This is a condensed version of Albert Breer's Inside the NFL Notebook.
We live in a world that is paced by social media, and the NFL has contributed to the viral circus in 2015.
There was embattled Cowboys defensive end Greg Hardy crashing a special-teams summit two weeks ago. Last week, we had the normally-level B.J. Raji getting into a sideline shoving match with teammate Ha Ha Clinton-Dix. And on Thursday, Dez Bryant's post-practice confrontation with a reporter in the Cowboys locker room was captured for America to see. The overarching theme here is, whether it's on the sideline or the Internet or in the locker room in the middle of the week, it's safe for NFL players and coaches to guess they always have eyes on them.
Here are four other interesting topics looming around the NFL:
1) Most believe Peyton Manning will hang 'em up after this season. Well, there's also a widely held assumption in NFL circles that -- with all the turnover expected to come across the league in January -- Manning could well re-emerge as a leading executive in 2016. The most bandied about landing spots are Cleveland (because of Manning's relationship with Browns owner/University of Tennessee booster Jimmy Haslam) and Tennessee (because of Manning's connections to the university, and his wife's presence as part owner of the Memphis Grizzlies), with Indianapolis (his longtime home) and New Orleans (his native soil) not to be completely discounted. When Broncos president Joe Ellis brought John Elawy on board as executive vice president of football operations in 2011, he said, "I think the biggest thing that needed to be fixed was football leadership. We had a void in that area. We needed someone who had the right competitive fire, who could draw respect, and come in and oversee all of football for Pat Bowlen. You can have a strong head coach, or a strong general manager, and have them report directly to the owner. That can be successful. But this is the way we're going." And it's equally simple to see why, like Elway was for Denver, Manning might be an enticing risk for someone.
2) Questions from some NFL teams surfaced about who is carrying the hammer in Cleveland as the trade deadline came and went. When trades got serious, the Browns acted far too indecisively, which was a "very Cleveland" process, according to one rival executive. For their part, internally, the Browns don't see chain of command having been much of an issue over the last few months, and believe the failure to pull off deals was simply a matter of compensation not matching the value of the players in question. This isn't the first time there's been such issues with Cleveland's front office, so what's next? It's Cleveland, so that's anyone's guess.
3) Not having Jordy Nelson on game day is catching up with the Green Bay Packers. It didn't faze the Aaron Rodgers-led team in the first six weeks (all wins), but it did the last two weeks. One Packer source said "overall execution" needs to be turned up a notch with Nelson gone, which is a clichéd way of saying the ship needs to be tighter because losing Nelson shrinks the offense's margin for error.
4) Progress remains steady in getting the NFL back to Los Angeles. We're now at the point where it's worth keeping an eye on what's happening in St. Louis and San Diego. Charger players and coaches have taken note how their stadium is becoming increasingly overrun with visiting fans, while the Rams are last in the NFL in attendance, and the only team averaging under 80 percent capacity. Only three other teams are under 90 percent for the season. Oakland's issues are less pronounced because of its unique fan base and renaissance season, but the Raiders still are one of those three, with only Washington and St. Louis posting a lower percentage of attendance.
Follow Albert Breer on Twitter @AlbertBreer.
