football: wut(AP photos) Amanda Kaschube (@amandakaschube) The Bears have a funny history with backup quarterbacks -- Todd Collins was an actual thing, single-handedly ruined a playoff-bound season, and experienced so much succe s some fans wanted him to permanently replace Cutler. Brian Hoyer, who the Bears signed this offseason, should provide the team with some much needed stability in the event Cutler hits a snag. Cutler . So this was a real area of need for the Bears. Hoyer and his 82.2 pa ser rating is a solution to that problem. Three negatives 1. The departed: Adam Gase, , and are gone The Bears are on the rise, but they lost three key contributors on offense this offseason. Adam Gase, the coordinator who managed to bring out the best in Cutler, landed in Miami as a head coach. Martellus Bennett, one of the league's most complete tight ends, is now paired alongside (which gives New England in the league). Matt Forte rejoined with the Bob Lanier Jersey . None of those lo ses were unexpected, but how the Bears will replace those three individuals is a bit of an unknown. Chicago promoted quarterbacks coach Dowell Loggains to offensive coordinator, which should help with continuity, but that doesn't guarantee succe s for Cutler sans Gase. Loggains' previous stint as an offensive coordinator with the in 2013 didn't go particularly well, as the team finished 22nd in yards and 19th in points. As for their tight end problem, the Bears are banking on to remain healthy. Miller caught five touchdowns last year, including but he has a history of mi sing entire seasons with injuries. To replace Forte, the Bears tried to steal C.J. Anderson from the Broncos, but So, they'll use a committee that likely includes and rookie . Langford struggled with productivity last season, averaging a league-worst 2.7 yards per carry against base defenses, according to . 2. The secondary is still suspect The Bears had a great draft, using it to upgrade their lines on both sides of the ball, but they failed to solve Jerami Grant Jersey their secondary problem. The Bears will be relying on third-year cornerback , who has been remarkably inconsistent in his career, and , who experienced a bit of a bounce-back season in 2015, but will turn 30 this summer. Remember: This is a team that faces twice a year. And the secondary is their worst position group. The Bears recorded eight interceptions last year -- tied for the second-lowest total in the league. 3. Where's ? Soft-ti sue injuries ruined Alshon Jeffery's 2015 season. He appeared in just nine games. As Jeffery's own quarterback said last season, those injuries are typically the player's fault. "A lot of those soft ti sue injuries I put on the players," said Jay Cutler. "You've got to take care of yourself when you leave Halas ." Zach Zaidman (@ZachZaidman) So, consider it moderately alarming that Jeffery hasn't been training with the team during voluntary offseason workouts. And John Fox doesn't seem When healthy, Jeffery is Cutler's most-trusted target and is one of the top playmakers in the league. But if the injuries resurface, Jeffery will earn the dreaded injury-prone label. It also might affect his contract talks with the Bears. Three positives 1. The signing of Marvin Jones is a really good player, who's steadily improved every season. And the Lions signed him this offseason. Catches Yards TDs 2012 18 201 1 2013 51 712 10 2015 65 816 4 The Lions signed him by throwing Some might say the Lions overpaid for him, but Jones is a really darn good player, even if he's not a No. 1 wideout. This doesn't result in a completion, but it's an example of his skill set that should be used more frequently in Detroit: Marvin Jones should have got more money than he did this year. Cian Fahey (@Cianaf) The team lost this offseason (more on this later), so wide receiver clearly was a Langston Galloway Jersey position of need. The Lions signed arguably the best available wideout. 2. Jim Bob Cooter was retained The Lions started off the season with a 1-7 record. After their bye week, they went 6-2. On