Daily Briefing

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…

AROUND THE NFL NFC NORTH   CHICAGO WR TAYLOR GABRIEL couldn’t finish his greatest game.  Jelani Scott of NFL.com:   In the midst of his superb showing on “Monday Night Football,” Taylor Gabriel’s momentum was suddenly halted by injury.   The Chicago Bears receiver exited Monday night’s 31-15 win over the Washington Redskins and headed…

AROUND THE NFL The AFC looks like the Patriots and Chiefs heading for the byes and the rest of the conference swimming about for the other four spots.  Kansas City won, the other three AFC West teams lost and the Chiefs have a 2-game lead after three weeks.   The Patriots have a surprising 3-0…

AROUND THE NFL NFC EAST   DALLAS With no market emerging, the Cowboys have cut ties with former first-round pick DE TACO CHARLTON.  Jeremy Bergman of NFL.com:   The Taco Charlton truck is being towed out of Dallas.   The Cowboys released the former first-round defensive end on Wednesday after two-plus seasons with the club.…

AROUND THE NFL Someone, either Colin Kaepernick or his agent, wants an NFL check.  John Breech of CBSSports.com:   The 2019 NFL season has gotten off to a brutal start for the league’s quarterbacks, who are dropping like flies.   Through just two weeks, we’ve already seen Ben Roethlisberger, Drew Brees and Nick Foles go…

AROUND THE NFL David Perdum of ESPN.com on the two big spreads in Week 3.   According to the betting market, there hasn’t been this large of a gap between the best and worst teams in the NFL since 1987, a strike season featuring games with starters against replacement players.   The New England Patriots…