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A fan’s perspective on the NFL schedule |
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Written by Bryan Bertsch, asap
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Monday, 16 April 2007 |
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Only in the NFL is the schedule release an event, a day when fans can peer into the future with a head full of joy and sorrow, what-ifs, conspiracy theories, and potential conflicts.
We host the Lions this year? Sweet!
Hey, no Monday Night game? What gives?
Sorry buddy, can’t make your wedding. I have Packer tickets. You understand.
And so on.
Not to mention that in the parity era of the NFL, when the margin between a Super Bowl appearance or a 2-14 season is razor thin, the schedule has become an integral piece to teams’ success — or demise. A tough schedule can crush the best; a weak one arguably ushered the last two NFC champions into the Super Bowl.
And it’s more than just that.
With only 16 games, there are other timing factors at play: weather (the Packers relish December games in Lambeau), bye weeks (an early breather doesn’t have the same restorative powers as a late one), the short weeks that Thursday and Saturday night games cause, and new international games.
But what this is really about is our televisions. What’s in it for the fans? Here’s a look at five major themes that emerge from the NFL timetable that came out Wednesday.
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TELEVISION BLUES
For those without the NFL’s satellite package, Sundays can turn bleak when the home team’s on bye or playing at night. Settling in during the afternoon’s prime football-watching time can turn depressing since the national game often gets dumped in favor of a divisional garbage tilt that supposedly has “regional interest” — but you could care less about.
In the AFC West, where every team but the Raiders is solid, fans don’t have to worry. But for people in Chicago — whose Bears have four prime-time affairs — watching the lackluster Vikings, Packers and Lions can get old fast.
(Bears fans, go ahead with those Sunday plans in weeks three, five, nine, eleven, 14 and 15. Nothing for you to see here.)
And I can still hear the screams coming from Seattle the last couple seasons; with their team finally competitive enough to invite prime-time slots, they’ve had to endure countless Cardinals and 49ers games.
And things aren’t much better in New Orleans, with the new-look Saints playing four games under the lights; their fans, meanwhile, will be suffering through the Buccaneers, Panthers and Falcons slogging through the muck of mediocrity.
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STICK END: SHORT
No NFL team got it handed to them more than the lowly Raiders, who are already up a tough row without a hoe. As if squirming beneath the bootheel of the powerhouse AFC West isn’t enough, Oakland plays away games against the up-and-coming Titans, makes a December trip to Lambeau field, and travels across the map to bruising Jacksonville late in the season. At home, the punishment continues with a visit from the Bears.
Good luck to whichever Raider retread quarterback is under center.
But while the Raiders’ trouble is real, the Bills — another team that would seem to have a tough go, if you use the usual model of opponents’ win-loss record — are probably better off than appearances.
They open by hosting Denver, a team that’s usually beatable in the early going; then travel to Pittsburgh, where the whole coaching staff has been turned over. Late road games include perennial duds Washington and Cleveland, and they close out the season against the falling-fast Giants and a Philly team with constant quarterback quandaries.
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EASY STREET
There’s always one: Some team takes full advantage of its schedule to rack up early wins and get everyone talking.
Last year the lowly Rams started out the season 5-1 before crashing. This season, look for the 49ers to follow suit, at least in the early going. The difference here is that San Francisco’s schedule never really stiffens up — heck, they might wind up winning 11 games.
Besides their suspect divisional foes (Cardinals, Rams and Seahawks), the 49ers have road games against the Giants, Falcons and Panthers. They also host the Vikings and Buccaneers late in the year, and close things off with a trip to Cleveland in week 17.
Even their “tough” games aren’t so bad: at Pittsburgh in week three, and hosting Baltimore in week 5.
The Bears, meanwhile — who went 13-3 last year on a schedule that might as well have been written in cupcake frosting on a doily — were rewarded with another tiptoe through the tulips. The recipe for another Super Bowl appearance: Bring six games against NFC North “rivals” Detroit, Minnesota and Green Bay to a boil; stir in trips to Oakland and Washington, add a dash of visiting Giants and voila! Nine automatic wins — and with Rex Grossman at QB.
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NIGHT MOVES
Ah, prime time. The lights are bright, the music is boisterous and there’s a 50 percent chance the teams will hold some relevance in the playoff picture.
Problem is, capricious as the fortunes of NFL teams are, for broadcast executives to choose these matchups months in advance, based on last year’s records, is bound to leave duds on the TV. Yes, projecting an NFL team’s future isn’t easy, but as a fan, getting stuck with some irrelevant, gross-out divisional battle is assuredly NOT a reason to look forward to Mondays.
NBC made a sound decision last year to go with flexible schedules for Sunday night games, but why can’t the MNF crew be similarly fluid?
Instead, we get the likes of a Giants-Falcons matchup in week six. Let’s see, the Giants just lost their franchise running back, are led by a combustible coach on the hot seat, and the quarterback gets worse every year. The Falcons, meanwhile, have a new coaching staff — and not much else. Automatic stinker.
And what’s up with Miami and Pittsburgh in week 12? A great rivalry ... in the 1970s.
But the biggest stink bomb is week 16: Bears at Vikings. With the two most boring offenses of the decade coming together, nothing short of Mike Ditka coming into the Metrodome on roller-skates can save this one.
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GIVING THANKS
Ever since Barry Sanders retired, watching football has been the worst way to spend Thanksgiving. Of the six teams that play this year, only one (Indianapolis) is a playoff favorite. Packers at Detroit? Jets at Dallas? Colts at Falcons?
One thing I know I’ll be giving thanks for: fantasy football.
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asap contributor Bryan D. Bertsch is a meditation coach, spiritual therapist and self-styled fantasy football expert who lives in Minneapolis. You can visit his Web site at http://bryanbertsch.com | Only registered users can write comments.
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