NFC NORTH ROUNDUP: The Catch That Wasn’t, Ryan Broyles, And A New Coordinator

Image courtesy of Vikings.com

Our weekly look around our Division and some of the headlines produced by our greatest enemies:

GREEN BAY PACKERS

We like to hate on the Green Bay Packers on these pages, and for good reason, but I have to give Packers cornerback Sam Shields credit for admitting that they were the beneficiaries of a very dubious postseason call.

Shields, in an interview with ESPN, admitted that Dez Bryant made the catch that has been at the center of a playoff controversy that could only be outdone by some deflated footballs. Shields was covering Bryant on the fourth down play that handed the Packers a chance at the NFC Championship Game.

“It was a catch,” Shields conceded recently.  “But the new rule and at the last minute what happened, that’s what the refs came up with. I never said he didn’t catch it. He made a helluva catch I was in great coverage. Like I said, it was good on good and he came up with the catch.”

In the end, Shields’ statement means very little, as the referees still reversed the call on the field that a catch was made and the Cowboys turned the ball over on downs.

DETROIT LIONS

When the Detroit Lions went out and invested plenty of money into wide receiver Golden Tate it was a signal that Ryan Broyles was not the guy they had hoped for when they drafted him. The investment in Tate was largely a success, however, as Tate was both more productive and more durable than Broyles had been so far in the NFL.

Broyles was the fifth wide out on Detroit’s depth chart and it seems unlikely he’ll gain any ground this offseason unless he makes a monumental leap.  Despite the words of G.M. Martin Mayhew it is very possible that Broyles is off their roster come September.

“Like the sixth man in basketball, sometimes you don’t get in,” Mayhew said. “He didn’t get an opportunity to get in. But I look forward to see what he does this off-season and seeing his continual development. He’ll be a year removed from that Achilles injury, I think he’ll have a little bit more pep in his step this off-season, so I’ll look forward to seeing him work.”

Of course, the addition of a free agent or a rookie that has even more pep in his step than Broyles does could spell the end of his career with the team that selected him.

CHICAGO BEARS

Adam Gase, upon departing from the Denver Broncos following their postseason loss, was thought to be the toast of the town when it came to head coaching vacancies.  He did interview with the Broncos and 49ers and was also thought to be a candidate with Buffalo and Atlanta.

Well, things didn’t quite work out on that front, and Gase is now the offensive coordinator for the Chicago Bears.  John Fox is the new head coach for Chicago and now we all get to find out if that Broncos offense was equal parts Gase and Manning or not.

 

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