Harrison Smith

NFC North Roster Comparison

As we move into the OTA and mini-camp season, let’s take an early look at the starting rosters among NFC North teams, which could still see a few changes as position battles in training camp play out, and yet are pretty well established overall. Overall Pro Football Focus (PFF) Grades Below is a comparison of PFF grades by position for every team in the NFC North. This is for nickel/3WR situations, which these days account for more snaps than base units. For each team there could be a few differences from what some are projecting, but for the most part these are not big differences. For example, perhaps a rookie will start instead of a below average or worse veteran after training camp battles

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  New England Patriots: Possible breakout players on defense

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  Patriots roster breakdown: CB Justin Coleman

  Pats Pulpit

Cris Carter defends OBJ, says WR had 'anxiety' in playoffs

Odell Beckham Jr. is being mentored by Cris Carter. Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports Odell Beckham Jr has been skipping OTAs with the New York Giants to work with his own personal trainer, Hall of Fame wide receiver Cris Carter. And while Carter is trying to practice tough love with his 24-year-old understudy, he also thinks Beckham has been unfairly criticized early in his career. In an interview with Gary Meyers of the New York Daily News, Carter said some of the game’s best players have skipped voluntary workouts. “With Odell, they go to extremes because it is him,” Carter explained. “In 108 days, he will be ready to play against the Dallas Cowboys. Is he with the Giants at OTAs? I don’t care.

Vikings coach Mike Zimmer wants you to know he's not retiring

Don’t expect Zimmer’s absence to linger on and if you think his coaching career could be coming to an end, think again. “I would like to put to rest, unfortunately I have too much time on my hands now, so I hear about ‘oh, this might shorten his coaching career’ and all these things,” Zimmer said. “Like I texted Kyle Rudolph, I said, ‘hey, I’ll be back shortly with one eye or two, doesn’t really matter, I’m going to be back.’ So, we can put that me retiring thing or whatever to bed quickly.” Zimmer did coach last season with an eye patch on for multiple games, so we shouldn’t doubt him. He plans to return to Minnesota on June 4, with an appointment the next day. He hopes he will be cleared to

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  Mike Zimmer won’t retire even right eye goes blind

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  Vikings assistant Andre Patterson stands in for Mike Zimmer

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