AROUND THE NFL The first two days of the week produced the Bills circling back to OC Joe Brady after a long search elsewhere and Todd Monken emerging as Cleveland’s choice after he satisfied their long list of conditions including a willingness to have Jim Schwartz as his DC (but maybe not, see CLEVELAND). As a…

AROUND THE NFL While the final odds varied a bit, the oddsmakers ended up pretty much right on the final outcome of the Championshp Game.   Favored by 3.5 – 4.5, the Patriots won by 3 and failed to cover. Favored by 2.5, the Seahawks won by 4 and covered. For Super Bowl 60, the Seahawks open as 4.5-point…

AROUND THE NFL Robert Kraft is certain 18 games with one International Game for each team is coming soon.  Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk.com: It’s a matter of when not if the NFL will expand to 18 regular-season games. On Tuesday, Patriots owner Robert Kraft addressed the issue during an appearance on 98.5 The Sports Hub, from Gillette Stadium. “I…

AROUND THE NFL NFC NORTH  DETROITDan Campbell and the Lions have entrusted the 2026 offense to Drew Petzing, who just came through three years with QB KYLER MURRAY (the opposite of QB JARED GOFF?) while with the Cardinals. The Detroit Lions are finalizing a deal to hire former Arizona Cardinals offensive coordinator Drew Petzing as their…

AROUND THE NFL So much to dissect about the overwhelming issue of the weekend – why was BRANDON COOKS denied a catch in overtime in Denver, when two similar plays on Sunday were allowed to stand as catches?  Why the secretive review?  Plus the mystery of the DPI’s.  We will look at all of that…

AROUND THE NFL ESPN.com has a ranking of all 32 rookie classes from Adam Schatz.  The raw rank is below, the full commentary for the top and bottom five are in the team box. We’re taking a look at all 32 rookie classes in the NFL and ranking the value of their contributions in 2025. We want…

AROUND THE NFL We’re back and while we were away we saw a car with a state license plate, an official state license plate, that showed the driver’s support for Auburn University.  That’s fine, of course – except it was a Georgia plate. Auburn is in Alabama.  The plate was from Georgia.  How is this possible? …

AROUND THE NFL NFC SOUTH  ATLANTAMike Jones of The Athletic with a question for DC Jeff Ulbrich: Atlanta Falcons: Jeff UlbrichCan he solve last year’s struggles for sacks and interceptions?]Last season’s Falcons defense struggled mightily to deliver game-changing plays. The unit ranked 31st with only 31 sacks (league leader Denver had 63) and 17th with 12 interceptions (Minnesota…

AROUND THE NFL The DB has been around for 20 years now – and when we started The Red Zone was a pioneer site for on-line links.  So sad to see this at TheRedZone.org today: This is our last day of publishingJun 5  After a quarter of a century, it’s time to cease publishing the website.  I just…

AROUND THE NFL Mike Jones of The Athletic has a piece on the challenges facing the new offensive playcallers.  They are all here. Some appear below in today’s DB.  NFC NORTH  DETROITMike Jones of The Athletic on John Morton, the new Lions OC: Detroit Lions: John MortonCan the longtime assistant pick up where Ben Johnson left off? Under Johnson, Detroit…

AROUND THE NFL Find your team on this list from Warren Sharp: % of drives ending in a punt or turnover 70% – CLE69%68%67%66%65%64%63%62% – TEN, NYG61% – CHI60%59% – CAR58% – JAX, NE57% – NO, SEA56% – IND, DAL55% – LV54% – NYJ, DEN53%52% – HOU51% – MIA50% – PIT, LAR49%48% – ARI47% – KC46% –…

AROUND THE NFL Today’s Briefing has the rest of the schedule analysis. The quick impressions include look for San Francisco and New England to increase their win totals, both overall and relative to the other teams in the division. And, even if they improve as a team, the Giants schedule is so brutal they should be able…