Morning Bites, 9/27: Battles, Backs, and Bernard

Stating the case for Bengals' Gio Bernard
CINCINNATI -- OK, might as well come out and admit it. As if this two-week-old column from the Bengals' Monday night win over Pittsburgh wasn't any

For Bengals defense, it all starts up front
The Bengals defensive front four is a 'pick your poison' group that aims to wreak havoc in Cleveland.

Green, Haden battle always a good one
Watching A.J. Green and Joe Haden go against each other is worth the price of admission.

The Walkthrough: State of the Secondary Edition
If you thought the Bengals secondary was limping going into last week’s game against Aaron Rodgers and the Packers, the situation is worse going into Sunday’s game against Cleveland.

Are NFL ground games grounded?
Rushing numbers are down through three weeks of the 2013 NFL season. Is there an overall trend or just circumstances?

The once vaunted Cover 2 pass coverage is on the verge of extinction
Pittsburgh fans entered Heinz Field thinking they’d see a familiar barrage of blitzes last Sunday night. They did, but from the unexpected team. The Bears, long known for having the NFL’s consummate vanilla Cover 2 defense, sent additional rushers after quarterback Ben Roethlisberger on 27 pl...

Desperation Rising
By Eric Edholm and Alessandro Miglio You’ve no doubt been bludgeoned by the statistics of just how unlikely it is for NFL teams to make the playoffs following an 0-3 start.

NFL franchise in London is foregone conclusion
Sunday marks the first of two games of the 2013 NFL International Series as the Minnesota Vikings "host" the Pittsburgh Steelers at Wembley Stadium in London (the Jacksonville Jaguars meet the San Francisco 49ers next month).

Vikings vs. Steelers: American Football in London
Is this one going to be another nightmare for the Steelers? Or can they inflict a little lycanthropic carnage of their own?

Steelers release statement in regards to Isaac Redman's concussion
As it turns out, the Steelers have a different version of the events surrounding a concussion suffered by RB Isaac Redman in Week 2.

Ray Lewis denounces team leadership, Joe Flacco says former linebacker 'knows better'
After Ray Lewis said the Ravens were missing team leadership, quarterback Joe Flacco said his former teammate knows better than to assume there's a leadership void in Baltimore's locker room.

Ravens pipe in Tommy Roe's 'Sweet Pea' during practice to make fun of Jacoby Jones, Bryant McKinnie
The Ravens coaches poked fun at Bryant McKinnie and Jacoby Jones by playing pop singer Tommy Roes' 1966 hit "Sweet Pea" during practice on Wednesday.

EA Sports halting college football video game series after all
EA Sports is discontinuing its college football video game series, which was set to be renamed College Football in coming editions, amid lawsuits raised against the NCAA by former players seeking compensation. This relates to EA Sports because the company has a history of using real player likenesses in this series.

NFL roster stability usually equals success
Your fantasy football team changes every year, but so do the players on real NFL teams. Their rosters turn over both in the offseason and in the regul

NFL Announcer Power Rankings: Week 3
SI.com has teamed with partner site FanSided.com to provide commentary on the NFL announcing crews each week. What follows is SI.com's power ranking of the Top Five -- each television outlet's top announcing team -- then analysis by FanSided writers on each of the other crews who called games last week (in no particular order). Feel free to use the comments section below to tell us about the announcers in the game or games you watched.

Terrelle Pryor progressing in concussion protocol, not back practicing full
After missing a day of practice while he recovers from a concussion he suffered in Monday's loss to the Broncos, Terrelle Pryor was back at practice on Thursday. He was not wearing a helmet and...

Jim Brown calls Richardson deal 'brilliant'
From Yahoo Sports: Cleveland Browns legend Jim Brown was initially surprised by the trade sending Trent Richardson to the Indianapolis Colts for a first-round pick last week.

2014 Super Bowl Odds: Undefeated but still not totally trusted
Let's take a look at 2014 Super Bowl odds heading into Week 4 and how Vegas treats the undefeated NFL teams.