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When the Detroit Lions hired Jim Schwartz as their coach in 2009, hope emerged from the sports analytics industry. Had it gained a patron saint? Schwartz, after all, had acknowledged his interest in the subject during his time as the Tennessee Titans...

Rick Reilly submits his ballot for the top 20 coaches in NFL history. He lets you see whom he voted for and whom he didn't.

We're Black and Blue All Over: We're down to five unsigned draft choices here in the NFC North after the Chicago Bears wrapped up contracts for their 2013 class over the weekend. First-round draft pick Kyle Long agreed to terms on a four-year deal...

Plenty of teams made big splashes early in free agency, but keep an eye on those who waited for smart bargains, writes John Clayton.

ESPN.com fantasy football defense and special teams units rankings for the 2013 NFL season.

A look at key players for each NFC North team who are coming back from injuries: Chicago Bears: Place-kicker Robbie Gould needed offseason surgery after rupturing a semitendinosus tendon in Week 15 and still hadn't been cleared to kick 13 weeks la...

We're Black and Blue All Over: Good mid-Friday morning and let's get straight to our morning tour: Dan Pompei of the Chicago Tribune answers several questions about Chicago Bears guard Kyle Long in his weekly mailbag. The Bears promoted Mark...

Maybe it's a habit. Despite the NFL's near-elimination of drama in signing draft choices, I still field daily questions about the status of negotiations. So it seems to be a good time to re-set things here in the NFC North now that the Minnesota Viki...

We're Black and Blue All Over: The Minnesota Vikings finally are following up on their first instinct on Joe Webb. Four years after drafting him with plans to attempt a conversion to receiver, the Vikings have confirmed that Webb is now a receiver...

One of the persistent themes of Tuesday's SportsNation chat was a Chicago Sun-Times report suggesting that free-agent linebacker Brian Urlacher was leaning toward signing with the Minnesota Vikings. My sense at the time: The Vikings are in no rush...

We're Black and Blue All Over: It appears that a tough market for former Green Bay Packers defensive back Charles Woodson is loosening a bit. According to ESPN's Josina Anderson, Woodson will visit the Denver Broncos on Wednesday and has an offer ...

A mere two years later, the 2011 draft is crumbling for most of the NFC North. At a time when it should be forming the nucleus of our respective teams, the class of '11 is instead causing some of our most gaping holes. The futures of two first-rou...

Never fear. We're chatting. Oh yes, we'll be chatting. What about? That's up to you. One thing we never have to worry about in this division is finding something to discuss. If things get stale, we can always debate which childhood fantasy more close...

We're Black and Blue All Over: Monday nights in May are not supposed to be as newsy as yesterday's was. We noted the unveiling of the Minnesota Vikings' new stadium/Fortress of Solitude, but several other items popped up as well. We'll start with ...

Football Outsiders examines the most pressing remaining issue after the 2013 draft for every NFC North team.

Story | Conversation | May 14, 2013

We noted earlier that the Detroit Lions have signed their 2013 draft class and that the Chicago Bears are one contract away from doing the same. Friday afternoon, the Green Bay Packers announced agreements with nine of their 11 draft choices. The ...