Daily Briefing

AROUND THE NFL With the trade of CB JALEN RAMSEY, teams have already moved six future first round picks.  Michael David Smith of ProFootballTalk.com:   NFL teams value first-round draft picks, but an increasing number of teams are showing that they’re willing to trade away first-round picks in the future to get a player they…

AROUND THE NFL If The Season Ended Today in the NFC – counting Monday night’s game as a Green Bay victory.                                                                          Div.      Conf.   1        San Francisco  West             5-0        1          2-0                                 2        Green Bay      North             5-1        1          4-1                               .   3        New Orleans   South             5-1        1          3-1                                 4       …

AROUND THE NFL If The Season Ended Today, in AFC, the two teams that played in a thrilling CBS Regional Game on Sunday would be the 2nd and 3rd seeds.  And the Raiders, yes the Raiders, would be in the playoffs.   1          New England  East     6-0       1          4-0       2          Houston           South   4-2       1          3-0      …

AROUND THE NFL NFC EAST   NEW YORK GIANTS When QB DANIEL JONES was six, QB TOM BRADY broke his young heart.  Kevin Patra of NFL.com:   Tom Brady has been playing so long some of his opponents’ childhoods were ruined by his early-career success.   So it is with Thursday’s opposing quarterback, rookie Daniel…

AROUND THE NFL Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk.com looks at the NBA’s China mess from an NFL perspective.   China fascinates American sports leagues, and for good reason. China has 1.4 billion people to whom American sports can be marketed, and from whom a lot of money can be made.   That’s why the NBA has…

AROUND THE NFL This from Rick Gosselin:   @RickGosselin9 NFL games averaged 13.5 penalties for 115.1 yards last season. Those numbers are up through five weeks of this season — 15.2 penalties for 128.0 yards per game. Not a good trend. Put away the flags, guys.   That said, are they finding penalties where none…

AROUND THE NFL NFC NORTH   GREEN BAY Coach Matt LaFleur was happy after a nice win in Dallas.   The Cowboys had almost 230 more yards of offense than the Packers on Sunday, but they also turned the ball over three times on their way to a 34-24 home loss.   Packers head coach…

AROUND THE NFL It will be the defensive appeals officer, a fellow linebacker who knows exactly what LB VONTAZE BURFICT had to work with as TE JACK DOYLE was in his sights, who will hear the linebacker’s appeal of his season-long suspension.  Josh Alper of ProFootballTalk.com:   The NFL suspended Raiders linebacker Vontaze Burfict for…

AROUND THE NFL NFC NORTH   MINNESOTA There were rumors that WR STEFON DIGGS wanted out, away from KIRK COUSINS, but the Vikings are saying he is not on the block.  Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk.com:   In 2013, the Vikings had no intent to trade Percy Harvin. In 2019, the Vikings have no plans to…

AROUND THE NFL NFC NORTH   CHICAGO LB ROQUAN SMITH’s mysterious “personal issues” seem to be clearing.   Roquan Smith has returned to practice and the star linebacker said he will play Sunday against the Raiders. Mitchell Trubisky, as expected, most likely will not be available.   Bears coach Matt Nagy announced Wednesday that Smith,…

AROUND THE NFL A week ago, the field was set for the various championship games with Kansas City taking on New England in the AFC and Dallas and the Rams the clear choices in the NFC.  The rest of the season was all about teams positioning to get playoff berths where they would be destroyed…

AROUND THE NFL Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk.com notes that after three weeks of play, the folks in Vegas believe the Patriots will play the Chiefs in the AFC Championship, probably win, and then claim another Super Bowl title.   Three weeks of dominance, even against easily-dominated teams, gets the attention of the folks in Las…