We're Black and Blue All Over:
Many of you probably woke up this morning, learned that Seattle Seahawks receiver Percy Harvin will undergo hip surgery -- a procedure that will cost him much of the season -- and felt much better about the Minnesota Vikings' decision to trade him this spring. So I want to be clear on a few things.
Let's not pretend the Vikings foresaw this specific issue arising. If he had a hip injury before the trade, it would have surfaced in the Seahawks' physical. But as we've discussed many times, weird things always seem to happen around Harvin. Some of them are of his own doing, and in this case, Harvin apparently had the option to play with the injury but decided against it.
If anything, the Vikings knew that Harvin lives in PercyWorld, a destination with only one inhabitant. In PercyWorld, it's impossible to predict what will happen next and how it will affect your team. The Vikings weren't willing to take it any further, and now the Seahawks have a taste at least of why.
Continuing around the NFC North:
The Vikings will keep receiver Greg Childs on the PUP list for the time being, according to Ben Goessling of the St. Paul Pioneer Press.
The Vikings are encouraged by Erin Henderson's performance at middle linebacker but want to see more, writes Andrew Krammer of 1500ESPN.com.
The Vikings' secondary knows it will face a bunch of elite quarterbacks this season. More from Mark Craig of the Star Tribune.
Green Bay Packers cornerback Davon House had a tough start to training camp. Jason Wilde of ESPNMilwaukee.com explains.
Bob McGinn of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel writes that rookie Packers offensive lineman David Bakhtiari has had a good start to camp.
Our own Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com notes that Packers general manager Ted Thompson won't stand in the way of a franchise reconciliation with quarterback Brett Favre.
The Packers' defense must improve, writes Mike Vandermause of the Green Bay Press-Gazette, but it isn't soft.
Detroit Lions tight end Brandon Pettigrew is working on consistency, writes Josh Katzenstein of the Detroit News.
It appears that rookie Lions cornerback Darius Slay is quite confident. More from Jeff Seidel of the Detroit Free Press.
Lions left tackle Riley Reiff is showcasing a mean streak, writes Justin Rogers of Mlive.com.
Chicago Bears safety Chris Conte faces increased expectations in his third year, writes Mark Potash of the Chicago Sun-Times.
The Bears' defense is coming together quickly, according to Fred Mitchell of the Chicago Tribune.