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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 then 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 mumber 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.

We can say with some confidence that the Green Bay Packers' coaching staff is getting a thorough once-over from the NFL this season.

Cornerbacks coach Joe Whitt is reportedly a candidate for the Oakland Raiders' defensive coordinator job, bringing the total to at least five Packers assistants who have been sought after for at least seven different jobs in the past three weeks. New Raiders coach Dennis Allen had been pursuing Greg Manusky for the job, but as my AFC West colleague Bill Williamson points out, Manusky is expected to join the Indianapolis Colts instead.

Whitt, 33, is one of two defensive assistants who survived the Packers' staff overhaul after the 2008 season. Packers coach Mike McCarthy promoted him from quality control coach to his current role, where he has received credit for his work with young cornerbacks Tramon Williams and Sam Shields.

His presumed connection to the Raiders is general manager Reggie McKenzie, a longtime Packers executive.

Despite the attention, the only Packers assistant to depart thus far is offensive coordinator Joe Philbin, who is now the Miami Dolphins' head coach.

Previewing some of the big decisions facing NFC North teams early in the 2012 offseason:

Ever since the Green Bay Packers temporarily shifted him to safety in 2008, the question has followed cornerback Charles Woodson: When would the move become permanent? After all, you don't often see players in their mid-30s locking down one of the most difficult positions in the NFL.

Subsequently, Woodson has received the NFL Defensive Player of the Year Award (2009) and three consecutive All-Pro honors. At the end of his 14th season, at the age of 35, Woodson was arguably the best cornerback on the Packers' roster. It's more difficult to find a cornerback than a safety, but would moving Woodson help make the Packers' defense better overall next season?

The Packers will at least consider that question as they await word on the status of Pro Bowl safety Nick Collins, who is two months away from finding out if doctors will clear him to play or recommend retirement because of a serious neck injury suffered in September. If Collins returns, he could team with strong safety Morgan Burnett in 2012. If not, Woodson might be the Packers' best option if they want to improve their tackling at the position.

Coach Mike McCarthy termed the discussion "very premature" during a news conference Wednesday but did not rule it out. "We're not making any position changes today," he said.

Collins' replacement, Charlie Peprah, didn't play well in Sunday's divisional playoff game to the New York Giants, missing a tackle on Hakeem Nicks' 66-yard touchdown catch and, like Woodson, failing to break up a Hail Mary pass to Nicks at the end of the first half. The sure-tackling Woodson would presumably be an upgrade over Peprah, but as we've discussed many times, the move doesn't make sense unless the Packers have a credible cornerback to take his place.

A few months ago, it would have been reasonable to think Tramon Williams and Sam Shields could hold down the two primary cornerback positions moving forward. The Packers also invested a 2011 fourth-round draft pick in cornerback Davon House, a potential nickelback with a year of development. But while they each intercepted four passes, neither Williams nor Shields played as well in 2011 as they did in 2010. House, meanwhile, was deactivated for 14 of 16 games.

That makes the Woodson issue complicated. If you're going to have a hole on defense, it makes more sense for it to be at safety than cornerback. But would the Packers be better off with a foursome of Williams, Shields, Woodson and Burnett than Woodson, Williams, Burnett and Peprah?

I think you could make that argument. But in the end, Woodson's status probably will be contingent on a number of outside factors: Collins' health, whether the Packers can find instant reinforcements at safety or cornerback in the draft and whether Williams or Shields can use the offseason to restore themselves to 2010 levels.

Sunday afternoon at Lambeau Field, two sons of Louisiana who played on the same high school team will face each other for the right to play in the NFC Championship Game. David Fleming of ESPN the Magazine brings us the story of Green Bay Packers cornerback Tramon Williams and New York Giants running back Brandon Jacobs, teammates at Assumption High School in 2000.

An excerpt:

Every season more than 250,000 high school seniors play football, but only one out of every 10,000 actually makes it to the NFL. Of those lucky few, about half of 1 percent go on to earn a Super Bowl ring. Put another way, a high school football player is nearly five times more likely to be hit by lightning than to one day hoist the Lombardi trophy.

So the story of Jacobs, the blue chip running back who fulfilled his destiny with the Giants in Super Bowl XLII, and Williams, the walk-on corner who won a ring last year with Green Bay, is nothing less than remarkable. And not just because they were high school teammates who both beat the enormous odds, but also because of the way they did it. "You couldn't find two more different players, or people, who took two more different paths to the top," says Herb Washington, Assumption's quarterback in 2000 and now the school's offensive coordinator. "The way I describe it is, football fell in love with Brandon and bent over backwards for him, while Tramon fell in love with football and had to bend over backwards for it."

The full story is here. It's worth your time.

We're Black and Blue All Over:

It appears the Green Bay Packers' success will cost them at least one prominent member of their organization. Reggie McKenzie, the director of football operations who has been a key talent evaluator for the team since 1994, is set to become the general manager of the Oakland Raiders. ESPN's Adam Schefter has the story.

McKenzie was originally hired by former Packers general manager Ron Wolf, who has been advising the Raiders on their search. He will be the second member of Packers general manager Ted Thompson's front office to be hired in a similar role elsewhere; two years ago, executive John Schneider became the Seattle Seahawks' general manager.

McKenzie had been linked to the Chicago Bears' job because of his friendship with Bears coach Lovie Smith, but it appears the Raiders swooped in first.

The Packers are also monitoring the interviews of offensive coordinator Joe Philbin, who has drawn interest for the head-coaching job in Kansas City and Miami. Quarterbacks coach Tom Clements was a candidate for the Penn State job, but it appears he will be staying after reports that New England Patriots offensive coordinator Bill O'Brien will be hired.

Continuing around the NFC North:

• The father of Packers guard T.J. Lang passed away Thursday, notes Jason Wilde of ESPNMilwaukee.com.
• Being the top seed in the playoffs is no guarantee of postseason success, notes Pete Dougherty of the Green Bay Press-Gazette.
• Tyler Dunne of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel on Packers cornerback Tramon Williams: "But, bottom line, Williams' hasn't been the same shut-down, no-trespassing cover man of a year ago. For the Packers to return to the Super Bowl, they may need him to be. Williams remains confident."
• Mitch Albom of the Detroit Free Press: "We've got a quarterback. No matter what happens Saturday night in New Orleans, no matter what unfolds in this first Lions playoff season since the last millennium, Detroit fans can say that sentence and take comfort in it."
• Saints defensive coordinator Gregg Williams appears to have the following plan for dealing with Lions receiver Calvin Johnson, via Carlos Monarrez of the Free Press: "But we do play very physical, and one of the things that we do is guys that are 6-5 end up being 5-5 when they get flipped over on their head. They didn't say that the rule says that the ground couldn't hurt their head. So we've got to find ways to make the ground be a part of it. We won't make helmet-to-helmet contact."
• Lions safety Louis Delmas has been silent this week as he prepares to return to the field. John Niyo of the Detroit News explains.
• Last year, the Minnesota Vikings began interviewing potential replacements for offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell before firing him. It appears they're doing the same in 2011. They have scheduled former Tampa Bay Buccaneers assistant Raheem Morris for an interview Friday, according to ESPN's Chris Mortensen. Current defensive coordinator Fred Pagac remains employed.
• Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton wants all stadium proposals from all sites in his hands by Jan. 12. More from the St. Paul Pioneer Press.
• Jeff Dickerson of ESPNChicago.com looks at four candidates for the Chicago Bears' general manager job.
• The Bears stack up well against other teams seeking general managers, writes Sean Jensen of the Chicago Sun-Times.
• The only candidate believed to have been contacted for the job is Baltimore Ravens executive Eric DeCosta, according to Dan Pompei of the Chicago Tribune.

We're Black and Blue All Over:

Sunday's action brought us two important turns here in the NFC North.

First, the Detroit Lions took a hit in the NFC playoff standings and would not qualify if the season ended today. Second, the Minnesota Vikings "improved" their potential draft position to the No. 2 overall spot with five weeks remaining in the season. Hooray and bully for both!

In all seriousness, here is how it breaks down:

On Monday morning, four NFC teams are tied with 7-4 records. As ESPN.com's NFC playoff standings show, the Dallas Cowboys are the NFC East leaders at the moment. The other three teams -- the Chicago Bears, Atlanta Falcons and Lions -- are tied for the two wild-card positions. Based on the NFL's tiebreaker procedure for three or more teams, the Bears would eliminate the Lions based on a better record against common opponents. Further, the Bears would have the No. 5 seed because of their head-to-head Week 1 victory over the Falcons, who would be the No. 6 seed in that scenario.

As the ESPN.com Playoff Machine shows, the status of neither the Lions nor the Bears will be impacted (for now) by the results of Monday night's game between the New York Giants and New Orleans Saints. But because the Giants would be 7-4 with a victory, Bears and Lions fans should probably be rooting for the Saints.

The 2-9 Vikings, meanwhile, hold the No. 2 spot in the draft for the moment over the 2-9 St. Louis Rams because of a weaker strength of schedule. We'll keep you updated weekly on their draft status.

I realize both sets of these projections could change dramatically over the next five weeks. But all we can do now is look at the most updated information we have. With that, let's take a quick spin around the division:

• Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Hanie after throwing three interceptions in his first NFL start, via Melissa Isaacson of ESPNChicago.com: "Hopefully, [I'll be] a lot better [next week]. The guys played great up front; Matt [Forte] and Marion [Barber] ran the ball really well and they fought really hard. I feel a little more comfortable now. It's bad we had to lose because of some turnovers. I'm sure the defensive guys will say, 'We should've stopped them,' but if we don't have the turnovers, we're in great position right there. Hopefully next week it will clean up and I'm sure it will."
• Bears offensive coordinator Mike Martz should share in the blame for a 25-20 loss to the Oakland Raiders, writes David Haugh of the Chicago Tribune.
• The Bears had everything but a decent quarterback Sunday, according to the Tribune's Dan Pompei.
• Bears linebacker Brian Urlacher, via Jeff Dickerson of ESPNChicago.com: "[Hanie] did a good job. He threw a couple picks, but that's going to happen. The tipped ball was a nice play by them. He'll get better, and I didn't think he did a bad job today. He kept us in the game. If we play better defense we win the game. We were in the game late, but just did not make enough plays on defense."
• Bears receiver Johnny Knox did his best to help out Hanie, writes Mark Potash of the Chicago Sun-Times.
• Tom Pelissero of 1500ESPN.com on the Vikings' ninth loss of the season: "Somebody will have to take the fall for what could end up the worst season in Vikings history, even if plenty of people within the organization saw it coming."
• Coach Leslie Frazier was accurate when he took the blame for the loss, writes Tom Powers of the St. Paul Pioneer Press.
• Jim Souhan of the Star Tribune praises receiver/running back/returner Percy Harvin for a great afternoon.
• The Green Bay Packers finished last Thursday's game with two reserve players in at inside linebackers. Kareem Copeland of the Green Bay Press-Gazette reviews the situation.
• Packers cornerback Tramon Williams appears to have made it back to his old style of play after being hampered earlier this season by a shoulder injury, writes Jason Wilde of ESPNMilwaukee.com.
• Lori Nickel of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel profiles an unknown member of the Packers' championship program.
• You should also check out Nickel's story on how Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers motivates his teammates.
• There has been some fan and media overreaction to the ejection of Detroit Lions defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh, according to Philip Zaroo of Mlive.com.
• Lions nickelback Aaron Berry might be pressed into starter's duty this week, notes Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press.
• Lions players haven't turned on Suh, according to Chris McCosky of the Detroit News.

After the Green Bay Packers' 27-15 victory over the Detroit Lions, here are three issues that merit further examination:

1. Kevin SeifertFollowing their win over the Lions to move to 11-0, the Packers take their turn in the examination room.
   The San Francisco 49ers' loss Thursday night gave the Packers some breathing room in their race to clinch home-field advantage throughout the NFC portion of the playoffs. There is now a two-game difference between the teams with five games remaining, which tells us the Packers are closer to clinching but that it won't happen in Week 13. (Unless there is an insurmountable tiebreaker the Packers have already achieved that I'm not aware of.) The Packers won three playoff games on the road last season on the way to Super Bowl XLV, but I'm guessing there are few opponents who would like to travel to Lambeau Field in January. As quarterback Aaron Rodgers noted Thursday, the Packers haven't had a home playoff game since the 2007 NFC Championship Game. It seems to be a matter of time before that changes.
2. Contrary to what some NFC North blog readers believe, I am aware that Lions defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh was not the only player ejected from Sunday's game. I just didn't think the events surrounding special-teams player Pat Lee's dismissal warranted anything close to the coverage of Suh's departure. Lee was ejected after officials caught him retaliating with an open-fist punch/slap during a give-and-take with two Lions players in the first half. In the locker room, Lee said: "I released inside and one pulled me from the back and started holding me and from then I was fighting off. The whistle blew and I was still fighting off, and the ref didn’t do anything. He was just sitting there watching, and I just pushed off at the end, when I finally got loose, that’s when he threw the flag." The most interesting part of the episode is that neither Lee nor anyone on the Packers realized he has been ejected. Lee, in fact, lined up on the Packers' kickoff return team to open the second half before Lions coach Jim Schwartz called his presence to the attention of referee Terry McAulay.
3. The Packers defense had another good day against Lions receiver Calvin Johnson, who was targeted on eight passes but caught only four for 49 yards and a late touchdown. That means in their past four games against them, Johnson has caught a modest 13 passes for 179 yards. He has scored four touchdowns against them, but I think most teams would take that type of production against Johnson over a four-game span. Typically the Packers have matched up cornerback Charles Woodson against Johnson, but as Bob McGinn of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel pointed out, this time it was Tramon Williams' turn. Williams made a great play to scuttle a potential touchdown in the first half, and his impact would have been more noticeable to the casual fan had he caught one or both of the interceptions he dropped. The latter almost certainly would have gone for a touchdown.

And here is one issue I still don't get:

The Packers obviously kept their poise in a game full of shenanigans, most of which were generated by the Lions. I think it's especially notable, and not totally explainable, that they did so with four significant players sidelined during different portions of the game. The Packers had backups playing at right guard (Evan Dietrich-Smith) and both inside linebacker positions (D.J. Smith and Robert Francois), in addition to replacing Lee on special teams. Dietrich-Smith proved to be the calm and collected participant in the episode that led to Suh's ejection, and overall the performance of their backups was a credit to the Packers' program. You would think at least one of those inside linebackers will be in the lineup Dec. 4 against the New York Giants. Starter Desmond Bishop (calf) was on crutches after the game.

» NFC Stock Watch: East | West | North | South » AFC: East | West | North | South

FALLING

1. Communication in the Green Bay Packers' secondary: It's true that Packers defensive backs made three of the most critical plays in Sunday's victory over the San Diego Chargers. Safety Charlie Peprah and cornerback Tramon Williams each returned interceptions for touchdowns, and Peprah added a second interception to clinch the game with 14 seconds remaining. But anyone who has watched the Packers' pass defense has seen a number of blown coverages in recent weeks, be it on Michael Jenkins' 72-yard reception for the Minnesota Vikings in Week 7 or Vincent Jackson's 38-yard play Sunday for the Chargers. With each instance, we learn more about the value of injured safety Nick Collins, who has made most of the positioning calls for the Packers in recent seasons.

2. Clarity in the Detroit Lions' backfield: On several occasions, the Lions have downplayed their modest running game totals by noting how explosive they've been via the air. It's a fair point, and it's not worth obsessing over their running game as we move into the second half of the season. With that said, Monday's return of tailback Kevin Smith makes you wonder exactly what is in store for the backfield moving forward. Was it a sign that starter Jahvid Best's return is far from guaranteed? Is Smith just extra insurance for the people ahead of him, a list that includes Maurice Morris and Keiland Williams? Or are the Lions like the rest of us -- unsure where this is all headed -- and making sure they are fortified for each contingency?

3. High-mindedness in Minnesota: Sure, it sounded like a tough plan in theory for the Minnesota Vikings to release cornerback Chris Cook. He has been charged with a particularly infuriating crime, felony strangulation of his girlfriend, and the Vikings would have gotten a public relations boost in some areas had they cut their losses. But let's get real for a moment. Rare is the NFL team that will justify releasing a 24-year-old cornerback who was making substantial progress this season because of an untried legal issue. Cook's next court date isn't until Nov. 22. In the meantime, the Vikings have given Cook a paid vacation to get himself straight. I can't blame them.

RISING

1. Brian Urlacher, Chicago Bears linebacker: There were plenty of heroes in the effort to limit Philadelphia Eagles stars Michael Vick, LeSean McCoy and DeSean Jackson in Monday night's victory. Linebacker Lance Briggs, for one, played an inspired game. But Urlacher seemed to be running all over the field all night, collecting 10 solo tackles and tipping two passes. Vick managed 33 rushing yards and McCoy only 71 -- of which 33 came on one play. What you saw Monday night was a 33-year-old Urlacher playing the way he did when he was 23. An impressive effort, not to mention a lot of 33s.

2. Aaron Rodgers, Packers quarterback: Rodgers could be a staple in this feature, but we try to save him for special occasions. In this case, Rodgers capped his MVP first half with a number of accomplishments worth noting. First, his 64-yard pass Sunday to receiver Jordy Nelson was one of the best throws I've seen him make. Rolling to his right, Rodgers didn't have time to set his feet and simply flung the ball about 55 yards in the air. Second, that pass helped elevate Rodgers' completion percentage on throws of 20 or more yards downfield to 65.2 percent this season. That's a better completion percentage than all but three NFL quarterbacks have on all of their throws. Amazing.

3. Earl Bennett, Bears receiver: How much different did the Bears' offense look with Bennett back after a nearly two-month absence? He caught all five of the passes quarterback Jay Cutler threw him Monday night, totaling 95 yards and what amounted to the winning touchdown. It's long been established that Cutler loves throwing to him, but Monday you saw why: Bennett is tough, sure-handed and reliable in clutch situations. Other than tailback Matt Forte, you really couldn't say that about any other Bears skill position player this season.

After the Green Bay Packers' 45-38 victory over the San Diego Chargers, here are three issues that merit further examination:

Kevin SeifertFollowing their big win against the Chargers, the Packers take a seat in the examination room.
1. It's important not to overreact to cornerback Charles Woodson's candid assessment of the Packers' defensive approach. There is a difference between being critical and taking shots or pointing fingers, and Woodson was careful not to cross that line. Neither did anyone else, although in their own ways, several other players made their concerns evident on the field. Cornerback Tramon Williams and linebacker Desmond Bishop were among those who appeared demonstrably upset at various points. Afterwards, Williams said: "If you're getting wins it shouldn't matter, but as a player we take pride in playing defense. ... We're getting wins but there is going to be a lot of guys walking around like we got a loss, defensively. We'll talk about it. It's nothing broke. We're 8-0. We're fortunate to be there. We'll get it corrected. That's one thing about this team. We don't point fingers. We don't do all that. We're going to stick together. We're going to make the run. Whether we're giving up all these yards or not, we're going to get it done."
2. We'll skip our usual Total Quarterback Rating given the slow nature of this week, but I will pass along that quarterback Aaron Rodgers registered a 94.5 and now has two of the top four single-game performances this season. In addition to the obvious -- Rodgers had four touchdown passes and no interceptions -- QBR credited him with 193 of his 247 yards in the air. Rodgers also converted two first downs via scrambles and overall had enough going for him to minimize the impact of four sacks. Rodgers is on pace to throw for 48 touchdowns and 5,238 yards this season, but at the midpoint I think his most impressive statistic is three interceptions. Two have come on tipped passes. Rodgers credited the talented players around him but also said: "I just don't throw it to the other team. Don't like to. Never have. And I don't think I'm coming very close, either."
3. Many of you have asked what receiver Jordy Nelson was doing late in the fourth quarter when he appeared to bat away an onside kick rather than cover it. The Chargers recovered and soon made it a one-score game. According to the Green Bay Press-Gazette, Nelson admitted he should have tried catching the ball but explained his thought process this way: "It stayed on the ground the whole way to me, so I was thinking, 'Stay low, pick it up.' It was a last-second hop. My reaction was to get my hand up. I tried to bat it out of bounds or even towards them because they were all running this way. Just trying to do what you can. But we have to be able to pick that up." Agreed.

And here is one issue I still don't get:

Woodson's most specific request was for the Packers to find ways to get linebacker Clay Matthews in more favorable pass-rushing position. Matthews has three sacks this season, and overall the Packers are tied for No. 17 in the NFL with 19 sacks. One idea would be to get back to moving Matthews around more often along the defensive line. But with Matthews relatively locked down on the left side, the Packers have played solid run defense. Matthews has been a big part of that. He's also drawing a fair share of coverage responsibilities when he lines up over the tight end. Capers would have to sacrifice the success Matthews is having in those roles if he starts moving Matthews around. I'm guessing Woodson would take that tradeoff. But will Matthews?

We're Black and Blue All Over:

SAN DIEGO -- Week 9 is a slow-moving one here in the NFC North. The Green Bay Packers played our only game Sunday, with the Detroit Lions and Minnesota Vikings on their bye, and the Chicago Bears don't get on the field until Monday night at the Philadelphia Eagles.

The Packers gave us plenty to think about while we await that game. Quarterback Aaron Rodgers continued his ascendance into the NFL stratosphere while one prominent member of the Packers defense officially registered his concerns about its leaky performance against the pass. Some of you might consider it splitting hairs when a team is 8-0, and maybe it is, but I built my game column around that dichotomy.

At any rate, I'm beginning an extended trek back to NFC North blog headquarters. I have a few posts ready to publish during the morning and we'll eventually turn our attention to Monday night's game. ESPNChicago.com will take the lead in coverage, but I'll probably chime in with a few thoughts. Hopefully you've already seen ESPN's Sunday Conversation with Bears linebacker Brian Urlacher, which we posted Sunday afternoon.

Let's take a minute to catch up on local coverage.

• Mike Vandermause of the Green Bay Press-Gazette: "In reality, the Packers defense has nothing to apologize for. Not after returning two interceptions for touchdowns in the first quarter, one by Charlie Peprah and the other by [Tramon] Williams. And certainly not after stopping the Chargers' offense twice in the final 4 minutes to seal the victory while clinging to a seven-point lead. In between giving up big plays and gobs of yardage, the Packers defense has made crucial stops and forced key turnovers all season long. Sure, the Packers' perfect record has been spearheaded by quarterback Aaron Rodgers and the Packers' explosive offense, but don't sell the defense short."
• Peprah confirmed a premonition Sunday with his two-interception performance, writes Tyler Dunne of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
• Packers coach Mike McCarthy, via Jason Wilde of ESPNMilwaukee.com: "We're not going to turn a blind eye to the negatives that went on today. [But] we're 8-0. That's the facts. We're 5-0 on the road. That's huge. We're excited about that. The defense gave up too many big plays. Our offense scored points. … But the things I'm really concerned about are the things that go on inside the team. … We were not as sharp as we need to be as a team, but we won the football game. We're 8-0."
• Chicago Bears coach Lovie Smith is "on a roll," writes Mark Potash of the Chicago Sun-Times.
• The Bears hope their relatively settled offensive line can help mitigate many of the penalties and time-management issues the team has had on the road this season, notes Michael C. Wright of ESPNChicago.com.
• The Bears like their current safety combination, Major Wright and Chris Conte, because of its speed, writes Dan Pompei of the Chicago Tribune.
• Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press grades the first half of the Detroit Lions' season.
• Overall, writes Philip Zaroo of Mlive.com, the Lions deserve a B for their first half.
• Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford should get more publicity than Tony Romo or Tim Tebow, according to Jerry Green of the Detroit News.
• Dan Wieiderer of the Star Tribune picks five moments that led to the Minnesota Vikings' 2-6 start.
• The Vikings get an overall grade of "D" in the first half from Brian Murphy of the St. Paul Pioneer Press.
• It's possible the Vikings could release cornerback Chris Cook this week, writes Judd Zulgad of 1500ESPN.com. Zulgad: "Take Cook off the roster and all of a sudden cornerback goes from being an area of big need to an area of huge need."

SAN DIEGO -- The Green Bay Packers returned two interceptions for touchdowns Sunday. Their quarterback produced his most efficient game of a marvelous season, throwing almost as many touchdown passes (four) as he did incompletions (five). And yet their matchup against the San Diego Chargers was in doubt until the final minute.

That dichotomy left the Packers something short of jubilant after a 45-38 victory at Qualcomm Stadium, one that elevated their record to 8-0 but exposed new concerns about their defense.

On the one hand, the Packers were thrilled to have handed Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers the first three-interception game of his career. And most everyone was out of superlatives for quarterback Aaron Rodgers. (All except nose tackle B.J. Raji, who said: "I don't want to say anything crazy. I just think if he keeps doing what he's doing, he'll be the one they'll be talking about as long as this game is around.")

And if the Packers fall short of their Super Bowl hopes this season? I imagine we'll be talking about their pass defense as a primary cause. Most players were cautious in their assessment of Sunday's game. But perhaps the most important one, cornerback Charles Woodson, bluntly laid it out after Rivers rolled for 164 yards and two touchdowns in the fourth quarter to make this game closer than it should have been.

Speaking steadily and with a steel gaze in his eyes, Woodson said the Packers played "a lot of bad football" Sunday. He termed the defense "the liability on this team" and said the Packers must get linebacker Clay Matthews in better position "to be the Claymaker."

Most important, Woodson acknowledged the Packers can't expect elite play from Rodgers to carry them every week from now until Super Bowl XLVI.

"We can't ask our offense to do anything more than what they’ve done," Woodson said. "For those guys to just go up and down the field and score points, I mean, we have to understand that it's not going to always be that way. There's going to be some time when we're going to have to come up bigger than the offense. That's just the reality. We're very fortunate to have the guys we have on the offensive side of the ball. But we have to carry our weight as well."

Although he passed for a season-low 247 yards, Rodgers scrambled for 51 yards and finished with his highest passer rating (145.8) of the year. In the Packers' perfect eight-game start, Rodgers has completed 72.5 percent of his passes, thrown 24 touchdowns, limited himself to three interceptions and produced a passer rating of at least 110 in each game, an NFL record.

For his part, Rodgers said that "I'd like to think I can keep it up" in the second half of the season. And tight end Jermichael Finley expressed confidence that the offense can continue its elite play. "It doesn't matter what [the defense] does," Finley said. "That's a long story short."

At the same time, I trust and heed what Woodson says. He is not prone to post-game outbursts, and if he publicly identifies a point of concern, I take it seriously. Two years ago, for example, he accurately noted the Packers' mistake in releasing safety Anthony Smith and smartly questioned the Packers' strategy of sitting back in coverage as Minnesota Vikings quarterback Brett Favre carved them up.

So we find ourselves at a bit of a crossroads in our regard for the Packers. They are without question the best team in the NFL midway through the season. But two years ago, we learned the danger of entering the playoffs with a shaky pass defense.

Should we be concerned about a defense that is allowing nearly 300 passing yards per game? Or, after eight victories, should we accept it as part of the Packers' winning formula? After all, the Packers have now gone six consecutive games with at least two interceptions. Sunday, safety Charlie Peprah and cornerback Tramon Williams accounted for a third of the Packers' scoring by returning their interceptions for touchdowns, and Peprah sealed the game on a second interception with 14 seconds remaining.

In all fairness, however, no team that returns two interceptions for scores, and has a quarterback dealing like Rodgers, should be sweating out a game in the final minute.

"We like to think that we have a lot of playmakers on our defense, especially in the back end," Woodson said. "We feel like if the ball is in the air, we'll come up with our fair share certainly. But how many times are you going to have two interceptions for a touchdown? … Yeah, today it played out big for us. But we have to be more sound as a defense throughout the whole game."

I don't want to rain on the Packers' parade based simply on Woodson's comments and on yardage totals. As we've noted several times this season, the Packers have limited opposing quarterbacks to one of the lowest passer ratings (79.3) in the NFL. Oftentimes, passer rating is more illustrative of total pass defense than yards allowed.

In fact, according to Raji, Packers coaches presented an even more obscure stat -- passer rating differential -- to players this week as an assurance of what they're doing well this season. The Packers have led the NFL all season in that statistic, which measures the difference between your quarterback's passer rating and that of opponents in your games. It's generally considered a key indicator of a team's success potential.

"It's a huge deal," Raji said. "I don't know how it will sit after today, but ultimately we are 8-0 with work to do. That sets the ceiling pretty high for our football team."

Yes, the Packers are undefeated and have room for demonstrable improvement. Atop that list, according to Woodson, is creating a better environment for Matthews, who had one quarterback hit Sunday and has only three sacks this season. Woodson's advice for defensive coordinator Dom Capers was direct.

"We have to find ways to get Clay to the quarterback, whatever that may be," Woodson said. "Draw some things up for him and let him do his thing. Because we can't continue to allow him to be stuck on a side and double teamed every time he gets upfield. I think for us, finding ways to get him to be the 'Claymaker' which he is, we have to find ways to get him to the quarterback."

Matthews spoke only generally about the situation, saying: "Not to take anything from this victory today, or the performance we had at the end, but we also gave up too many [yards] and it seems to be a constant theme that we need to address."

Getting Matthews more involved would take some pressure off Woodson and his mates in the defensive backfield. As it is now, Capers is blitzing more than he ever has in three seasons with the Packers, leaving defensive backs in less favorable positions. Sunday, according to ESPN Stats & Information, Capers blitzed on 54.2 percent of Rivers' dropbacks. Blitzes led to all three interceptions, and Rivers threw all four touchdowns when the Packers limited their rushes to four men.

The way Rodgers is playing, it's quite possible the Packers could run away with the Super Bowl regardless of how their defense plays. It's worked so far. Is it reasonable to expect elite play from their quarterback and multiple interceptions from their defense every week? We'll find out soon enough.

SAN DIEGO -- Form held here in the first quarter at Qualcomm Stadium.

The Green Bay Packers, who entered this game against the San Diego Chargers one off the NFL high with 13 interceptions, have already returned two for touchdowns against the San Diego Chargers. They were the 12th and 13th interceptions of the season for Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers.

Safety Charlie Peprah had the first, a 40-yard return in which he broke four tackles along the way, at least by my count. The second was a bit smoother: Cornerback Tramon Williams anticipated a Rivers pass to receiver Patrick Crayton and took it back 43 yards untouched for the touchdown.

It's 21-7 here as the second quarter begins. The Packers have given up 107 passing yards, but their interceptions have more than compensated. The Packers offense has had only one possession. It ended with Aaron Rodgers' 5-yard touchdown pass to tight end Jermichael Finley.

Reviewing the Green Bay Packers at their bye:

Record: 7-0

Seven-game capsule: The Packers are the best team in football by most objective measures. They're off to the best start for a Packers team since 1962 and have won a franchise-record 13 consecutive games, dating back to last December. Their quarterback is having an MVP season, their place-kicker is perfect and their injury-depleted defense has compensated for some deficiencies with an NFL-high 13 interceptions.

MVP: We could fill up an entire post with quarterback Aaron Rodgers' statistical accomplishments this season. I'll continue to pound away at my favorite. Rodgers is leading the NFL in two quite disparate categories: completion percentage (71.5) and yards per attempt (9.9). That means he's completing a greater percentage of passes than all quarterbacks even though he's throwing downfield with more efficiency than anyone else. In his fourth season as a starter, and sixth in the Packers' current offensive scheme, Rodgers has mastered the position and is taking it to new heights.

Runner-up: There are a lot of candidates on a 7-0 team, so I'll use this space to reiterate that linebacker Clay Matthews has had a really strong season, even with his total of three sacks. I'd argue that he sealed two games for the Packers with specific plays: Stuffing New Orleans Saints running back Mark Ingram on the goal line in Week 1 and tackling Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton on a fourth-down run late in Week 2. And Matthews' run defense is a big reason the Packers are allowing the ninth-fewest rushing yards per game this season.

Biggest surprise: The Packers have actually succeeded in spreading the ball around equitably to their unmatched stable of skill players. James Starks has received 55 percent of carries given to running backs, while Ryan Grant is at 38 percent. Based on their production, both numbers are fair. Receiver Greg Jennings has caught 42 passes, but the Packers have five receivers/tight ends who have caught between 11 and 25 passes. Rodgers has spread his 20 touchdown passes among six different pass-catchers. Jennings has five, but Jermichael Finley and Jordy Nelson have four apiece while James Jones has three and Donald Driver has two.

Biggest disappointment: Nose tackle B.J. Raji has two sacks this season, and Packers coaches have given him 25 tackles based on film review. But I think most of us would agree Raji has had an underwhelming follow-up to his breakout 2010 season. His inconsistent pass rush is one of the reasons the Packers' pass defense is giving up the second-most yards per game in the NFL. To be fair, other reasons include injuries to safety Nick Collins, cornerback Tramon Williams and safety Morgan Burnett. It's also worth noting that Raji really turned it on in the second half of last season. Perhaps the same thing will happen in 2011.

Stat to note: Rodgers is averaging 30.3 yards on his 20 touchdown passes. Four have been longer than 70 yards, and he's the third player since the 1970 merger to throw a 70-plus yard touchdown in three consecutive games. (Sorry, that's more than one stat. Couldn't help it.)

Looking ahead: The Packers are going to the playoffs, presumably as the NFC North champions. The real question is whether they'll secure home-field advantage as the No. 1 seed and if they can do it with a perfect 16-0 record. I see three potential pitfalls: Week 9 at the San Diego Chargers, Week 12 at the Detroit Lions and Week 13 at the New York Giants.

We're Black and Blue All Over:

You can blame injury-induced personnel changes or opponents abandoning the run game. But through seven weeks of the season, as Tyler Dunne of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel writes, the Green Bay Packers have yet to patch the leak in their pass defense.

We've been discussing the issue since the start of the season, and the Packers remain at the bottom of the NFL rankings in terms of yardage allowed. They are giving up an average of 288.9 passing yards per game, the second-worst in the league. But their NFL-high 13 interceptions have helped them limit the points opponents have scored after accumulating that yardage. The most important statistic is points allowed, and the Packers' defense ranks No. 10 with an average of 20.1 points per game.

Defensive coordinator Dom Capers suggested looming improvement on the yardage issue as the health of the Packers' secondary rises.

"The first half of the season here," Capers said, "we've gone through our share of mixing and matching from one week to the next. So hopefully we can get everybody healthy and working together and get off to a good start once we get back [from the bye] and go to San Diego."

That list includes nickelback Sam Shields, who has been cleared to return from a concussion. Cornerback Tramon Williams continues to work through a shoulder injury, and safety Morgan Burnett is playing with a club protecting his broken hand.

Continuing around the NFC North:

• Kareem Copeland of the Green Bay Press-Gazette wonders if the Packers will re-sign running back Dimitri Nance following the loss of rookie Alex Green (knee).
• Jason Wilde of ESPNMilwaukee.com: "With nine regular-season games remaining, starting with a road game against the San Diego Chargers Nov. 6 after the bye week, the Packers know that their perfect record doesn't mean that they’re playing perfect football. [Coach Mike] McCarthy said the team has graded out as playing 'above average' so far this season."
• Tom Pelissero of 1500ESPN.com reviews the tape of the Minnesota Vikings' loss to the Packers.
• Minneapolis political leaders are suggesting three potential sites for a new Vikings stadium, writes Kevin Duchschere of the Star Tribune. The Vikings prefer the site in suburban Arden Hills.
• Vikings right guard Anthony Herrera could miss two weeks because of a torn PCL ligament in his knee, notes Jeremy Fowler of the St. Paul Pioneer Press.
• John Niyo of the Detroit News on Detroit Lions defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh: "Talk is cheap. But reputations are invaluable."
• Justin Rogers of Mlive.com reviews some of the key plays from the Lions' loss to the Atlanta Falcons.
• Carlos Monarrez of the Detroit Free Press examines the pregame trash talking between the Lions and Falcons.
• Neil Hayes of the Chicago Sun-Times takes a look at what the Chicago Bears must do to make the playoffs.
• The Bears put consistent pressure on Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Josh Freeman, writes Dan Pompei of the Chicago Tribune.

» NFC Final Word: East | West | North | South » AFC: East | West | North | South

Five nuggets of knowledge about Week 5:

Ford Field debut: Unless you count last year's rescheduled game between the Minnesota Vikings and New York Giants, Monday night will mark the first prime-time regular-season game in the history of Ford Field. It's the Lions' first appearance on "Monday Night Football" since Oct. 8, 2001. This game against the Chicago Bears has long been sold out, and the Detroit Lions sold 2,000 extra standing-room-only seats. The building will be flush with people hoping to see more magic from the Lions and receiver Calvin Johnson, while also putting a three-game gap between the home team and its division rival. Here's a tip for those 2,000 of you trying to position yourselves in the stadium: Johnson has caught seven of his eight touchdown passes on the right side of the field this season. Just sayin'.

Protecting Cutler: What's the best way to keep Bears quarterback Jay Cutler off his back Monday night? Improved pass protection or minimal pass plays? I'm sure the Bears would like both, but they might have to settle for the former. The Lions have an opportunistic and feisty defense, but they can be run against. Through four games, opponents are averaging 4.8 yards per rush against them, the 10th-highest mark in the league. The Lions have a modest nine sacks this season, but the Bears don't want to take their chances against Ndamukong Suh & Co. As of this moment, it appears the Bears will have a different set of starters on the right side of their offensive line, including right tackle Frank Omiyale, who was benched last week against the Carolina Panthers. Run, Bears, run.

Quick starts: The Green Bay Packers scored 28 points in the second quarter of last year's divisional playoff game against the Atlanta Falcons. That trend has continued in the 2011 season and would be the perfect avenue to taking out what will surely be an electric crowd Sunday night at the Georgia Dome. The Packers rank second in the NFL with 80 first-half points and are tied for the NFL lead with seven touchdown passes in the first half, according to ESPN Stats & Information. Receiver Greg Jennings has 17 first-half receptions, second in the NFL. There is no doubt the Packers will try to jump on the Falcons early, and it wouldn't be surprising to see them use their new no-huddle scheme to do so.

Getting outside: Why did the Falcons trade up in the draft to select receiver Julio Jones? Largely because the Packers' cornerback tandem of Charles Woodson and Tramon Williams dominated their receivers on the outside in last year's pair of matchups. Woodson and Williams limited Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan to 4.6 yards per attempt on passes outside the numbers, according to ESPN Stats & Info, and Ryan finished those two games with a cumulative Total Quarterback Rating of 3.2 on such passes. Both cornerbacks have struggled at times this season, Williams in part because of a bruised right shoulder, and it will be interesting to see whether the Falcons try to capitalize with Jones, who has 24 receptions in his first four NFL games.

So close: Will Sunday be the day the Vikings break the ice? They have been historically close so far; rarely has an NFL team started 0-4 by such a slim margin. The Vikings' four losses have come by a combined 19 points, fewer than all 0-4 teams since the 1970 merger except for the 1991 Tampa Bay Buccaneers (13) and the 1974 Detroit Lions (14), according to Elias Sports Bureau. I think that's why coach Leslie Frazier hasn't instituted personnel changes or shown any indication that he plans to veer from his original vision. He seemingly believes the Vikings have been too close in their four losses to merit an overhaul. Maybe all they need is a home game against a 1-3 opponent to get things started. Hello, Arizona Cardinals.