Daily Briefing

AROUND THE NFL The NFL announced its preseason schedule on Tuesday, at least the matchups by week.  Here are the nationally televised games:   2019 preseason national television schedule (all times Eastern)   Hall of Fame Game (Canton, Ohio)   Denver Broncos vs. Atlanta Falcons (NBC, 8 p.m.), Thursday, Aug. 1   Preseason Week 2…

AROUND THE NFL Peter King on the plight of the NFL as TV keeps taking away the best refs.  He reports Jerome Boger could be next:   The last time the NFL’s contract with officials was up for negotiation, in 2012, you might remember some of the debacle calls for the first three weeks of…

AROUND THE NFL Jeff Legwold of ESPN.com teaches you how to talk like a scout:   From surgeons to pilots to carpenters, mechanics and baristas, every profession has its own language. For the next 22 days, the lingo of the NFL draft will be all over the airwaves as analysts, scouts and fans define the…

AROUND THE NFL NFC NORTH   GREEN BAY It started with Mike McCarthy complaining about the manner in which he was fired by the Packers – even though they granted him his wish to speak to the team afterwards.  Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com got the interview:   Mike McCarthy ranks 25th in NFL history with…

AROUND THE NFL NFC NORTH   DETROIT Kelly Stafford, wife of QB MATTHEW STAFFORD, has a brain tumor.  Any brain tumor could be serious, but it looks like she has reason to be optimistic.      Here is a complete update on what she is facing from Kristen Jordan Shamus of the Detroit Free Press:…

AROUND THE NFL The referee of the 2017 (season) Super Bowl, Gene Steratore quit and took TV money.   Now, the referee of the 2018 (season) Super Bowl, John Parry has quit to take TV money.   The moves concern Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk.com:   It’s not supposed to work this way.   Referees shouldn’t…

AROUND THE NFL Trees, 21 ornamental cherry trees to be precise, are standing in the way of the NFL’s plans for the draft.  The AP:   The city of Nashville won’t cut down 21 ornamental cherry trees to make space for an NFL draft stage, Mayor David Briley said Saturday.   In a news release,…

AROUND THE NFL In a year when Zach Taylor, Matt LaFleur and Kliff Kingsbury leaped into NFL head coaching jobs, Sean Payton doesn’t name any names – but his thoughts are clear.  Kevin Patra of NFL.com:   The once hot-shot offensive mind teams desired to mimic thinks franchises are foolhardy for the obsession with trying…

AROUND THE NFL In hockey, a goal can be negated by a tiny offsides violation minutes before the goal.   Now, as Mike Florio points out, a TD could be eradicated by an offensive interference pick play long before the receiver reaches the end zone:   Generally speaking, the NFL made a wise decision to…

AROUND THE NFL A proposal to guarantee each team a possession in overtime has been tabled to the May meeting.  This from Michael David Smith of ProFootballTalk.com:   Since the NFL adopted overtime for the regular season 45 years ago, the winner of the overtime coin toss has chosen to receive the kickoff about 99…

AROUND THE NFL Will replay usage be universal?  Herbie Teope of NFL.com:   New Orleans Saints head coach Sean Payton has been very vocal in recent days on the need for change in replay and how games are officiated.   Payton, a member of the NFL competition committee, provided perhaps his strongest take on both…

AROUND THE NFL NFC NORTH   CHICAGO S HA HA CLINTON-DIX is back in the NFC North.  Ian Rapoport tweeted it was a one-year deal.     DETROIT TE JESSE JAMES lands in Detroit acting like a man who has escaped from a bad reality show.  Chris Adamski of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review:   In something…