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Reading Mel Kiper Jr.'s grades the morning after the draft is like a holiday tradition. No matter how much we all understand intuitively that it's impossible to project future success, we still want to know what the man who has spent three decades e...

We're Black and Blue All Over: Good morning and welcome to Draft Week '13. We'll post as much draft material as bloggerly possible over the next six days, but I wanted to start with an important revelation about a current Chicago Bears player. ...

I would call Oregon defensive end Dion Jordan an outside candidate to be drafted No. 5 overall by the Detroit Lions. Jordan hasn't received the same type of buzz as BYU's Ezekiel Ansah, but this Sport Science video shows how much of an athletic speci...

I try not to saturate you with contract details at this or any other time of year, figuring most of you don't care how much a player makes unless it impacts his future and/or the makeup of the team. This week's contract renegotiation between the Detr...

We're Black and Blue All Over: We've passed the midpoint of the NFL's three-day negotiating window for free agency, and we don't know much more than we did when it started. ESPN's Adam Schefter reports the "league-wide expectation" is that the Mia...

As many of you have pointed out, the release of Detroit Lions receiver Titus Young pretty much wrapped up the "Have at It" debates we generated a few years ago about the best young receiver in the NFC North. (Hint: It wasn't Young.) It also opens the...

Our Wild Week 17 includes a pair of division matchups that carry direct playoff implications. You're probably seeing as much microanalysis of these games as you've seen in the previous 16 weeks combined. In the bigger picture, however, it's worth ...

The Detroit Lions have lost seven consecutive games even with receiver Calvin Johnson in the midst of his record-breaking run. So we can't come close to suggesting that a team must slow down Johnson, much less stop him, to beat the Lions. But as the ...

As Minnesota Vikings tailback Adrian Peterson and Detroit Lions receiver Calvin Johnson pursue single-season yardage records for their respective positions, one matter of historical importance hasn't gotten much attention: The NFL's shift to a 16-gam...

As the Detroit Lions' season winds to a disappointing close, I'm sure there will be plenty of discussion about their "Wide 9" defensive scheme and whether it should be adjusted during the offseason. My amateur take: There has been too much consternat...

We're Black and Blue All Over: There has been so much talk this week about, well, talk, that we've reached Friday of Packers-Bears week and have a pile of injury information to sort through. Thanks to Jeff Dickerson of ESPNChicago.com, we know ...

We're Black and Blue All Over: There has been plenty of fretting this week about the future of Chicago Bears middle linebacker Brian Urlacher, but not much attention on the man who will replace him for the next few weeks. Nick Roach is making a si...

We're Black and Blue All Over: GREEN BAY, Wis. -- It's amazing how much happened Sunday between about 3:45 p.m. ET and 4:30 p.m. ET. In that window, the Green Bay Packers cemented a 23-14 victory over the Minnesota Vikings, their sixth victory ...

In this week's Inside Slant podcast , Mike Sando and I tried to de-mystify the concussion protocols we've heard so much about this season while awaiting the return of some high-profile NFC North players. How exactly does a medical staff diagnose a...

EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. -- Here is a development that doesn't make much sense. During a three-game stretch in which tailback Adrian Peterson has rushed for 458 yards, the Minnesota Vikings haven't been able to capitalize in play action. In fact, their...

After the Chicago Bears' 51-20 victory over the Tennessee Titans, here are three issues that merit further examination: The Bears' schedule is about to get much more difficult, with consecutive games against the 7-1 Houston Texans and the 6-2 San...