BOURBONNAIS, Ill. -- Please don't be fooled into believing that if Brett Favre does retire, the Chicago Bears automatically vault the Minnesota Vikings in the NFC North.

Are the Vikings better off with Favre at quarterback than Tarvaris Jackson?

Yes.

Even without Favre, do the Vikings still have a talented roster?

Yes.

If Adrian Peterson, Jared Allen, Bernard Berrian, Percy Harvin, Sidney Rice, Ray Edwards, Pat Williams, Kevin Williams and Visanthe Schiancoe all simultanously turn in their retirement papers tomorrow, then Minnesota is sunk.

Give Favre credit, his 2009 regular season was phenomenal (4,202 passing yards, 33 touchdowns and 7 interceptions), and there's probably no way Jackson can match that kind of productivity. But Minnesota still has way too many weapons on both sides of the ball to be written off, especially at this point of the year.

With the addition of Julius Peppers and return of Brian Urlacher, the Bears appear better on defense. But questions still remain about the rest of the defensive line and the secondary. Same with the offense. Mike Martz should produce immediate results, but we all have questions about the offensive line, while many are still unsold on the receivers.

While this Favre "news" Tuesday does close the gap between the Bears and Vikings, it's up to the Bears to pass up Minnesota. That's done on the field, not in some August press conference.

And who really knows with Favre?

This could all be a giant tease. Would you really be surprised if the Bears end up facing a Favre-led Vikings offense when they square off for the first time November 14 at Soldier Field?

I think we all know the answer to that last question.

If Favre does retire, here's how I would rank the NFC North, and the gap between Nos. 2 and 3 is close: 1. Packers; 2. Vikings; 3. Bears; 4. Lions.