Much like the AFC, the NFC has also had surprises during the first four weeks of play.

NFC East:

On top of this division so far has been the New York Giants.  Relegated to almost second team status as the rest of the New York and national media fawned over the Jets and rookie Mark Sanchez, the Giants have taken advantage of their surprising anonymity and sprinted to a 4-0 start.  Two division wins including one at Dallas will be key for them as they target the division crown and home-field advantage in the playoffs.  The defense looks superb and with the depth available to them they have been able to allow players to recover from injury completely before coming back into the lineup.  As long as Eli Manning can stay healthy and keep the offense rolling, this is a legitimate Super Bowl contender.

If Eli Manning can stay healthy, the Giants could be on the road to another Super Bowl in January.

Dallas has been a huge disappointment so far and their problems have been far more than Tony Romo’s underwhelming play.  While Romo’s 3 interceptions certainly were a major cause for their 33-31 defeat at home to the Giants the defense looked atrocious being carved up through the air by Manning and his young receiving corps, specifically on the final drive of the game.

Their inability to come up with key stops continued in Denver, where after being dominant for the majority of the game they allowed Brandon Marshall to make a huge run for a touchdown with under 2 minutes left in the fourth quarter.  While Romo certainly needs to come through in end-of-game situations, it would be nice if the defense was also held to the same standard.  DeMarcus Ware has yet to get his first sack this year.

The Redskins showed a pulse in a comeback against Tampa Bay last week.  Then again it was Tampa Bay and though they sit on a 2-2 record, their two wins came against teams with a combined 0-8 record so far.  One of their losses was to the 1-3 Lions who hadn’t won a game in 19 weeks.  Jason Campbell receives a ton of criticism, but outside of his nightmarish first half against the Bucs in which he threw 2 first half picks, he’s been fairly solid.  Head coach Jim Zorn looks like a dead man walking and if owner Dan Snyder’s past history is any kind of indication, I’d be surprised if he wasn’t fired at the conclusion of the year.

In Philadelphia the Eagles are 2-1 coming off of a bye week.  With 3rd year quarterback Kevin Kolb starting the past two games in place of the injured Donovan Mcnabb the Eagles are 1-1 and Kolb has looked very good, throwing for over 300 yards in each.  Their loss came to New Orleans who steamrolled them for over 400 yards, but in the other two contests the defense has looked very good.  If the offense can continue to put points on the board and also get a healthy Donovan McNabb, the Eagles can make a run at the Giants for the division and could be a real Super Bowl contender.

NFC North:

Minnesota has started off the season strong and their defense has been outstanding so far, with Jared Allen piling up the sacks by taking advantage of both Kevin and Pat Williams’ ability to collapse the pocket on the opposing team’s quarterback.  Adrian Peterson continues to lead their dominant running attack and Brett Favre has played superbly the last two weeks while still gaining a rhythm with his wide receivers.  Minnesota looks and has played like a possible Super Bowl contender.

If Jay Cutler can avoid making costly mistakes, the Bears could make some noise in the playoffs.

Chicago is sitting nice at 3-1, but they are making a habit of getting off to a slow start which could become a problem as the season goes on.  Jay Cutler has been tremendous after his forgettable 4 interception debut in Green Bay.  Cutler must continue to make good decisions, take care of the ball and not force it into tight windows.  The Bears defense has been solid even in the absence of linebacker Brian Urlacher.

The key to their success will be to get the run game going, which they were able to do last week against Detroit.  Then again it was Detroit.  The Bears will challenge for a playoff berth, but their ability to pass Minnesota in the division hinges on the legs of Matt Forte.

Green Bay is 2-2 and were it not for Cutler’s Week 1 stink bomb could easily be tied with the Lions at the bottom of the division at 1-3.  Their biggest problem so far has been their inability to provide Aaron Rodgers with any kind of protection.  Against the Vikings on Monday night they gave up 8 sacks.  Unless they can give Rodgers more time it is going to be a struggle for them to qualify for the playoffs given that they use the pass to set up their running game.

Detroit is once again destined for a top-10 pick, but this team bears little resemblance to Lions teams of past.  The scores in their losses so far have not been indicative of how competitive this team has been.  They had a 10-7 lead on the Vikings at the half in Week 2 and last week were tied with the Bears in Chicago to start the third quarter after beating Washington in Week 3.  While things won’t turn around this year, Stafford has shown he certainly has the ability to become a top-5 NFL quarterback.  The Lions must address both their offensive and defensive lines this off-season in order to continue to make progress.

NFC South:

New Orleans has emerged as a legitimate Super Bowl contender.  Their offense has shown that not all rests on the shoulders of Drew Brees as both Pierre Thomas and Mike Bell have run the ball very effectively this season.  With the emergence of a defense that has so far been successful in creating turnovers and in the last two weeks has demonstrated the ability to shut teams down.  If they can continue their surprising defensive play, big things are in store for them.

The Falcons need to get RB Michael Turner going in order to get back to the playoffs for the second consecutive season.

Atlanta started off the season strong, with wins against Miami and Carolina, but dropped their Week 3 game on the road in New England.  Matt Ryan has been impressive throwing only 1 interception so far this year, but it is critical they get Michael Turner going.  Unless teams are forced to stack the box against them, they will begin to find it harder to put up points on the board through the air and while their defense has been solid, they are certainly not capable of carrying the Falcons to victories without any support.

Tampa Bay and Carolina have been terrible this season.  Tampa Bay now has Josh Johnson starting for them at quarterback after Byron Leftwich failed to impress.  They have not been able to run the ball, putting them in deep holes to begin games which they lack the ability and talent to come back from.  Their only competition is Carolina who must be regretting re-signing Jake Delhomme this off-season.  The Panthers have been awful on both sides of the ball and head coach John Fox may finally get the boot after this season.

NFC West:

The 49ers look like they are well on their way to reclaiming the division title.  They possess a dominating defense led by linebacker Patrick Willis and an offense that has been carried so far by running back Frank Gore with help from Shaun Hill and tight end Vernon Davis, who looks like he is ready to deliver on his pre-draft hype.  San Francisco would be undefeated were it not for Favre’s miracle at the end of their clash with the Vikings, but their performance in Minnesota opened eyes and while they may lack explosiveness, this is a team that will not beat itself.

WR Larry Fitzgerald and the Arizona Cardinals will need to catch lightning in a bottle again if they want to defend their NFC crown this year.

Following up on their surprising run to the Super Bowl last year, the Cardinals have been anything but impressive. They shot themselves in the foot in their opening game against the 49ers with turnovers and have continued to be careless with the ball already committing 7 turnovers on the season.  It would be great if that was the extent of their problems, but they have also been unable to stop the run and like last year they have not been able to run the ball on their own.  Their run to the Super Bowl last year was miraculous and while they still have time, it does not look like they will be able to catch lighting in a bottle twice.

Seattle appears lost and with Matt Hasselbeck stuck on the sidelines nursing injuries that trend should continue.  They have ran the ball effectively when they have had the chance too, but have had to abandon it in two of their losses as they fell behind early.   The defense has been decent, but the combination of a mediocre offense and defense does not point to any kind of long-term success.  It may be time to officially begin rebuilding at the conclusion of the season for the Seahawks.

St. Louis is a team in dysfunction.  The only certainty on their team is Stephen Jackson who is killing fantasy teams around the country (including mine) in his search for his first touchdown of the year.  Their passing game is non-existant, the line play on both sides of the ball has been atrocious and looking up and down the roster, their seems to be little hope for any immediate improvement.  Marc Bulger, much like Hasselbeck in Seattle, may be nearing the end of the road and St. Louis looks like an early favorite to land the top pick, where Oklahoma’s Sam Bradford could well be the pick.

With a quarter of the season gone, the NFC looks top-heavy with little depth.  It will be interesting to see which teams prove themselves in the coming weeks in a conference with little parity.

Two weeks into the NFL season, Jason Whitlock revealed some “truths”.

One of them was this gem.

8. Tom Brady is never going to mentally get over his knee injury.

Whitlock’s belief was shaped by the fact that after he tore his ACL in college, he has struggled to recover mentally from it.  Maybe it’s just me, but Brady’s mental make up is something I’m not confident that Whitlock is qualified to diagnose and after the past two weeks, Whitlock would probably lose his license to practice.

Tom Brady looks like he is rounding back into form after two impressive victories over the Ravens and Falcons.

Two weeks ago Brady struggled mightily against the Jets’ pass rush in one his career’s worst performances.  This was also one week removed from an incredible fourth quarter performance against the Bills in which Brady went 12-14 on the last two New England touchdown drives in a spectacular comeback.

Maybe it’s just me, but maybe it was possible that Brady just had a bad game, couple with his recovery from a major knee surgery.  However, since the debacle against the Jets, Brady has shown that he is returning to his pre-injury form in leading the Patriots to two impressive victories over the Atlanta Falcons and Baltimore Ravens.

6. Indy’s victory over the Dolphins raised far more questions about the Colts than it answered.

Whitlock goes on to state his belief that the Colts’ defense has no chance of stopping the run and then went on to say that “Tennessee is going to smoke Indy”.  First of all, even if the Titans beat the Colts I have a feeling, based on the Titans’ 0-4 start, it will be a tight game.

The Colts were atrocious in their Week 2 game against the Dolphins, giving up 239 yards on 49 carries.  In their other 3 weeks the Colts have given up a total of 187 rushing yards on 76 carries for an average of 2.46 yards per carry.  While the quality of their opposition can be called into question, the overwhelming evidence at this time suggests that at the least the Colts are an above average defense against the run.

This isn’t an attack on Whitlock as much as an example of why drawing conclusions on the week-to-week performances of teams is foolish.  Even after four weeks it seems hasty to be coming to conclusions about the fate of teams and individuals.

Even after their Week 2 loss at home that dropped them to 0-2, nobody predicted that the Titans would drop to 0-4 with an abominable performance against the Jacksonville Jaguars.  Two weeks ago most were predicting that Jacksonville had given up on head coach Tony del Rio, but now after two consecutive victories that opinion has shifted once again with two victories against divisional opponents.

Other than there Week 2 stink bomb against the Cardinals, the Jaguars have played extremely well, including their Week 1 loss to Indianapolis on the road in which they had a chance to tie the game on a 2-point conversion in the fourth quarter.  Fortune is fickle and in the NFL every game can change the course of a team’s season.  That’s why it is better to judge the season in quarters, 4 games at a time.

Here are a few things we know for certain after 4 weeks in the NFL season about the AFC.

AFC East:

The Patriots and Tom Brady look like they will once again be a huge factor come playoff time and have a good chance to win another AFC East crown.  The Jets are going to be good as long as their defense continues to dominate and they can run the ball effectively.  As long as rookie Mark Sanchez is not asked to win games for them through the air, the Jets will be tought for anyone to beat.  Think the Baltimore Ravens from last year.

The Dolphins with Chad Henne in now for the season will take their lumps, but their future outlook should be improved with their young signal caller now getting experience.  In the long-run Chad Pennington’s injury will be a blessing when they look back.

The Buffalo Bills are hopeless and as a Bills fan I think it’s officially time we end Dick Jauron’s coaching tenure.  If the Bills could actually hire someone with creativity that can utilize our talent at the skill positions that would be a start.  No team with Lee Evans, Terrell Owens, Marshawn Lynch and Fred Jackson should struggle like this to put up points.

AFC North:

The Pittsburgh Steelers don’t make anything easy and their inability to run the ball consistently may be their Achilles heel.  Playing in a division with the Ravens and the rejuvenated Bengals, making the playoffs will be no lock.

Can Ed Reed cover up for the rest of Baltimore's porous secondary?

The Ravens are a complete team and Joe Flacco has the potential to be top quarterback in the league.  If I were the Ravens though my main concern would be how exceedingly porous the secondary has looked.  It certainly looked like a problem against the Chargers in Week 2 and was exposed again by the Patriots yesterday.

The Bengals with Carson Palmer, Chad Ochocinco and an improved defense look dangerous, but can they sustain this for 16 games?  I’m not completely sold yet, but as a fan of both Palmer and Ochocinco I hope they can get back to the playoffs.  On the brighter side of things they are the best in Ohio now that it’s confirmed Eric Mangini is clueless and the Brown with him at their helm are hopeless.

AFC South:

The Colts look like world beaters, with Manning making his no-name receivers blend in seamlessly into the offense.  Their defense, as I addressed earlier, looks good and Bob Sanders is yet to play this season.  The Texans are dangerous with their potent offense led by Matt Schaub and all-world wide receiver Andre Johnson, but their defense is still prone to giving up big plays.

The Jaguars have certainly reversed their fortunes after a poor start, but an overall lack of explosive playmakers makes me doubtful of any real success.  Can you really win with David Garrard as your franchise quarterback?

Titans look to be feeling the prolonged affects of losing a devastating home playoff game to the Ravens.  Their ability to consistently shoot themselves in the foot with turnovers in that game is only outdone by their ability to sustain that throughout the first four weeks of this season.  That defense looks like a sieve as well this season after losing Albert Haynesworth and defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz this offseason.

AFC West:

This division barely maintains the semblance of an NFL division.  The Broncos have at least done their part starting 4-0, though two of those were against the Browns and the Raiders.  A miracle play against the Bengals accounts for their third victory and a home win against an overrated Cowboys team barely qualifies as an impressive resume.  However, you can only beat who you play and when you give up 26 points in 4 weeks, regardless of who you play its impressive. Having Brandon Marshall on the same page as head coach Josh McDaniels has certainly helped the Broncos.

WR Brandon Marshall and the Broncos stellar defense has helped lead them to a surprising 4-0 start.

The Chargers inability to play defense, has shrouded the fact that they also cannot run the ball and that Tomlinson looks like he’s over the hill.  It’s also meant that Philip Rivers will once again suffer the consequences as he continues to put up amazing numbers while he attempts to carry the Chargers virtually by himself  into the playoffs once again.

The Raiders and Chiefs are both franchises that at the moment look hopeless.  While the Chiefs at least were able to sign Scott Pioli as their GM and still have an owner with fully functional mind, the Raiders lose in both of those departments as Al Davis continues to tarnish his legacy.

The JaMarcus Russel experiment in Oakland looks like it’s a failure once again showing why you should be very careful in drafting quarterbacks when the most positive thing on their resume is their strong arm.  Being a quarterback in the NFL also involves your ability to read defenses, accurately deliver the ball and being in shape for most of the part.  Russell fails in all four of these criteria.

After four weeks, the AFC looks like it could be wide open with a number of teams in contention for playoff berths.  As the season progresses look for the playoff picture to clear as more questions are answered and we are able to discern more effectively the contenders from the pretenders.

At the close of the third quarter yesterday, with the Bengals trailing the Steelers 20-9 things looked like they were finished.  They had been unable to move the ball effectively all day and their lone touchdown came from a Roethlisberger interception returned by cornerback Jonathan Joseph for a touchdown.

Even in the stadium you could feel the fans reconciling themselves to another painful loss to their division rival as it has been for the most part over the course of this decade.  The Steelers had won 6 consecutive games against the Bengals and had won 8 straight times in Cincinnati at Paul Brown Stadium.

Carson Palmer led the Bengals on a game-winning fourth quarter drive against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday.

In fact I was watching the game with a friend and we both remarked how Bengals quarterback, Carson Palmer, had not looked like the player he was during his breakout 2005 season where he led the Bengals to the playoffs for the first time in 15 years.  Consequently it was against the Steelers in the playoffs that Palmer suffered his knee injury.

In 2006, Palmer passed for 4,000 yards and had a QB rating of 93.3, threw for over 4,000 yards with 28 touchdowns, but the team missed the playoffs again.  2007 he once again put up similar numbers, but the Bengals once again failed to make the playoffs.  It was something not in the numbers however which was missing.

Palmer did not exude the confidence he had previously.  The Bengals offense was not scoring as many touchdowns and the team seemed to lack a spark and confidence in critical situations.

This season, the Bengals are one miracle play form being 3-0 and tied with Baltimore at the top of the division, but it was not until the fourth quarter yesterday that the real Carson Palmer arrived back on the field.

The Bengals offense, led by Palmer, stepped out onto the field down 20-15 with 5:14 left in the fourth quarter, 71 yards away from the Steelers endzone.  In need of a touchdown and facing one of the NFL’s top defenses I figured this game would end with the Steelers on top.

That was until I saw Palmer drop back on the second play of the drive and hit Laverneus Coles on a pass that hit him perfectly in stride with a Steeler defensive back right on him, that allowed him to turn up the field for a 17-yard gain.  It was more than the pass, it was the power in the throw, the situation and the opposition that he was facing that made Palmer’s pass impressive.

The rest of the drive was simply a resurrection of the Palmer that was once considered the great young quarterback of his generation.  Every time he dropped back, the offensive line was able to give him enough protection to plant his feet and throw the ball and Palmer fit the ball into tight windows, putting the ball in positions where only his receivers could catch the ball.  The coverage on the plays was outstanding, but Palmer was on fire.

He had so much zip on his passes, that most were actually impossible to see while watching the game on TV.  Palmer looked more like the player he was during that 2005 season, making throws only a handful of quarterbacks in the league can make and making them in critical situations for his team.

On Sunday we saw the real Carson Palmer and the rise of a Bengals team that with Palmer at his best can compete for a playoff berth.

After sitting on my couch all of Sunday and watching Week 2 NFL action, including the Jets victory over New England at the Meadowlands, something became apparent to me.  NFL analysts and columnists are way too quick in evaluating individual players and teams outlooks for the season from week-to-week.

It is too early to assume Sanchez's success continues even after two impressive regular season starts.

During the second half of the Jets game, rookie quarterback Mark Sanchez was thoroughly impressive, making a number of critical throws into open zones in the New England defense.  He also demonstrated his ability to make plays happen, when he nearly threw a touchdown pass to WR Chansi Stuckey in the corner of the endzone before replays showed that Stuckey failed to get both feet inbounds and the play was eventually overturned.

Throughout the second half and during postgame analysis many were quick to point to Sanchez’s impressive performance and the Jets’ ability to shut down the Patriots offense as an indication of the team’s chances to compete right now.  Looking at SI.com’s Peter King’s power rankings he has the Jets ranked as the fourth best team in the league.

Not only is this an absolute exaggeration, but history shows that while rookie QB’s may have a few stunning performances and may even lead their team into the playoffs, very rarely does it amount to any championships.  Last year two rookies, Joe Flacco of the Baltimore Ravens and Matt Ryan of the Atlanta Falcons, led their teams to the postseason.

Ryan lost a wild card game to the eventual NFC champion Arizona Cardinals, looking overwhelmed in the second half and Flacco after dismissing an inferior Miami Dolphins team in the wild card round, was thoroughly undone by the Super Bowl champion Steelers.

Both the Steelers and Cardinals had veteran quarterbacks whose experience has helped prepare them for such situations.  Almost every young quarterback goes through a growing process before he can truly elevate his game to the point where he can carry his team at times.  Very few are the Tom Brady’s and Kurt Warner’s who step in immediately (albeit after being able to observe the game from the bench for a time) and lead their team to Super Bowl glory.

So instead of being presented with the reality that as impressive as Sanchez was yesterday, the likelihood is that teams will catch on to his tendencies and habits through film study and will expose them as the season goes along.  That isn’t to say Sanchez will never be successful, but that it will be a gradual process rather than an immediate one.

One of the reasons this tends to happen is the lack of perspective when viewing team and player performances.  Sanchez was as I stated earlier extremely impressive and showed that he certainly has the talent and ability to be a top NFL signal caller in years to come, but the reality is he also played a Patriots defense that looks nothing like the Bill Belichick defenses we have become accustomed too throughout the Patriots decade of supremacy.

They are without their best linebacker, Jerod Mayo, and traded Richard Seymour, perhaps their best defensive lineman, last week to the Raiders for 2011 first round pick.  They have also lost Tedy Bruschi and Rodney Harrison to retirement and traded Mike Vrabel to the Kansas City Chiefs.  Needless to say this defense will at best this year be a mediocre unit, susceptible to big plays, particularly in the passing game.

The Jets victory in Week 1 came over the Texans, who in Week 2 made the Titans offense look like the Super Bowl Rams “Greatest Show on Turf” with Chris Johnson assuming the role of Marshall Faulk.  The Jets have a great chance of winning their division or getting one of the wild card berths if their defense can keep this up, but perspective is required before we label Sanchez as already being one of the top-NFL quarterbacks.

While the hyperbole for the Jets has been more restrained this year, perhaps in the wake of their incredible collapse at the end of last year, the same cannot be said for the reactions to the Baltimore Ravens after two weeks.  Last night after watching Ray Lewis stop Darren Sproles and the Chargers on a critical fourth down late in the game, NFL analyst and ex-coach Steve Mariucci declared the Ravens as the team to beat in the AFC.

What?  This coming off wins against two teams that play in what is one of the worst divisions in the NFL, the AFC west.  The Ravens last week were trailing the pathetic Chiefs, 14-10 late in the third quarter before pulling away for a 38-24 victory.  This week they barely escaped the Chargers, a team that finished 8-8 last year while sneaking into the playoffs.  Granted the game was on the road and winning is all that matters, but their certainly is cause for some concern.

Baltimor's offense has looked impressive, but so far only against two of the NFL's worst defenses.

Foremost, the Ravens defense, while stout in the red zone, looked far from being an elite defensive unit.  Philip Rivers threw for 436 yards yesterday and looked poised to lead another fourth quarter comeback before Lewis stuffed Darren Sproles’ run on fourth-and-two.  I am inclined to the give the Ravens the benefit of the doubt, because of their prolonged defensive excellence, but I am less willing to do the same for the offense.

That sounds foolish after they gained 501 yards in Week 1 against the Chiefs and won a close game in San Diego yesterday, but a closer looks reveals that it is better to be cautious in evaluating the progress of their offense.  Last year the chiefs ranked 31st out of 32 NFL teams in terms of yards allowed  and 29th in points allowed.  The Chargers ranked 25th in yards allowed and 16th in points allowed.  Suffice it to say these are not two of the elite NFL defenses, perhaps not even middle of the pack.

So before we jump to the conclusion that the Ravens offense has finally turned the corner and can now be depended upon to win games on days when the defense is struggling, more proof is needed.  There is no need at this point, merely two weeks into the season to rush to conclusion on players and teams.  In fact, to do so is irresponsible and misleading.

In the NFL it is better served wait until at least a quarter of the way into the season before picking Super Bowl favorites and Pro Bowl quarterbacks.  Many times it seems that analysts and writers get caught looking at the box score of a game, rather than searching for what those numbers truly mean.  When it comes to early season prognostications it is better to cautious rather than changing opinions from week-to-week.

Reports have confirmed by the NFLPA that the U.S. Department of Labor is investigating allegations of racketeering and other illegal activities by the union.  The lawsuit alleges that some top NFLPA representatives, certain NFL owners and commissioner Roger Goodell met in advance of negotiations for a new collective bargaining agreement.  It further alleges that the NFLPA representatives gave the commissioner and owners access to information critical to the negotiations at this meeting.

The U.S. Department of Labor is investigating racketeering allegations against commissioner Goodell, NFL owners and players reps.

The informant for the Department of Labor was the NFL’s director of human resources Mary Moran, who named former NFLPA President Troy Vincent and Texans’ owner Bob McNair as two of the individuals present at the meeting.

Moran, who is Jewish, alleges further that Vincent called her a “Jezebel” repeatedly, a derogatory term for Jewish women. She also claims that after exposing Vincent she received death threats.  Moran is filing the lawsuit, after she claims that she was wrongfully removed from her job as the director of human resources.

The most significant thing is what this lawsuit alleges in terms of collusion and what that actually means for the NFL.  The fact that Goodell, the NFL’s commissioner, is being named as being present in the meeting Moran references in the lawsuit is a startling development.  It would mean that he has taken an active part in colluding against players with the aid of owners and certain NFLPA representatives in advance of collective bargaining agreement talks.

Even more damning is the allegation against NFLPA executive director DeMaurice Smith.  Moran states that Smith met with a Department of Justice official in a bid to stop the investigation in April.  This came only a few weeks after Moran began cooperating with the investigation.

What makes this story such a surprise is how the media has focused no time at all on this story.  No ESPN investigative reports, no columns denouncing the perpetrators of such an act, no talking heads discussing if these allegations are true what actions should be taken against Goodell and the others involved.

The question is simple.  How can this not be a major story?  We have a commissioner who rode in on his high horse two years ago, with the sole purpose of cleaning up the image of the league, now accused of colluding against the players association.  We have owners of NFL teams being accused of being present at the meeting and we even have NFLPA representatives stabbing their own in the back to provide information to Goodell and the owners in a bid to gain more support when NFLPA officials are selected.

This has all the makings of a story ready to be busted wide open, but the sports media would rather point our attention away from anything that could detract from image of both the NFL and commissioner Goodell.  So instead we are bombarded with stories about Tom Brady’s knee and Brett Favre’s comeback.  These stories pump the NFL up, create intrigue and generate ratings and ticket sales, the opposite of what reporting a federal probe into collusion allegations against commissioner Goodell, owners and NFL players reps would do.

This is what this story actually means.  In a league where a player can have his contract voided and cut at any time by his team, the league’s top officials attempted to collude with NFLPA reps in advance of negotiations for a new collective bargaining agreement.  These allegations essentially point to an attempt to give even more power to the NFL and its owners while the players continue to give up any remaining leverage they have.

Sounds like a story that should be reported, but expect ESPN and the rest of the major sports media to continue to give Goodell and the owners a pass while they continue to get record ratings from the NFL.