Your NFL division leaders have the following records, in no particular order: 7-3, 7-3, 6-4, 10-0, 9-1, 5-5, 8-2, 7-3.  Bears, Packers, and Vikings fans, rejoice!  Your underacheiving squad of ragamuffins still has a shot at winning this thing and making the playoffs.  With as little bias as I can muster, I’m going to say that the Packers will end up taking the NFC North.

I base this assessment on their schedule, and the team’s performance last week against the Bears.  It was the sort of “complete” game that the Pack played on numerous occasions last year, en route to a 13-3 record.  Now the team has to prove that this group, led by Mike McCarthy, will not pull a Sherman and play down to their competition week after week (in retrospect, those Mike Sherman-coached Packers should have won a lot more post-season games).

With 6 games to go, it’s also reasonable to say the Packers COULD run the table– they have several games left against some 2008 also-rans.  Maybe they lose to Carolina or Chicago and end up 10-6 (shrugs).  But in looking at the others in “the lead” in this division, I see QB as the Vikings achilles heel, and the defense will be it for the Bears (can’t BELIEVE I just wrote that).

But there are anywhere from 7 to 48 other teams playing each week, too, so enough lolly-gagging, and on to Week 12.

SEASON RECORD: 36-18, 2-0 in BONUS PICKS

• Packers – win
• Bears – win
• Vikings – lose
• Lions – lose
• Chiefs – lose
• Seahawks – lose
• Dolphins – lose

BONUS PICKS!!!

• Giants – win
• Jets – lose
• Titans – win
• Eagles – win

If you’re donning the blaze orange this weekend, good luck and be safe.  That is all.