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It took longer than expected. Preliminary decisions were questioned. Debates extended into the wee hours. We went through a first draft, then a second and even a third. Countless observers were consulted. It wasn't until I had a full week to mull the 2011 All-NFC North team that I was prepared to make the big reveal.

Via Twitter, @jpberthiaume asked: "Do people really care about these 'teams?'" I guess it's a fair point. I doubt few, if any, of the players listed in the chart wrote a fifth-grade essay about their plans to one day make the All-NFC North team on ESPN.com, even if it was only because the NFC North hadn't yet been formed in those days and ESPN.com was operating out of a Bristol-based closet.

So I'll let you be the judge. This is annually a fun exercise, even if it doesn't lead to a deep understanding of the human condition or even reveal any breakthroughs about the just-completed season. If nothing else, it offers us a blank template to recognize the best-performing players in the division without the hindrance of the politics and reputation.

Some notes on some of the tight decisions, for which I seriously received input from multiple angles:

• One of the fiercest debates came at wide receiver. Everyone agreed that the Detroit Lions' Calvin Johnson deserved one spot, but there was a split about the other two. Did the Green Bay Packers' Greg Jennings, who missed three games because of a knee injury, deserve an automatic bid? And if he did, should the Packers' Jordy Nelson or the Minnesota Vikings' Percy Harvin get the third spot? I thought Jennings' 67 receptions, 949 yards and nine touchdowns in 13 games merited a spot. And ultimately I chose Nelson over Harvin. I realize Harvin caught 87 passes in a punchless offense and added 345 rushing yards to his total, but in the end I couldn't overlook a player who scored more touchdowns (15) than all but four players in the NFL this season. Plus, as Hatterbot pointed out: "Rushing yards don't count in the WR category."

2011 All-NFC North Team

Pos.	Player, Team
OFFENSE
WR	Calvin Johnson (DET)
WR	Greg Jennings (GB)
WR	Jordy Nelson (GB)
LT	Jeff Backus (DET)
LG	Rob Sims (DET)
C	Scott Wells (GB)
RG	Josh Sitton (GB)
RT	Bryan Bulaga (GB)
TE	Jermichael Finley (GB)
QB	Aaron Rodgers (GB)
RB	Matt Forte (CHI)
DEFENSE
DE	Jared Allen (MIN)
DT	Kevin Williams (MIN)
DT	Ndamukong Suh (DET)
DE	Julius Peppers (CHI)
OLB	Clay Matthews (GB)
MLB	Brian Urlacher (CHI)
OLB	Lance Briggs (CHI)
CB	Charles Tillman (CHI)
CB	Charles Woodson (GB)
S-NB	Tramon Williams (GB)
S	Louis Delmas (DET)
SPECIAL TEAMS
PK	Mason Crosby (GB)
P	Tim Mastay (GB)
PR	Devin Hester (CHI)
KR	Percy Harvin (MIN)
ST	Corey Graham (CHI)

• I went with the Lions' Rob Sims at left guard in part on the advice of John McTigue of ESPN Stats & Information, who noted that Sims was the only NFC North left guard to play the position for 16 games this season. Sims also had the best pass-sack ratio (19.7 passes per sack) of the group, based on video study.
• There is no doubt that the Lions' Brandon Pettigrew (83 catches) had a more productive season than the Packers' Jermichael Finley (55). But the Lions often used Pettigrew as a substitute for their punchless running game, and that's why his per-catch average of 9.4 yards was lower than any other tight end with at least 30 catches. According to ESPN Stats & Information, the average pass to Pettigrew this season traveled 6.5 yards in the air. The average pass to Finley traveled 11.4 yards. Finley caught five passes of at least 30 yards. Pettigrew's longest was 27. Both players had their share of drops, combining for a total of 15, but I thought Finley made a bigger impact on his catches than Pettigrew did.
• I really debated the Bears' Julius Peppers and the Lions' Cliff Avril at defensive end. Avril (11.5) had a half-sack more than Peppers (11) and forced twice as many fumbles. But one of the advantages we have on this team is investigating beyond the conventional numbers. Our friends at Pro Football Focus (PFF) credited Peppers with 53 quarterback pressures, the second-highest total in the NFL. Avril ranked No. 8 with 37, but in a close race I chose the maximum number of plays impacted over Avril's slight edge in "playmaking" statistics.
• I used a similar approach in choosing the Vikings' Kevin Williams and the Lions' Ndamukong Suh as my defensive tackles. It's true that the Bears' Henry Melton led the NFC North's defensive tackles with seven pressures, but PFF had Suh with 27 quarterback pressures, an NFL high for an interior lineman. Williams tied for No. 3 with 25. Melton wasn't that far behind at 23, but I also took into account that the Bears nearly benched him for inconsistency at one point in the season. (Coach Lovie Smith in November: "He hasn't showed up as much. Whether teams have adjusted to him or whatever, we need to get more production from him because he's capable of it.") Meanwhile, I thought Packers defensive lineman B.J. Raji took a step backward in 2011. PFF credited him with only 10 stops (the cumulative number of plays made that constitute an offensive failure) in 842 snaps.
• If you want to say I chickened out at linebacker, go ahead. I originally left open the middle and one of the outside spots, but in the end I went with our division standbys: Brian Urlacher and Lance Briggs. For starters, Briggs was one of six non-offensive linemen to play 100 percent of his team's snaps in the NFL this season. There's something to be said for being available to your team. And while I do think that the Packers' Desmond Bishop and the Lions' Stephen Tulloch had good seasons, I couldn't find a statistic or an opinion that convinced me they were better than Urlacher. Someday, there will be turnover among NFC North linebackers. But it didn't happen this season.
• Safety play was poor throughout the NFC North, so I'm not at all ashamed to have chosen a third cornerback to replace one of the safeties on this team. It came down to the Lions' Chris Houston and the Packers' Tramon Williams. Both had their ups and downs in coverage. Houston had five interceptions and two touchdowns in 14 games, while Williams had four interceptions and one touchdown in 15 games. In the end, I chose Williams because I think it was pretty clear he was pushing through a really limiting shoulder injury for much of the first half of the season.
• I chose the Packers' specialists, kicker Mason Crosby and punter Tim Masthay. Crosby converted 24 of 28 kicks, including a 58-yarder, and ranked third in the NFL with 49 touchbacks. Masthay downed a division-high 23 punts inside the 20-yard line despite a division-low 55 punts.
• I mistakenly left off a coverage specialist from our original post. There should be no debating that the Bears' Corey Graham deserves that spot.
• Go ahead. Rip away....

Coming later this week: Some supplementary NFC North awards, including our top coordinators.

BEARS at VIKINGS

When: Noon Sunday | TV: Fox | Radio: 780-AM WBBM & 105.9 FM

CHICAGO BEARS (7-8)

Coach: Lovie Smith | Record including playoffs: 73-59

Career head-to-head record (including playoffs) vs. Leslie Frazier: 2-0

Career record (including playoffs) vs. Vikings: 9-6

Last week: Lost to Packers 35-21

Key stat: In 10 drives against the Packers, quarterback Josh McCown led the team to two touchdowns, and two field goals. The team punted twice and had two drives ended with interceptions. By comparison, in the previous four games with Hanie, the Bears punted 29 times in 55 drives, scoring four TDs, and four field goals in addition to ending drives with nine INTs.

Offense rank: 20th (321.1 ypg) | Defense rank: 18th (353.7 ypg).

Offensive leader: Quarterback Josh McCown made his first start since 2007 against the Packers and showed poise in leading the offense to its best production in terms of yards (441) of the season. McCown needs to show that the performance against Green Bay wasn’t a fluke, because last year, this team was fooled by the play of Caleb Hanie in the NFC title game.

Defensive leader: Cornerback Charles Tillman was recently named to his first Pro Bowl, and is by far the most consistent player in Chicago’s secondary, despite criticism about his age. More players in the Bears’ secondary need to model their play after Tillman, who plays a physical brand of football replete with seemingly endless effort. Tillman ranks fourth in franchise history with 29 INTs.

Streaks
" A loss would give the Bears their first six-game losing streak since 1998. The Bears haven’t lost their last six games in a row since 1989.

" The Bears are 6-1 this season when they gain 301 to 400 yards and 32-14 under those conditions since 2004.

" The Bears haven’t won a game this season (0-2) in which they gained 401 yards or more.

" The Bears are 0-2 this season in domes after finishing last year 3-0 in indoor stadiums.

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MINNESOTA VIKINGS (3-12)

Coach: Leslie Frazier | Record: 6-15 | Last week: Defeated Redskins 33-26

Career head-to-head record vs. Smith: 0-2 | Career record vs. Bears: 0-2

Key stat: The Vikings have had three different players -- Adrian Peterson, Toby Gerhart and quarterback Joe Webb -- rush for more than 100 yards in a game this season, which is the first time that’s happened since 2003 and the third time in franchise history.

Offense rank: 18th (331.6 ypg) | Defense rank: 25th (368.1 ypg)

Offensive leader: Receiver Percy Harvin is just 16 yards away from setting a new career high in receiving yards for a season. Harvin leads the team with 852 yards receiving and is tied for eighth in the NFL in receptions (77). Harvin averages 9.1 yards per touch and is the first Vikings player to score on a run, reception and return multiple times in his career.

Defensive leader: Defensive end Jared Allen is second in Minnesota single-season history with 18.5 sacks, and has also forced four career safeties. Allen is also tied for first in the league with four fumble recoveries, and eight overall as a Minnesota Viking. From 2005-2011, Allen is tied for third with 26 forced fumbles.

Streaks
" Former Bears receiver Devin Aromashodu needs 42 yards receiving to surpass 2,000 yards receiving for his career.

" Allen needs 2.5 sacks to tie the franchise’s all-time single season sack record of 21 set by Chris Doleman in 1989.

" Tight end Jim Kleinsasser is set to play in his 181st and final career game in the NFL.

MINNEAPOLIS -- Chicago showcased the capability of its quick-strike offense, when Jay Cutler fired a 67-yard touchdown pass to Johnny Knox on the first play of the team’s third possession to give the Bears a 10-7 lead after the first quarter.

Knox got behind Vikings safety Madieu Williams to haul in his third touchdown reception of the season. The TD gave the Bears their first lead of the game.

Minnesota took the early lead 7-0 lead, showing no adverse effects from the treacherous footing at TCF Bank Stadium.

Taking the ball at its own 40 on the opening possession, Minnesota used just three minutes and 38 seconds to put the first points on the board. With the Bears sliding on the icy Field Turf, the Vikings scored in six plays. Brett Favre hit Percy Harvin on a short screen for a 23-yard touchdown with 11:22 remaining in the quarter to cap the scoring drive.

Minnesota’s shortest gain on the drive was a 3-yard run up the middle by Toby Gerhart, who finished the drive with 26 yards on just four attempts.

Chicago punted on the ensuing possession, but Minnesota breathed new life into the Bears with two consecutive Favre miscues. First, Favre threw an interception to Tim Jennings on a deep ball, which was negated when defensive Julius Peppers was called for an offsides penalty.

On the next play, Henry Melton batted down a pass intended for Visanthe Shiancoe, with Peppers intercepting it to set up the Bears on the Vikings' 14. Chicago failed to take advantage of the situation, and moved the ball just 3 yards in four plays, settling for Robbie Gould’s 29-yard field goal with 5:18 left that made the score 7-3.

CHICAGO -- Behind the arm of quarterback Jay Cutler -- 13 of 20 for 149 yards and 2 touchdowns -- the Chicago Bears lead the Minnesota Vikings 14-10 at halftime.

After the Bears surrendered a 53-yard touchdown pass to a wide open Percy Harvin -- thanks to a mistake in coverage by defensive backs Tim Jennings and Chris Harris -- Cutler and the offense took over in Vikings' territory because of a heads-up play by Rashied Davis, who picked up a short kick and returned it 32 yards to the Minnesota 49. Despite a few costly penalties, the Bears were able to find the end zone on a Cutler to Devin Hester 19-yard touchdown pass.

Earlier in the quarter, Cutler found Greg Olsen on a 17-yard touchdown strike.

Johnny Knox leads all Bears receivers with 4 catches for 68 yards.

The Bears had a chance to tack on more points after Minnesota quarterback Brett Favre fumbled the football in the final minute of the half, but Robbie Gould's 43-yard field-goal attempt missed wide left.

LAKE FOREST, Ill. -- The deal to acquire quarterback Jay Cutler from Denver left the Bears without a first round draft choice in 2009.

If the Bears, for arguments sake, had kept that first-round pick (No. 18 overall), there is a strong possibility Jerry Angelo would've selected Florida wide receiver Percy Harvin, who is believed to have been the No. 1 overall player on the Bears draft board in 2009.

"I wrote him up [predraft] as a returner, and we called him a 'blue', somebody we thought could come in and be a difference-maker," Bears special teams coach Dave Toub said. "He was hands-down a blue as a returner, and no doubt, we would love to have him. He's scary. He's a guy you have to make a conscience effort where you place the ball on [kickoff], how you place the ball, how you cover. Everybody is aware of him, every time."

"Coming out, he was a multipurpose guy," Bears receivers coach Darryl Drake said. "You could see he could do anything. They put him all over the place [at Florida] and he was able to excel. When he was in college football [he] was the most dynamic player in college football at that time. Just his body control, his hips, and those kinds of things are just gifts he has."

While the Bears eventually moved out of the second round and selected defensive lineman Jarron Gilbert and wide receiver Juaquin Iglesias in Round 3, Harvin went to division rival Minnesota in the opening round at No. 22, where he went on to make the Pro Bowl and be voted AP Offensive rookie of the Year.

"If you were a betting man, you would've said he was going to come in and make an impact," Bears head coach Lovie Smith said. "He was a special player in college. Normally those special players in college, especially the skill guys, ended up doing the same thing. It's not like it's a shock. They [Minnesota] got him at a good place because you can make the case he could've, and should've, gone higher."

Bears rookie safety Major Wright played two seasons with Harvin at Florida.

"He is a great athlete, you just put him out there and he's capable of doing anything," Wright said. "I knew he would make a mark in the NFL because I practiced against him every day. He's strong, fast, and with him getting of the line [of scrimmage], he has a quick step that kind of shocks people."

>Harvin is actually on track to have an even more productive sophomore campaign. After eight games, Harvin is
is the Vikings leading receiver with 40 catches for 519 yards and 3 touchdowns. He also took back a kickoff 95-yards for a score against Dallas on October 17, his third kickoff return touchdown in only 68 career attempts.

The former first-round pick ranks second in the NFL with 1,228 combined net yards in 2010.

"He’s just got a lot of God-given ability," Drake said. "He’s strong, strong in his legs; just an incredible athlete. He just has it all. He can catch, run, he can get out of his breaks as well as anybody in the game. So he’s just a special athlete."

Of course, it's not always smooth sailing with Harvin -- officially listed as questionable for Sunday's game at Soldier Field. The receivers has dealt with variety of health problems, including migraine headaches, and reportedly had a confrontation with Vikings head coach Brad Childress last week at practice.

But the Bears were spot on when it came to identifying Harvin's talent and potential on the NFL level.

EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. -- Percy Harvin has missed another practice for the Minnesota Vikings.

Harvin was not on the field at the beginning of Thursday's workout while reporters were allowed to watch players prepping for Sunday's game at Chicago.

Read the entire story.

EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. -- Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Percy Harvin is fighting another migraine headache.

Read the entire story.