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In this ESPN Insider piece, Matt Bowen identifies two NFC North players among five projections of second-yearmen destined for breakout years. You'll need an Insider subscription to read the entire post, but I can sneak you the gist of it below. Just...

We've spent a good part of this week discussing feuds of varying degrees, from the dissipating animosity between Brett Favre and the Green Bay Packers to the now-healed relationship between Mike Ditka and the Chicago Bears. Those situations h...

How does each NFC North team look at running back, and what still needs to be done? Chicago Bears: If you were drawing up plans for an experienced but diverse backfield, you could do a lot worse than modeling after the Bears. Starter Matt Forte is...

Mike Ditka's final season as a player for the Chicago Bears was in 1966. His last season as their coach was 1992. So why did it take 47 years after his departure as a player, and 21 years after his final season as the coach, to retire the number of o...

We're Black and Blue All Over: Thursday, we broached the topic of whether the Chicago Bears would retire the number of middle linebacker Brian Urlacher. As it turns out, the team is dealing with a backlog on that issue. Almost a half-century af...

I liked what I heard -- er, read -- from Detroit Lions tight end Brandon Pettigrew this week. As Tim Twentyman of the Lions' website writes, Pettigrew has pledged to rectify the series of negative plays he made last season. "I can't put what I did...

Oh. My. GOD. If I see one more story or hear one more radio interview about the much-suggested but still-unplanned reunion between the Green Bay Packers and Brett Favre, why, I'm going to pack up my blogger uniform, head down to my ranch, st...

To this point of the offseason, the Minnesota Vikings have elected to carry untouched the largest salary-cap hit for a non-quarterback in the NFL. Despite his cap charge of $17.063 million, defensive end Jared Allen told the Star Tribune recently tha...

All we know for sure is that on May 21 -- more than two months before training camp and 109 days before the start of the regular season -- Mike Neal was working as an outside linebacker during a Green Bay Packers organized team activity (OTA). Doe...

Welcome to SportsNation! On Tuesday, ESPN.com NFC North blogger Kevin Seifert will drop in to chat about the NFL. Seifert joined ESPN.com in 2008 after covering the Minnesota Vikings for the Minneapolis Star Tribune for eight years. He lives in the T...

Unable to find an acceptable situation under which to continue his Hall of Fame career, former Bears linebacker Brian Urlacher announced his retirement earlier this week. Thanks to Kevin Seifert of the NFC North blog for pointing out this Chicago Tri...

We're Black and Blue All Over: Now that we've dissected Brian Urlacher's retirement and assessed his chances at enshrinement in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, we should ask the next question: Will the Bears retire his No. 54? That issue might b...

Catching up around the division Wednesday after Brian Urlacher's retirement illuminated at least one curious development. Detroit Lions safety Louis Delmas isn't participating in organized team activities (OTAs), and not just simply to avoid wear ...

It never seemed likely that the Minnesota Vikings would pursue Brian Urlacher in free agency, given their sharp turn toward youth over the past two years. And now it seems clear that Urlacher had little interest in a mercenary-style role with the Vik...

Reviewing the Pro Football Hall of Fame's list of middle linebackers is a sobering experience. The position is well-represented, but almost all of the enshrinees -- Dick Butkus, Jack Lambert and Willie Lanier among them -- are drawn from a long-go...

Congratulations to the Arizona Cardinals, who for the time being at least have won the unofficial contest for best reaction to Brian Urlacher's retirement with this tweet: You were who we thought you were. Congrats. RT @BUrlacher54: It was an honor ...