Pat Caputo: Are The Lions, Honestly, Better Than Their Rivals In NFC North?
The Lions and their foes in the NFC North will forever be linked.
The Packers, the Vikings, the Bears. The black and blue division.
Think of the NFC North, you think cold weather games in November and December. The Frozen Tundra of Lambeau Field in Green Bay. The chilled clouds of breath in Minnesota. The whipping wind off the lake in Chicago.
Back to when it was the NFC Central, and before that, the NFL Central.
That's even with the Lions and the Vikings having played home games under a roof for decades.
Tough football? Sure. It's been decidedly rugged since the days of Dick Butkus laying out Lions' Hall of Fame tight end Charlie Sanders in epic NFL Films footage from back in the day.
Really good football? Not necessarily.
The Packers won the first two Super Bowls, one before the division came into existence, and have won two since — including after last season.
