Celebrated chef John Besh spoke with NFL.com on Friday and played a little word-association game involving the Patriots, Giants and some of the NFL’s biggest stars.

Historic Union Station now is NFL House, a high-end stop for VIP Super Bowl guests. League employees had the chance to check out the digs Wednesday night.

In the lead-up to Roger Goodell‘s “60 Minutes” interview, which aired Sunday night on CBS, the NFL Commissioner is compared to Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke for the economic might he yields as the figurehead of a $10 billion industry.

NFL Network’s second-half schedule of Thursday night games kicks off at 8 p.m. ET with an important divisional showdown, as Carson Palmer’s Oakland Raiders battle Philip Rivers’ San Diego Chargers for first place in the AFC West.

Week 4 marks the end of the first quarter of the season, a significant landmark for most coaches, and that means a lot of teams will have their first-quarter “grade” on the line when they take the field this weekend.

It seems unlikely that Raiders rookie QB Terrelle Pryor will win his appeal of his NFL-mandated five-game suspension, given the conditions of his deal to be allowed into the league via the supplemental draft in the first place.

How’s that for a start to the season? Thursday night’s opening contest between the New Orleans Saints and Green Bay Packers featured more points than the previous three Thursday Kickoff games combined. Re-live all the best moments at NFL.com’s Game Center.

Former Commissioner Paul Tagliabue was back the NFL headquarters Friday, taping an interview about his recollection of the events during and after 9/11. The interview is part of a memorial feature that will air Sept. 11 on NFL Network’s “GameDay Morning.”

How does a potential suspension influence the draft position of WR Kenny Britt. Our intrepid Adam Rank has the scoop.

  Tampa Bay Buccaneers cornerback Aqib Talib and Tennessee Titans wide receiver Kenny Britt met with Commissioner Roger Goodell on Tuesday, and both left without being given any final word of their suspension status, according to a league source. Both players, who were involved in off-field issues during the lockout, were getting their first chance to give information and answer questions from NFL Security and league officials. Both have had problems in the past, and thus as “repeat offenders” to some degree could face league discipline. But Britt’s charges were lessened or dropped and Talib is not even scheduled to go to trial until after the season and he turned the opportunity to plea to much lesser misdemeanor charges in [...]

The New York Giants should have been all smiles after throttling the Chicago Bears, 41-13, on Monday night, but the mood around Big Blue was glum after the team lost cornerback Terrell Thomas for the season with a torn ACL.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers cornerback Aqib Talib and Tennessee Titans WR Aqib Talib will meet with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell to discuss their ongoing legal issues.

A little history lesson for you, and a rather appropriate one, on the day that Roger Goodell and DeMaurice Smith signed a new 10-year collective bargaining agreement.

The final version of the league’s new collective bargaining agreement will contain no testing for HGH and NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell will retain his powers regarding off-field discipline, according to sources with knowledge of the situation.

Browns Pro Bowl WR/KR Josh Cribbs was one of many NFL players taking to the airwaves Thursday, urging fans to be patient and revealing some of the issues still in dispute between owners and players. “Things (remaining to be solved) as far as health care for retired players, pads during practice and how long can two-a-days go,” Cribbs said on NFL Network. “This is a 10-year deal. We can’t enter into it lightly. So fans have to understand that until we can completely dissect the CBA, we can’t go forward. “We hate that it’s being put out there that the lockout is over when the reality is that we’ve just made significant progress. We don’t want the fans to look [...]