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Yes, the start of training camps is two months away, but it’s never too early to consider the coming season. A look at the best-case and worst-case scenarios for the 49ers in 2012:

Dream scenario (14-2): The 49ers pick up where they left off last season. They continue to force turnovers and protect the football while dictating field position with their dominant special teams. This time, however, the offense has more firepower.

Receiver Michael Crabtree backs up coach Jim Harbaugh's comments suggesting Crabtree has all-time great hands. A rejuvenated Randy Moss strikes fear into secondaries. Quarterback Alex Smith, armed with sufficient weapons, strikes for explosive plays more frequently. The offensive line, stabilized by Alex Boone's emergence as a top young guard, sustains drives on third down and finishes them in the red zone.

Rookie receiver A.J. Jenkins hits stride in December as the 49ers clinch home-field advantage throughout the NFC playoffs heading into Week 17. Colin Kaepernick throws for 350 yards and four touchdowns in the regular-season finale as San Francisco eliminates division-rival Arizona from playoff contention. Sufficiently rested, the 49ers score a dominating victory over Tom Brady and the New England Patriots, delivering San Francisco its first Super Bowl title since the 1994 season.

Nightmare scenario (6-10): The odds catch up to Smith when the Detroit Lions' Ndamukong Suh delivers a controversial hit at the knees in Week 2. Kaepernick isn't ready, Moss loses interest and the offense can't score enough points. Meanwhile, Peyton Manning has the Denver Broncos looking like contenders.

The 49ers realize they were fortunate to have Smith start 18 games the previous season despite taking 51 sacks. They realize how risky it was going into the season without a proven right guard. How hard would it have been to pay one of the veteran options the team considered in free agency? That's a question reporters keep asking, even though none of them said much before the season. The question stings now that Smith is done for the season and Kaepernick is running for his life.

Tough defense and special teams keep the 49ers reasonably competitive. The coaching staff does its best to stabilize the situation. The 49ers compete and steal victories from other teams with quarterback issues. In the end, however, they become the latest team to suffer a hard fall after posting a glittering record the previous season. Rock bottom arrives when Sando notes, again, that the 13 teams finishing 13-3 from 2004 to 2010 averaged 8.3 victories the following season.

» AFC Scenarios: East | West | North | South » NFC: East | West | North | South

Yes, the start of training camps is two months away, but it’s never too early to consider the coming season. A look at the best-case and worst-case scenarios for the Detroit Lions in 2012.

Dream scenario (12-4): The team moves past its string of silly/immature problems, tightening up not only its off-field behavior but also its discipline on the field during games. Mikel Leshoure and Jahvid Best give the Lions a power/speed dimension in the backfield they lacked for most of last season. Rookie receiver Ryan Broyles' knee heals quickly enough to provide a legitimate fourth option among receivers and further spread out opposing defenses. Defensive tackle Nick Fairley realizes his playmaking potential and teams with Ndamukong Suh to provide consistent and dominant interior play. Fairley, Suh, Cliff Avril and Kyle Vanden Bosch protect an undermanned secondary and Lions make big defensive plays against opponents feeling pressure to keep up with their offense.

Nightmare scenario (7-9): Best and Leshoure don't provide the balance the Lions hope for, either because of injuries or skill deterioration. Broyles takes longer than expected to return, Titus Young has a sophomore slump and opponents flock to receiver Calvin Johnson. Left tackle Jeff Backus can't hold up for another season as the Lions hope. Despite the formidable defensive line, the Lions can't cover for their secondary and give up too many big plays.

» AFC Scenarios: East | West | North | South » NFC: East | West | North | South

Yes, the start of training camps is two months away, but it’s never too early to consider the coming season. A look at the best-case and worst-case scenarios for the Rams in 2012:

Dream scenario (8-8): Sam Bradford takes every snap on offense for the second time in three seasons as the Rams protect their franchise quarterback with sensible play calling. It's the sixth time a Jeff Fisher-coached team finishes 8-8, but no one is complaining after the Rams' 15-65 run over the previous five seasons. Trusting offensive line coach Paul Boudreau to salvage right tackle Jason Smith becomes one of the surprise success stories of the 2012 season, and a critical one for the Rams' efforts to re-establish Bradford.

Turns out the Rams were not fibbing when they suggested Brian Quick, the receiver they took in the second round, ranked up there with first-rounder Justin Blackmon on their board. The constant threat of Steven Jackson and Isaiah Pead out of the backfield creates favorable matchups for Quick and the Rams' underrated receivers. Bradford publicly downplays a Week 2 victory over Robert Griffin III and Washington, but it feels good to win at home against the player St. Louis could have selected second overall this year.

Watching Janoris Jenkins score on a fourth-quarter punt return in Patrick Peterson's house improbably stakes the Rams to a 6-5 record, stirring visions of the postseason. It's certainly sweet to finally win within the division again. The Rams lose to San Francisco the following week and ultimately finish the regular season with a respectable defeat at Seattle, but the season is a success by any measure.

Nightmare scenario (3-13): Road games against Detroit and Chicago in the first three weeks expose Bradford to significant punishment as Smith and the line struggle to find their bearings. Bradford doesn't want to talk about the ankle injury he aggravated at some point in the season's first month, but it's clearly a factor. Facing Cliff Avril, Kyle Vanden Bosch, Ndamukong Suh, Brian Orakpo, Ryan Kerrigan, Julius Peppers, Chris Clemons, Bruce Irvin, Calais Campbell, Darnell Dockett, Cameron Wake and Clay Matthews in the first seven games leaves Bradford limping toward the bye week, his confidence shaken.

Steven Jackson continues to plug away, but we've seen this movie before and it doesn't end well for the Rams. The depth at receiver is indeed improved, but Bradford doesn't have any truly dynamic weapons. Quick understandably needs seasoning, but with Blackmon and Arizona's Michael Floyd challenging rookie receiving records, the Rams look bad for trading down. It's tough finding open receivers with Smith struggling at tackle, anyway.

First-round pick Michael Brockers and free-agent addition Kendall Langford upgrade the run defense, but life as an every-down defensive end is tough for Robert Quinn. The veteran outside linebackers signed as stopgaps represent only a minor upgrade from last season. Off-field issues dog Jenkins and the defense fails to meet expectations. Critics conveniently blame Gregg Williams' suspension, but the problems are more complex than that.

The Rams head into the offseason with another high draft choice, one they'll almost certainly have to invest in a playmaker of some sort.

We reached the height of Suh-mania in early February, when a Forbes magazine poll revealed Detroit Lions defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh was one of America's most disliked athletes. Two of the three men ranked ahead of him -- Michael Vick and Plaxico Burress -- are felons. The third, well, was Tiger Woods.

During a quiet moment at the NFL scouting combine, a few reporters were speaking with Lions coach Jim Schwartz. How did it come to this? Schwartz laughed, shook his head and suggested that Suh had spawned the "first armchair defensive linemen" in the history of NFL observation.

"We've all heard of armchair quarterbacks," Schwartz said, "and everybody has a thought on game strategy and what a coach should do. Everyone sees if a quarterback is having success or not. But Ndamukong is probably the first [lineman] that has that kind of scrutiny, that has Forbes magazine looking at him. … The fact that they're talking about a guy like Ndamukong Suh shows you how different he is and the scrutiny that he does get."

Three months later, an amazing thing has happened. The Suh-as-a-monster theme has been eclipsed by the New Orleans Saints bounty story, among other offseason discussions about the NFL's violent nature. Ndamukong Suh stomped a player? Well, Gregg Williams ordered his players to take aim at opponent's heads and knees. Checkmate!

Even in a team context, Suh suddenly seems the least of the Lions' problems after an offseason in which three members of their 2011 draft class have been cited for marijuana incidents and a fourth -- receiver Titus Young -- sucker-punched teammate Louis Delmas during a confrontation last week.

From this vantage point, it appears Suh has been handed an extraordinary opportunity if he cares about it. (And based on his carefully orchestrated offseason, which included an in-depth personality profile with ESPN's Hannah Storm and an upcoming appearance on a reality dating show, I'm guessing he does.) Public crusaders have abandoned their camp outside Suh's locker to chase new offenders, leaving Suh to redirect discussion back to where he and the Lions want it: to his on-field performance.

Speaking to reporters Monday, Suh said 2012 is "a very important year" in terms of restoring and/or enhancing his reputation as one of the NFL's most formidable defensive tackles.

"Every year I want to outdo the previous year," he said. "My rookie year was good. Last year was indifferent. This year we have an opportunity to have an outstanding year."

By "indifferent," I assume Suh meant he doesn't have a strong opinion about a 2011 season that saw his sacks drop from 10 to four and his tackles from 66 to 36. He was a Pro Bowl alternate after being voted a starter, as well as a first-team All-Pro, as a rookie in 2010.

To me, the question is if Suh's performance really dropped by the same percentage as his tackles and sacks. Was he half the player in 2011 than in 2010? And will he need to be twice the player in 2012 to match his original promise?

The answer, based both on the Lions' assessment and that of independent observers, is no. Suh did not make the same kind of statistical impact and didn't have an elite season in 2011. But it's only fair to point out the flaws in relying purely on sacks and tackles to evaluate a defensive lineman.

Earlier this winter, Schwartz went back and watched every play of Suh's season. Afterward, he said, "I had more appreciation for what he did."

Schwartz added: "There are a lot of guys that are judged on a lot of different things. Defensive players, the only thing you get judged on are tackles, sacks and interceptions. There's not a whole lot that goes into it. Offensive linemen, it's tough to quantify those positions. …

"There's a couple plays in there, had a great pass rush, quarterback threw the ball before he wanted to. He's free to the quarterback, the quarterback gets rid of the ball, throws an interception. No stat at all for a defensive lineman. No sack, anything that people in the media or fans can look at, but obviously that’s an impact play."

Indeed, Pro Football Focus credited Suh with more quarterback pressures -- 27 -- than any NFL defensive tackle last season.

To be clear, I'm not rationalizing what was a less impactful second season for Suh. I just think it's fair to note he wasn't rendered completely ineffective and point out he doesn't have to make a huge jump to return to elite status. It's might be difficult to judge him based purely on sack totals, as the charts suggest, but mostly I think we should all take advantage of a moment in time when Suh's football exploits are the only points of relevance in our discussions about him. Armchair away!

Fans of NFC North teams might be aware of the Griese-Hutchinson-Woodson fundraising weekend, which includes a gala and a golf outing to benefit the University of Michigan C.S. Mott Children's Hospital. The headliners include former Minnesota Vikings guard Steve Hutchinson and Green Bay Packers cornerback Charles Woodson, both of whom played at Michigan along with former NFL quarterback Brian Griese.

Based on local reports, it sounds as if another NFC North player made a really nice charitable gesture during the Saturday auction. Detroit Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford bid $15,000 for a gift that included six tickets to the Lions' Oct. 22 game against the Chicago Bears on ESPN's "Monday Night Football," according to Angelique S. Chengelis of the Detroit News.

Stafford had already donated the tickets to the event and, along with his girlfriend Kelly Hall, had been sitting with a girl named Faith Falzone, who is scheduled to have surgery this week. Stafford plans to give the tickets to Falzone and her family.

In a text message to the News, Stafford said: "They have been through so much in the past couple years, and to see how much they all supported each other and faith through their tough times was really inspiring. I wanted to give them something they could really be excited about and something I know they deserved."

Hutchinson was particularly moved by Stafford's commitment to being involved in the Michigan community. Stafford is from Texas and played at Georgia.

"Let's be honest," said Hutchinson, who is now with the Tennessee Titans. "The state of Michigan hasn't gone through the greatest times with the economy and the jobs around here. To have a guy that's from Georgia get drafted by the Lions and be a very integral part of that team turning their franchise around and then to be able to come to a U-M event that he has no affiliation with and donate $15,000 and buy his own tickets that he donated and then give them to a family whose daughter is going to have surgery in the next couple days here ... you couldn't write a better fictional story if you had to."

This is not to single out Stafford as the only charitable player in our division. As we've noted before, Vikings running back Adrian Peterson donated $1 million to the University of Oklahoma last month. Lions defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh has pledged more than $2 million to the University of Nebraska. And Woodson hasgiven $2 million to the Michigan children's hospital that benefited from this weekend's efforts.

But impact comes in all shapes, sizes and denominations. Stafford's gift will no doubt leave an intense impression on one family, giving it something to look forward to and cherish for some time.

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Examining who faces the most challenging season for the Buccaneers and why.

Back in 2010, the Buccaneers decided to invest heavily in the middle of their defensive line. They used a first-round draft pick on Gerald McCoy and a second-round choice on Brian Price. The thinking was the duo would make Tampa Bay solid in the middle for years to come. But things haven’t worked out exactly as planned.

McCoy and Price each have shown a few flashes, but injuries have prevented them from being anything close to dominant. A new coaching staff is taking over and there still is hope that McCoy and Price can prosper. But this coaching staff isn’t as deeply wed to players it didn’t play a role in drafting. The pressure is especially on McCoy, who was drafted with the No. 3 overall choice and forever will be compared to Detroit’s Ndamukong Suh, who was selected just before him. To date, McCoy has four career sacks and has missed 13 games with injuries.

The Bucs are hoping this is the year McCoy and Price finally stay healthy, but new coach Greg Schiano has brought in alternatives in case the injury problems continue. The Bucs have added free-agent defensive tackles Amobi Okoye, a former first-round pick by Houston, and Gary Gibson, who played for Schiano at Rutgers and has bounced around the league. McCoy and Price will get every benefit of the doubt, but they have to be able to stay on the field to make an impact.

Bill Polian's list of 10 pivotal players in the NFL this season includes Detroit Lions defensive tackle Nick Fairley. You'll need an Insider subscription to see the entire file, but here is what Polian wrote about Fairley:

Fairley could be the missing piece in making the Detroit defense dominant. If the big Auburn alum can reach his potential, a trio of him, Ndamukong Suh and the emerging Corey Williams could make the Lions' D-line extremely hard to handle up the middle and wreak havoc on the pocket (which will help an improving secondary).

Fairley

I still think the Lions need more from the running back position to be legitimate title contenders, but if Fairley steps up, an already improved defense will be taken to another level.

The most interesting part of the choice is that Polian didn't bother suggesting that one of the Lions' defensive backs needs to step it up, whether it's safety Amari Spievey or cornerback Aaron Berry or anyone else who might play a prominent role in improving the team's pass defense. Polian instead focused on the impact of strengthening what is already one of the NFL's more dominant defensive fronts.

That appears to be in line with the Lions' philosophy when you look at how they've focused their roster building in recent years. Over the past three years, they've committed big money to sign defensive end Kyle Vanden Bosch and retain defensive end Cliff Avril. They've used the No. 2 overall pick in the draft to select Suh, and the No. 12 overall pick brought them Fairley.

On the other hand, the Lions did use the No. 33 overall pick of the 2009 draft to select safety Louis Delmas. But for the most part, they have cobbled together the secondary with second-tier moves (and players), knowing it would be protected by a more-talented defensive line. It stands to reason that Fairley's emergence in 2012 would only enhance that approach.

Earlier: The Lions have high expectations for Fairley now that he is recovered from a foot injury he originally suffered last summer, despite a recent marijuana charge.

The season-long suspension of New Orleans Saints linebacker Jonathan Vilma pretty much is unprecedented in the NFL.

There have been plenty of one-year suspensions (and some longer) for substance-abuse violations. But Vilma’s suspension ranks as one of the longest in history.

With help from the Associated Press, by way of ESPN Stats & Information, here’s a list of the longest non-substance-abuse suspensions in NFL history:

• Art Schlichter, Life, suspended 1 year for gambling in 1983, never reinstated
• Merle Hapes, 8 years, suspended for conversing with known gambler in 1946, reinstated in 1954
• Frank Filchock, 3 years, suspended for conversing with known gambler in 1947, reinstated in 1950
• Michael Vick, 2 years, 2 games, suspended indefinitely in 2007 after pleading guilty to role in dogfighting
• Plaxico Burress, 2 years, suspended for duration of jail term in 2009 after pleading guilty to criminal possession of a weapon
• Donte’ Stallworth, 1 year, suspended for 1 year after pleading guilty to DUI manslaughter in 2009
• Paul Hornung, 1 year, suspended 1 year for gambling in 1963
• Alex Karras, 1 year, suspended 1 year for gambling in 1963
• Adam Jones, 1 year, suspended 1 year for violating Personal Conduct Policy in 2007

Those suspensions all involved off-field actions. Here is the list of the longest NFL suspensions for on-field incidents:

• 2006: Albert Haynesworth suspended five games after stomping on head of Cowboys center Andre Gurode. Gurode was not wearing a helmet at the time.
• 2011: Ndamukong Suh suspended two games after stomping on right arm of Packers lineman Evan Dietrich-Smith.
• 1986: Charles Martin suspended two games for body-slamming Bears QB Jim McMahon to turf.

One man's opinion on the top five Monday night games for 2012:

1. Atlanta Falcons at Detroit Lions, Week 16. Call this one the Karma Bowl. The Falcons took offense when Ndamukong Suh allegedly celebrated Matt Ryan's ankle injury during an October game between the teams last season. Suh called the injury "karma" for the Falcons' allegedly dirty tactics. Good teams and bad blood should make for good theater.

2. Denver Broncos at Atlanta Falcons, Week 2. Peyton Manning's first post-Indy appearance on "Monday Night Football" takes him to Atlanta for only the third time in his career. The Falcons are a footnote in this matchup. Manning plays only one indoor game during the 2012 regular season. This is it.

3. Carolina Panthers at Philadelphia Eagles, Week 12. Neither team had a winning record last season, but who cares? This game presents a chance to see Cam Newton and Michael Vick on the same night in the same stadium for the first time -- assuming they're both healthy enough to play after running around, into and through defenses for two-plus months.

4. Chicago Bears at San Francisco 49ers, Week 11. Patrick Willis vs. Matt Forte. Brian Urlacher vs. Frank Gore. Expect a physical game and a big test for Jay Cutler on the road. The 49ers have arguably the NFL's best defense and they'll be eager to show it in prime time.

5. Green Bay Packers at Seattle Seahawks, Week 3. Two NFC West teams on the list? What is this, the NFC West blog? Yes, but this one's legit. Few venues can approach Seattle for atmosphere, especially in prime time. And this game marks Green Bay's lone appearance on Monday night. The Matt Flynn storyline adds interest.

If you were plugged into social media Tuesday morning, chances are you were overwhelmed with discussion on the NFL/Nike uniform announcement. I would say that a few key marketers are getting hefty, hefty bonuses.

I can report to you that, as expected, none of the NFC North teams changed the essence of their uniforms.

The photo in this post shows Chicago Bears linebacker Brian Urlacher, Detroit Lions defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh, Green Bay Packers tight end Jermichael Finley and Minnesota Vikings receiver Percy Harvin in their 2012 attire.

You'll notice that the Bears' jersey has the television numbers on the shoulder, rather than the sleeve, and Nike reported that the "GSH" patch honoring George S. Halas will remain a part of the uniform. The Lions' pants don't have quite as much shine, and in some cases there is a new "flywire collar." It's also worth noting that each player in the photograph has shoes that match his team's primary color. Previously, players wore white or black shoes.

For now, at least, the change to Nike has impacted material and technology more than anything. If you want details on that, be sure to check out Nike's website. At the moment the site is quite slow, but eventually this link will take you to the Vikings' page. There is a scrolling mechanism at the bottom to take you to any of the 32 team pages.

Yeehaw!

When he came to Tampa Bay in 2010 as the third overall pick in the draft, Gerald McCoy was supposed to be an instant star.

It hasn’t quite worked out that way. In two seasons, the defensive tackle has four sacks and has appeared in just 19 games.

But it sure sounds like new Tampa Bay coach Greg Schiano views McCoy as one of his core players.

“He plays defensive tackle the way I like,’’ Schiano said at the NFL owners meetings last week. “He’s a penetrating guy who can change direction. We’ve got to keep him healthy because I think he can be a dominant force in this league.’’

I think Schiano’s right. I’m not sure McCoy will become Ndamukong Suh, an All-Pro who was taken No. 2 by Detroit in that same draft. But I think McCoy can be a force. There have been brief flashes that indicate he can make good things happen in the middle of the defensive line, but there just haven’t been a lot of those flashes.

McCoy got off to a slow start as a rookie and, just when it looked like he was starting to catch on, he suffered an injury that shut him down for the final three games of the 2010 season. Last season, McCoy appeared in only six games before he was placed on the injured-reserve list.

Think about that for a second. The Bucs were 4-2 after six games. They never won another game after McCoy went down. I’m not saying McCoy’s injury was the sole reason for Tampa Bay’s collapse, but there’s no doubt it was a factor.

This is a big year for McCoy. He’s starting to get hit with the dreaded “injury-prone’’ label. But McCoy is a talent. If he can stay healthy, that would help the Bucs tremendously. Same for fellow defensive tackle Brian Price, who came in the same draft class as McCoy and has dealt with injuries of his own. Tampa Bay has invested a lot in its defensive line in recent drafts and we’re waiting to see the return on those investments.

If McCoy and Price stay healthy, they can form a nice interior rotation with Roy Miller. Defensive end Adrian Clayborn was one of the few bright spots last season. He could be even better in his second season and the same goes for Da’Quan Bowers, a second-round pick last year. The Bucs also like defensive end Michael Bennett.

The ingredients are there for Tampa Bay to put together a very nice defensive line. The Bucs just need to keep McCoy and their other young defensive linemen healthy and on the field.

The Detroit Lions have accomplished the difficult, complicated and expensive task of retaining the core of the team that lifted them to their first playoff appearance in a decade. The final domino to fall was middle linebacker Stephen Tulloch, who agreed to a five-year contract hours before his potential replacement was scheduled to visit the team's practice facility.

Tulloch's deal means that 21 of the Lions' 22 offensive and defensive starters from last season are now under contract. The exception is cornerback Eric Wright, whom the Lions wisely chose not to pursue once the Tampa Bay Buccaneers offered him a pricey five-year contract worth $37.5 million.

Otherwise, however, the Lions systematically took care of business over the past month, navigating a tight salary cap situation by using most every tool at their disposal. At times, it required premium cash outlays that not every NFL team would commit to.

In summary, the Lions:

• Restructured the contracts of quarterback Matthew Stafford, receiver Nate Burleson and defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh, freeing up some $16 million in cap space.
• Used the franchise tag to prevent the departure of defensive end Cliff Avril, a move that in essence guarantees Avril a one-year deal worth $10.6 million.
• Issued a second-round tender to linebacker DeAndre Levy, essentially giving him a one-year deal worth $1.927 million.
• Took a $1.6 million cap credit as their share of an NFL discipline that took cap space away from the Washington Redskins and Dallas Cowboys.
• Freed up about $9 million more in cap space by extending the contract of receiver Calvin Johnson. For the moment, at least, Johnson is the NFL's highest-paid player with an eight-year deal worth a total of $132 million, of which $60 million is guaranteed.
• Re-signed left tackle Jeff Backus to a two-year deal worth $10 million.

Although it took the longest, Tulloch's agreement was no less important than any of those we just ran through. Tulloch made a substantive impact on the Lions' defense as both a leader and a sure tackler. He proved exceptionally durable, playing on all but 19 of their defensive snaps in 2011, and provided a true fixture that allowed Levy to play a more a natural role on the outside.

Negotiations stalled to the point where the Lions scheduled free agent David Hawthorne for a visit. (Funny how the timing often works.) In the end, however, the Lions have managed to keep together their best team in a generation, and now they can look for ways to supplement it through secondary free agency and the draft.

In a matter of a few hours, it appears the Detroit Lions have cut enough salary cap space -- or, more accurately, pushed enough of it to future years -- that they can avoid cutting any any players in order to comply with the NFL's salary cap limit by Tuesday's deadline. Let's quickly catch up on what they've done and try to get a handle on what it means.

The Lions opened the day more than $11 million above the cap, but multiple reports, including this one from the Detroit Free Press and another from the Lions' web site, have confirmed the team restructured the contracts of quarterback Matthew Stafford and receiver Nate Burleson. The team reduced Stafford's cap number by more than $7 million and Burleson's by $2.175 million.

Meanwhile, the agent for defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh told Fox Sports Detroit that Suh has also agreed to a restructure, and Suh's new cap number will low enough to account for more than $11 million in total cap savings when combined with the restructures of Stafford and Burleson.

We don't yet know how much under the cap the Lions will enter the NFL's new league year with Tuesday, but a rough estimate would put them about $5 million under at this point. A few other points to keep in mind:

1. The Lions will need a certain portion of that surplus to sign their draft picks.
2. They'll need enough room to re-sign linebacker Stephen Tulloch, who appears set to test the free agent market.
3. The Lions have yet to announce the restricted free agent tenders they presumably will give to linebacker DeAndre Levy and defensive tackle Sammie Hill. The minimum combined cap hit of those two tenders will be $3.8 million.
4. Pushing $7 million in cap space into the final three years of Stafford's deal means he will be in a position similar to receiver Calvin Johnson next year at this time. If my math is right, Stafford's salary cap number will exceed $20 million for 2013. Johnson's cap number is about $22 million at the moment, and it will stay that way unless he and the Lions agree to a long-term extension.
5. Stafford's restructure was absolutely necessary and shouldn't result in any change in the cash he will receive in 2012, but it should also work in Stafford's favor when those long-term negotiations begin. The higher Stafford's base salary, the higher is eventual franchise tag number would be. That eventually serves as a baseline for negotiations.
6. The Lions have the option to borrow more cap space, about $1.5 million, from future years under the NFL's new collective bargaining agreement.
7. This is important: While it's not ideal, pushing cap commitments ahead isn't necessarily an irresponsible financial approach. The NFL's new television contracts will kick in for the 2014 season, an event that is expected to elevate the league's total cap space considerably.

Speaking last month at the NFL scouting combine, Detroit Lions general manager Martin Mayhew said the only thing worse than using the franchise tag on defensive end Cliff Avril was the prospect of losing him via free agency. So for that reason, we had every reason to believe the Lions would tag Avril if they couldn't agree to a long-term contract before Monday.

And that's exactly what has happened, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter and others. Avril is the second NFC North player to receive the franchise tag, joining Chicago Bears tailback Matt Forte, and would have the equivalent of a one-year contract worth about $11 million if nothing changes between now and the 2012 season. As a non-exclusive franchise player, Avril has the right to sign with another team if it's willing to part with a pair of first-round draft choices. Such steep compensation makes movement for franchise players highly unlikely.

Because the Lions have never seemed to waver on Avril's future, the real question has always been how his franchise number would impact the rest of the Lions' already-tight salary cap structure. They will have a cap charge of nearly $11 million for Avril, and as we discussed in January, they already are carrying high cap charges for receiver Calvin Johnson (about $22 million), quarterback Matthew Stafford (about $17 million), defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh (about $12.7 million) and defensive end Kyle Vanden Bosch (about $7.7 million).

If those numbers don't change, the Lions would have about $70 million in cap space committed to five players. Unless Johnson or Avril agree to contract extensions that lower their 2012 cap numbers, the Lions' offseason shopping will be limited. Among the possible repercussions could be the departure of middle linebacker Stephen Tulloch.

As we've noted many times, there are plenty of cap tricks to squeeze in players for a given year. The cost, of course, is future flexibility. The Lions have weighed their options, and losing Avril wasn't one they were prepared to absorb.

With the offseason in full swing, let's take a look at one major question facing each NFC North team as it begins preparations for the 2012 season:

CHICAGO BEARS

In last year's version of Leading Questions, we wondered when the Bears would address the depth behind their aging defensive stars. That issue is still on the table, but of greater 2012 importance is this: How will the Bears manage their transition to new offensive coordinator Mike Tice?

Tice will retain much of the terminology and some of the philosophy from former coordinator Mike Martz. But Tice has his own spin on the "three-digit offense," and the Bears will need to realign behind a power running game and a passing approach that emphasizes downfield throws.

Tight end and receiver are two positions the Bears need to focus on this offseason, either by developing their existing players like Kellen Davis and/or acquiring a legitimate downfield threat. New general manager Phil Emery should have more than $20 million in cap space to work with, and the free-agent market should be deep with receivers.

But to make Tice's offense work, Emery will also need to ensure the return of free-agent tailback Matt Forte and find him a reliable backup as well.

DETROIT LIONS

In a tight salary-cap situation, can the Lions keep their nucleus together and add where needed?

Years of high draft positioning made the Lions a talented team but also one facing a cap crunch in 2012. Preliminary cap reconciliation leaves the Lions with $122 million in cap commitments, about $2 million above the estimated $120 million cap. And that total doesn't include three defensive starters who are pending free agents: defensive end Cliff Avril, middle linebacker Stephen Tulloch and cornerback Eric Wright.

The Lions will need to find ways to shave from that total, whether it's borrowing from future caps -- a tool now available in the NFL's new collective bargaining agreement (CBA) -- or reducing the cap figures in existing contracts.

As we've discussed, receiver Calvin Johnson should be the first target for a cap-reducing contract extension. He's projected to account for about $22 million against the cap in the final year of his rookie deal. Johnson, quarterback Matthew Stafford, defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh and defensive end Kyle Vanden Bosch are estimated to account for nearly half of the Lions' total cap allotment.

What does all this mean? We are all figuring out the NFL's new salary-cap rules together, but it's clear the Lions must make some difficult short-term decisions and weigh them against long-term prosperity.

GREEN BAY PACKERS

What can the Packers do to improve a pass defense that gave up more passing yards than any team in NFL history?

The easiest answer is to address the pass rush, which weakened in 2011 when the Packers couldn't find a suitable replacement for departed free agent Cullen Jenkins. The rush could come from the defensive end position, where the Packers have waited two years for the highly touted Mike Neal to make an impact, or through acquiring a pass-rushing outside linebacker.

General manager Ted Thompson has been reluctant in recent years to utilize veteran free agency, and the truth is that few teams allow a legitimate pass-rusher to depart without compensation. But the situation was serious enough in 2011 that Thompson will at least need to consider every avenue available for a substantial and fast-acting solution. The Packers had 29 sacks in 2011, tied for the third-worst total in the NFL.

Parallel to that issue, however, Thompson will also have to monitor a situation at safety that contributed to the Packers' defensive problems in 2011. Pro Bowl safety Nick Collins will find out in March whether he can continue his career or if he must retire because of a serious neck injury. The Packers missed his leadership and instincts in center field and would need to acquire a long-term replacement if he retires.

MINNESOTA VIKINGS

The development of quarterback Christian Ponder will dominate many of the Vikings' offseason headlines, but there is an equally important question hovering over the team: How fast can it upgrade its historically poor pass defense?

Vikings opponents finished the season with a 107.6 passer rating, the third-highest figure in NFL history. Their eight interceptions tied for the league's lowest total in 2011 and only one player among the back seven who started the majority of games in 2011 -- linebacker Chad Greenway -- is assured a starting job in 2012.

It's difficult to replace six starters in one offseason, but the Vikings have already begun their defensive overhaul by hiring new defensive coordinator Alan Williams, bringing back Brendan Daly as their defensive line coach and making former coordinator, Fred Pagac, their primary linebackers coach.

The personnel situation is most dire in the secondary, where two of the Vikings' primary safeties -- Husain Abdullah and Tyrell Johnson -- are free agents. Talented cornerback Chris Cook, suspended for the final 10 games of the season following a domestic-violence incident, remains in limbo. Cook's trial date is tentatively scheduled for March 5. The future of veteran cornerback Antoine Winfield must be addressed as well; Winfield turns 35 in June.