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On Friday, I passed along a post from NFC West colleague Mike Sando, who noted some backroom facts from the St. Louis Rams' draft as observed by Sports Illustrated's Peter King. The upshot: The Rams had two fallback players in mind if Georgia linebac...

How top-heavy was the 2013 draft in the NFC North? We welcomed more players in the first round (six) than in the second and third rounds combined (four), the result of two big trades. With the 2013 affair basically in the books, let's take a close...

NFC North players are obliterating the NFL record book this weekend. Or something like that. You know full well what Detroit Lions receiver Calvin Johnson did Saturday night. If not, we chronicled it for you. Sunday afternoon, Minnesota Vikings...

We're Black and Blue All Over: PHILADELPHIA -- With Week 6 in the books here in the NFC North, let's reset our standings: Chicago Bears (4-1) Minnesota Vikings (4-2) Green Bay Packers (3-3) Detroit Lions (2-3) The record shows the Pac...

For years, preparing for the Indianapolis Colts defense was schematically simple but physically difficult. The Colts lined up in their traditional 4-3 alignment and sent four pass rushers more than any team in the NFL between 2008-11, relying on book...

ESPN.com's annual "Big Book" ranked the top 200 players in the NFL as well as the best players at each position. The NFC North is well-represented on the former list, of which I can provide excerpts below. You'll find links to each position embedded...

On Tuesday, we passed along that ESPN's Ron Jaworski ranked Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers as the top quarterback in the NFL. On Wednesday, we as a matter of course bring you the, uh, contrarian view. You can probably guess the rest. ...

The 2012 NFL draft is in the books. Our silly little arguments on left tackles and injured receivers seem so long ago. Oh, the memories.... In a few years, we'll be able to evaluate this draft with a measure of accuracy. For now, let's just consider...

The 2012 ESPN.com blog network mock draft is in the books. It was actually a lot of fun, and I hope you got a chance to jump into the fray for at least a few moments. If not, here is the chat transcript. I learned a few things. First, I'm much mor...

The NFL combine is almost in the books. We have a week until the franchise tag deadline and two weeks until the free agent market opens. So that opens a window for your resident blogger to catch a breather. Our excellent staff of blog editors will ke...

Have you caught your breath yet from that wild early game Saturday? Me neither. Books will be written about the San Francisco 49ers' epic 36-32 victory over the New Orleans Saints. But here's what applies to the NFC North: The Green Bay Packers no...

We can't close the book on Saturday night's wild-card playoff game at the Superdome without putting some perspective on the performance of Detroit Lions receiver Calvin Johnson. Though overshadowed by a 45-28 loss to the New Orleans Saints, Johnso...

NEW ORLEANS -- Congratulations are in order for the Detroit Lions. Graduating from preschool is a momentous occasion for any young pup, and that is where I see the Lions now that their 2011 season is in the books. Saturday night's 45-28 loss to th...

We're Black and Blue All Over: GREEN BAY, Wis. -- Good mid-morning to you. Week 10 is in the books after back-to-back blowouts in the NFC North. Monday night, the Green Bay Packers overwhelmed the Minnesota Vikings in all facets a day after the Ch...

Rule 8, Section 5, Article 3(c) of the NFL rule book is straightforward. But as is the case with many NFL rules, the interpretation is not. Here is what it says, in part: "Acts that are permissible by a player include but are not limited to ... contac...

Wednesday marked the first of three days in which we will analyze every step Detroit Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford takes and every word he utters, all for clues as to whether he'll start Sunday at the Denver Broncos. Here's what we know: Staf...