Daily Briefing

THE DAILY BRIEFING NFC NORTH DETROIT WR AMON-RA ST. BROWN, who burns hot normally, is on fire after the Pro Bowl teams are released.  Eric Woodyard of ESPN.com: Amon-Ra St. Brown wasn’t in the greatest mood after Thursday’s practice as he greeted the media outside of his locker room stall.   The Detroit Lions star…

THE DAILY BRIEFING NFC NORTH CHICAGO CB JAYLON JOHNSON has made himself some money in his contract year per former agent Joel Corry at CBSSports.com: Jaylon Johnson, CB, Bears Financial benchmark: Trevon Diggs ($19.4 million avg./$42.304 million in guarantees/5 years) Probability: $$$ Johnson has put himself in the shutdown cornerback conversation this season. Opposing quarterbacks…

THE DAILY BRIEFING @dannykanell Wow. Both undefeated teams win. It’s almost like running the table in a power 5 conference means something!!! But this from @NOTSportsCenter @NOTSportsCenter BREAKING: The #CFBPlayoff committee has advanced Alabama to the national championship game over Michigan   “It was a tough decision for all of us, but Alabama now has…

THE DAILY BRIEFING The AFC:                                       w-l               conf                 18 Baltimore        North    13-3              8-3                PIT Miami              East     11-5              7-4                BUF Kansas City    West     10-6             8-3                 lac Jacksonville    South     9-7              6-5                ten                                                                     Cleveland        WC1    11-5             8-3                cin Buffalo             WC2    10-6             6-5                 mia Indianapolis     WC3     9-7            7-4                 HOU Houston                        9-7            6-5                 ind Pittsburgh                      9-7             6-5                 balt Nothing changed…

THE DAILY BRIEFING NFC NORTH CHICAGO The Bears are happy with DL MONTEZ SWEAT, despite the high cost of the midseason trade.  Courtney Cronin of ESPN.com: Chicago Bears defensive line coach Travis Smith was walking through a Soldier Field tunnel following his team’s win over the Detroit Lions on Dec. 10. As Smith made his…

THE DAILY BRIEFING NFC NORTH   GREEN BAY A huge game on Sunday – and the Packers have chosen to play it without their elite cornerback.  Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com: Jaire Alexander’s strange season has taken another turn. Three days after he anointed himself as one of the Green Bay Packers’ captains — and then…

THE DAILY BRIEFING NFC NORTH   MINNESOTA This isn’t good for the Vikings.  Kevin Seifert of ESPN.com: A series of tests revealed that Minnesota Vikings tight end T.J. Hockenson tore both the ACL and MCL ligaments in his right knee during the team’s 30-24 loss Sunday to the Detroit Lions, coach Kevin O’Connell said Tuesday.…

THE DAILY BRIEFING If The Season Ended Today in the AFC: w-l               conf         17        18 Baltimore        North    12-3              7-3          MIA      PIT Miami              East     11-4              7-3          bal       BUF Kansas City    West       9-6             7-3          CIN      lac Jacksonville    South     8-7              6-5         CAR     ten                                                                     Cleveland        WC1     10-5             7-3          NYJ     cin Buffalo             WC2      9-6             5-5           NE      mia Indianapolis     WC3      8-7    …

THE DAILY BRIEFING Sometimes, the NFL seems to use microscopic inspection to overturn calls on evidence that really isn’t “clear and convincing.” But Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk.com thinks two recent plays indicate the NFL is backing away from long, painstaking reviews and subsequent reversals. One of the problems with the league’s replay-review system is that,…

THE DAILY BRIEFING If The Season Ended Today In The NFC: W-L                Conf            16           17           18 San Francisco*  West     11-3                 9-1           BAL         was        LAR Dallas                East      10-4                 7-3            mia          DET      was Detroit               North     10-4                 6-3           min           dal         MIN Tampa Bay       South       7-7                6-4            JAX          NO        car Philadelphia      WC1      10-4                6-3            NYG         ARZ      nyg Minnesota         WC2       …

THE DAILY BRIEFING If The Season Ended Today, the Ravens and Dolphins reign, but close with tough schedules w-l               conf          16       17        18 Baltimore        North    11-3              7-3            sf       MIA      PIT Miami              East     10-4              7-3          DAL     bal       BUF Kansas City    West       9-5             7-2           LV       CIN      lac Jacksonville    South     8-6              6-5           tb        CAR    ten                                                                     Cleveland        WC1      9-5            …

THE DAILY BRIEFING The Art Rooney Sportsmanship Award operates in the same atmosphere as the Walter Payton Man of the Year Award.  Here are this year’s eight finalists from Josh Alper of ProFootballTalk.com: The NFL announced the eight finalists for this season’s Art Rooney Sportsmanship Award on Thursday.   The award is given to the…