Shoutouts: NFL writers delve into serious stats and serious bar-rating

With the NFL lockout appearing to thaw, I thought I’d give a Shoutout to a couple of solid NFL stories from the last couple of days, one serious and the other all about what the F in NFL famously doesn’t stand for: fun.

Baltimore Ravens featured columnist Drew Frazier, who recently joined us from SBNation, takes a statistical look at the value of quarterback Joe Flacco.

Ravens fans are grumbling about their signal caller, Frazier writes, but he makes the argument that he’s the right man for the job in Baltimore, and not just some Kyle Boller.

On a lighter note, or maybe I should say a lighter-headed note if you visit these places, appropriately named Green Bay Packers featured columnist Matt Stein runs down the best bar to watch the home team in all 31 NFL cities.

Too bad Stein wasn’t able to visit all 31 bars for this story. It’s even worse I wasn’t able to visit all 31 bars for this blog post. But this slideshow is the next best thing, with details about TV arrays and food choices.