NFL coverage is a redundant exercise in building mountains out of ankle tweaks, as we mentioned last week. Shuffle an entire NFL offseason into one weekend, and the effect is magnified. The most similar frenzy in sports may be the MLB trade deadline, where dozens of deals are completed in a week’s span as teams prepare for a potential playoff push. This weekend, we got both at once.

No matter how big the trade or how fat the contract, though, the key to understanding a deal’s ramifications is to step back and examine why it was struck.

Here are three trade-deadline stories that examine the real-world impact of deals. Troy Renck and Jerome Solomon question where the Rockies and Astros are going, while Jeff Passan examines the actual value of pitching prospects. On the NFL side, Ashley Fox asks what made the Eagles a go-to destination for a flurry of Pro Bowlers, while Gregg Doyel sits back and enjoys the action.