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Just a few weeks ago, Detroit Lions defensive tackle Nick Fairley predicted that his team, 4-12 last year, will play in the Super Bowl next postseason. Some people might call that a head-scratcher, but not teammate Reggie Bush, who signed a four-y...

As rosters shake out this summer, you'll hear a fair amount about the "youngest" and "oldest" teams in the NFL. Sometimes those figures and rankings can be skewed by aged kickers or an exceptionally youthful set of reserves, so I like what colleague ...

We're Black and Blue All Over: The Green Bay Packers lost a promising rookie -- perhaps for the season -- on the first day of their organized team activities (OTAs), according to multiple reports. Offensive lineman J.C. Tretter, a fourth-round dra...

As you might have noticed, ESPN and ESPN.com will begin counting down the top 20 coaches in NFL history later this week. Trey Wingo provides the basic parameters in the video, and from an NFC North perspective, this list is going to boil down to wher...

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...

The Detroit Lions are expected to create and operate a new bowl game at Ford Field starting in 2014, according to ESPN's Brett McMurphy, and the game could feature an ACC vs. Big Ten matchup. McMurphy reports the Lions would keep the Big Ten as an...

The Detroit Lions are expected to create and operate a new bowl game at Ford Field starting in 2014, which would eliminate the Little Caesars Pizza Bowl after this season, sources said Tuesday.

Prepare to say goodbye to the Little Caesars Pizza Bowl as a Big Ten bowl, though the league could still send a team to Detroit for the postseason. Colleague Brett McMurphy reports that the NFL's Detroit Lions are planning to create and operate th...

I'm willing to chat on May 21 if you are. I'm sure we'll find plenty to talk about as organized team activities continue around the NFC North. See you over at SportsNation at 2 p.m. ET....

We're Black and Blue All Over: Why is the NFL considering a reorganization of its offseason schedule, as reported by ESPN's Adam Schefter? Naturally, to avoid the kind of quiet period that leaves players, teams and media members fighting over whet...

In February, we learned that Minnesota Vikings tailback Adrian Peterson played at least the final four games of the regular season with a sports hernia that ultimately required offseason surgery. Peterson, of course, finished the season with the seco...

Detroit Lions receiver Calvin Johnson had a record-breaking night.

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...

Mailbag: If owners make changes to the Pro Bowl that fail, the game could be doomed, writes John Clayton.

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

Football Outsiders, a statistics-based analysis service, has been producing division-by-division Insider files on remaining team needs. You'll need a subscription to read the entire NFC North post , but below I've taken a few excerpts and written a f...