Over the next few weeks, we'll tackle five early summer questions for each NFL division.

Today's two-a-days: AFC South | NFC North

AFC South

1. The Colts' streak of seven straight playoff appearances has to end in '09, right?

Everyone needs to forget the drama that engulfed Cutler over the past six months. Though you may have gone about it a bit differently, imagine a scenario in which you're doing very well at your job, a new boss is hired from an outside company and he's angling to get "his" guy from his old firm to replace you. All the while, he's doing this behind the scenes, without you knowing. Then, after things don't work out with his old buddy, he says you're his guy!

So it didn't go down exactly like that, but it was pretty darn close. Now Cutler has this public image of being an immature prima donna. Fine.

The guy's also one of the top 10 quarterbacks in this league. In the media's collective bash-job of Cutler a few months back, his unremarkable 17-20 career record continued to rise to the surface.

"He's not a winner." "He's all stats." "He's more of a fantasy football quarterback than a franchise one" — those were some of the sentiments we read and heard.

What everyone failed to mention was the fact that the Denver defense has been downright atrocious over the past two seasons. How's this for a stat? In games in which the Denver defense gave up less than 21 points over the past three seasons, Jay Cutler went 13-1 as the team's starting quarterback. That one loss came in a crazy OT loss to Brett Favre and the Packers on Monday Night Football.

Which leads us to the NFC North. Does Cutler have what it takes to lead a team through the brutal cold of the NFC Norris in the late winter months? Chicago doesn't have the weapons at wideout or on the offensive line that Cutler did in Denver, but the running game and defense are certainly better.

Jay Cutler's not a loser, and the Bears won't be losers under his wing.

Denver will miss him. Prima donna or not.

2. Is the "F" word secretly already a Minnesota Viking?

As you may know from a previous column this offseason, I'm refraining from referring to the dude who used to play quarterback for the Packers by name until he's officially back in the league. I'm just sick of seeing the word, hearing it aloud and the national obsession over the guy's summer vacation. I lost a July Fourth weekend to "F" word-mania last year; I refuse to lose this year's, too.

That might be impossible, though. According to the popular football blog Pro Football Talk, there are legitimate rumors circulating about the "F" word actually already being a Viking. According to the site, sources say Minnesota and the Favre camp are just waiting until July 3 — the start of a holiday weekend, where media attention would be minimal — to announce the news.

Then last Wednesday, WCCO's Mark Rosen came out and said a reliable source confirmed that Favre and the Vikings had already come to a contract agreement with "heavy incentives." Rosen also said the Vikings' equipment manager had ordered No. 4 jerseys with "F" word's name on it.

And you thought the Jon and Kate conspiracy theories were great!

Rumors, unnamed sources, blah, blah, blah. It all comes with the territory when you're dealing with this fellow.

Give me Jay Glazer providing up-to-the-minute updates from an airport Brookstone store like last summer when he broke the Favre-to-New York news.

Until then, I don't want to hear anymore about the "F" word.

And if he is already a Viking — that's great. Suit him up and get him on the field. Enough talk ... talk ... talk ...

3. Will the Packers field a real defense in '09, or last year's JV squad?

After what was a downright embarrassing effort in 2008, the Green Bay defense should look very different in '09. Old defensive coordinator Bob Sanders and most of his staff are gone. In comes Dom Capers and his 3-4 scheme. Yet, the players — mostly hand-picked and molded to work the 4-3 — remain mostly the same.

Tough situation that could make for a tough transition. Defensive leader Aaron Kampman, for example, will go from being a sack specialist defensive end to an outside linebacker, working in pass coverage on many downs. That's not a particularly easy move for a veteran.

Yet, word out of Green Bay is that the Packers' defensive coaches and players spent more than just the OTAs learning the complexities of the new Capers scheme. Players and coaches were meeting on their own time, learning, studying and talking the 3-4. Everyone's committed and on board — potential holdout safety Nick Collins, included.

One player who really seems to be relishing the challenge is linebacker Brady Poppinga. On the transition from 4-3 to 3-4, Poppinga told The Associated Press last week: "It's a process. When I came in here, I was a malleable piece of clay four years ago. Now, I'm breaking that clay pottery down — boom! — to build it back up. So it's a process. But I think I'm taking the necessary steps, and I'm enjoying the moment."

In addition to the scheme change comes a few package wrinkles, too. When the Packers go to their dime and nickel packages in '09, they will end up featuring what appears to be just two down linemen. According to Rick Braun of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "In effect, it becomes a 2-4-5 defense, with two of the four linebackers — and maybe a third linebacker or a defensive back — also likely to rush. The question the offense has to answer is, 'Which two?'"

On top of the coaching, scheme and package changes, there are some new faces in town, too. Rookies B.J. Raji and Clay Matthews bring young legs; safety Anthony Smith has the knowledge of the 3-4 from his Pittsburgh days.

Green Bay's defense should be much improved in '09.

4. What do the additions of Julian Peterson and Larry Foote mean to Detroit's defense?

They'll help.

Peterson, a five-time Pro Bowl player and a three-time All-Pro, still has some good football left in his legs. Traded in a package deal in the offseason, Peterson provides the veteran leadership and experience to what will end up being one of the younger defenses in the league. Foote is a two-time Super Bowl champion who can still get it done. Joined together with four-year veteran Ernie Sims, the three actually make for a formidable linebacker corps in Detroit. Lions fans haven't seen one of those in ... well, decades.

The issue, of course, will be the defensive line. The Peterson-Sims-Foote trio will be over-taxed and weary by Week 4 if there's no help up front. And from the looks of it, the talent on the defensive line does not look much better than it was last year.

I was very surprised in April when the Lions waited until the fourth round of the draft to select a defensive tackle — Sammie Lee Hill out of Stillman. DE and DT appeared to be Detroit's most pressing needs, yet they opted to beef up at other positions over the first three rounds, instead.

But maybe I've assessed the situation poorly and things aren't as dire along the defensive line as they appear. Maybe the front office and Jim Schwartz like what they have in Detroit up front. Either way, the Lions will have to make due with what they've got. Grady Jackson is a 13-year veteran who can still do the job at DT, second-year man Andre Fluellen has shown some promise and DeWayne White's had some very productive years in Tampa Bay. Individually, there are some decent players. Can they pull it all together to form a somewhat capable defensive line?

Peterson and Foote should make a difference. But they won't be able to do much without some production from the front four.

5. Will the Lions win a game this year?

You'd sure like to think so. It might take until Nov. 1, though. That's when Detroit takes on the young St. Louis Rams, the only opponent Detroit could be favored against in the first eight weeks of the season. So circle that date, Lions fans. It could make for quite a Sunday.

Get pumped for that potential 1-6 start. Woohoo!