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 next…

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…

AROUND THE NFL Mike Sando of The Athletic has his favorite move for every NFL team here.  We least some of them with the appropriate team.- – -Congratulations to Mary Kay Cabot of the Cleveland Plain Dealer/Cleveland.com who has had the distinction/obligation/misfortune of covering the Browns for more than 30 years.  She’s the 2025 winner of the Bill Nunn Award. …

AROUND THE NFL NFC NORTH  CHICAGO Mon, Sep 8                      Minnesota                       8:15 PM EDT                   ABCSun, Sep 14                    @ Detroit                          1:00 PM EDT                   FOXSun, Sep 21                    Dallas                                 4:25 PM EDT                   FOXSun, Sep 28                    @ Las Vegas                   4:25 PM EDT                   CBSBye        Mon, Oct 13                    @ Washington              8:15 PM EDT                   ABCSun, Oct 19                     New Orleans                  1:00 PM EDT                   FOXSun, Oct…

AROUND THE NFL We have spent the weekend starting our team-by-team schedule analysis.  The AFC and NFC East are on tap today with the other divisions heading your way soon (except the Jets, coming tomorrow). One thing is clear, the Giants and Patriots could play at the same abstract level in 2025 and the Patriots would…