About two weeks ago, we wondered if ESPN.com’s new-fangled ‘blog beat’ system would work, and yesterday, the .com finally rolled it out. There was a press release and everything! Let’s take a look at a few of the items, shall we?

* What they’re saying about Jason Taylor
* Morning take on quick-hit issues you likely saw on the front of ESPN.com
* A Brian Urlacher post linking to three Chicago newspaper articles
* Four newspaper articles from the boring AFC South
* Eight links to newspaper articles from the NFC West
* Finally, original thought! Four teams, four QB situations in the NFC North
* Heavy on the links in the AFC East
* The tight end situation in the AFC West
* You can tell Mosley is their most seasoned blogger, because his NFC East take has some bite to it.
* The first list appears at 2:15: Indispensable players in the NFC West.
* Favre’s phone calls
* Indispensable players in the AFC South!
* Mailbag
* Indispensable Delhomme!
* Some more originality: Bill Walker at Ravens camp. Troy Smith threw three INTs in 7-on-7. Ha!

Obviously it’s impossible to judge a blog by its first day, just as you can’t form an opinion on Rick Reilly’s column based on his first few efforts. We didn’t check every link, but it appears most of them are strictly news, it didn’t appear as if blogs were linked, and writer opinion is being kept to a minimum. Then again, it’s difficult to wield the heavy-handed opinion on Day One. We’ve heard the word “mess” being tossed around with this entire operation, so we’ll keep a close eye on it – just in case you’re not.