Posts tagged 2008 NFL Schedule at FanHouse

Eagles Get Five Prime Time Games Including a Turkey Day Battle of the Birds

Notes on the 2008 NFL Schedule:

As all NFL fans know by now, the official schedule was released by the league yesterday and the Eagles seem to be a popular choice for prime time match ups. As MJD points out, the only team with more than the five prime time games the Eagles have is the Dallas Cowboys with six.

The Eagles open up the season at home against the Rams which should be a good warm up before a huge divisional game against the Cowboys in Philadelphia on Monday Night Football. Besides the usual NFC East rivals, fans of road trips may want to consider Chicago in September and perhaps even San Francisco in week six. Another easy road trip could be a trip down I-95 to catch the Eagles play in Baltimore in week twelve.

The game that jumps out the most though is an 8:00 p.m. Thanksgiving match up against the Arizona Cardinals set for Lincoln Financial Field. Many fans are unhappy that the game will be televised on the NFL Network but I don't think this should really prove too serious of a problem. Simply make sure you plan your Thanksgiving feast at a relatives house where they have the NFL Network.

Click here for the Eagles full schedule as well as a more in depth breakdown of games.

Jets A Fitting Name for a Team With New York's Schedule

Notes on the 2008 NFL Schedule.

The Jets open the 2008 season with an intriguing three game stretch. They start at the Dolphins in former coach Bill Parcells's first game running that franchise and then come home for what's sure to be a game steeped in Spygate lore against the Patriots. The opening troika ends with a long trip to San Diego for a date with the Chargers.

It should be a tough stretch for a team that will still be getting to know itself at the season's opening. The AFC Championship Game participants and a Dolphin team eager to turn the page after a brutal season will test whoever is playing quarterback and an 0-3 start isn't likely to satiate a fan base hungry for a quick turnaround.

The slate doesn't get much easier going forward. While the Jets catch a break by drawing the fairly weak NFC West as their interconference opposition, it means two more trips for road games against Seattle and San Francisco. The easiest stretch comes from October 12 to November 9 when they play the Bengals, Raiders, Chiefs, Bills and Rams but even that comes with a caveat. The Raider game brings another trip to the West Coast, making four overall. Other than the Niners, all of them are pretty hostile venues as well.

The best thing about the schedule would appear to be the placement of the bye week. The Jets are off in Week Five and Eric Mangini's post-bye record is 9-6 over his first two seasons.

Vikings May Not Find it Very Cold This Year

In the old days, the Minnesota Vikings played in some of the coldest games in the NFL. In 2008, the Vikings may not have to break out any of their cold weather gear at all.

Of course, the Minnesota Vikings play all of their home games in the HHH Metrodome ... meaning those eight games will be climate controlled. They also play at Detroit every year and they play indoors at Ford Field.

The Vikes have two more dome games scheduled: at Arizona and at New Orleans. That means Minnesota has just five outdoor games this year. So, that means just limited time in the wind and snow, right?

Well, two of those outdoor games are in Florida (at Tampa, at Jacksonville). Conditions will probably be ideal then.

So, three games left and we know that trips to Chicago and Green Bay are on that list. There's gotta be one of them late in the season, right?

Wrong. Minnesota opens the season in Green Bay on September 8th. The trip to Chicago is on October 9th. It won't be Daytona Beach on that day in the Windy City ... but it won't be Siberia, either. The only other outdoor game is on September 28th in Nashville.

It's just hard to believe that an NFL team called the Minnesota Vikings could miss out on a cold game all season long.

NFL Blew It By Not Having Redskins Play in Texas Stadium Finale

Ask any Redskins fan about the final game at RFK Stadium and nearly all of them will tell you they beat the Dallas Cowboys.

The favor will not be returned in Texas Stadium's final contest. Instead of having the rival Redskins face Dallas one last time in the regular season finale ... the Cowboys will host the Baltimore Ravens.

Wrong Beltway team!

Now, the Baltimore Ravens have never ... I mean NEVER ... played at Texas Stadium. In fact, the two franchises have met just twice with both games played in B'more. Having them close out the iconic stadium instead of the Redskins is sad, really.

Tom Landry's last coaching victory was over the Redskins. Roger Staubach's last regular-season victory was over the Redskins. Vince Lombardi finished his first and only season as head coach of the Redskins losing to the Cowboys. Troy Aikman's final regular-season game was against the Redskins that 2000 season. Emmitt Smith's final game as a Cowboy was against the Redskins (2002), as was Dave Campo's last as a head coach.

The Cowboys' only regular-season victory in 1989 came at the expense of the Redskins. The Redskins' only loss during the strike-shortened 1982 season was to the Cowboys. Washington's first loss during the 1991 season, having started out 11-0, was to the Cowboys, and some argue had they beaten the Cowboys they would have played all their starters in the final game of the season they lost by two at Philadelphia to have a chance at finishing 16-0. And, well, Jimmy Johnson's last regular-season coaching appearance at Texas Stadium came against . . . yep, the Redskins.

I might also add that Joe Gibbs final regular season game came against the Cowboys. Who knows? Maybe they'll meet up in the postseason.

Bengals' 2008 Schedule May Be Even Tougher Than 2007's

2008 SCHEDULE
Sept. 7 at Ravens
Sept. 14 Titans
Sept. 21 at Giants
Sept. 28 Browns
Oct. 5 at Cowboys
Oct. 12 at Jets
Oct. 19 Steelers
Nov. 2 Jaguars
Nov. 9 at Texans
Nov. 16 Eagles
Nov. 20 at Steelers
Nov. 30 Ravens
Dec. 7 at Colts
Dec. 14 Redskins
Dec. 21 at Browns
Dec. 28 Chiefs
The Cincinnati Bengals finished a dumpy 7-9 last year ... which isn't that horrible considering the tough schedule they had.

Well, 2008 may be even tougher.

Cincinnati has eight games against teams that were in the playoffs last year. The get Pittsburgh (twice), Super Bowl Champion New York Giants, Washington, Dallas, Jacksonville, Indianapolis and Tennessee. The also get the 10-6 Cleveland Browns twice.

In the first eight games, six are against teams that won at least 10 games in 2007.

Only four of their games are against teams with losing records last year (Jets, Chiefs, Ravens twice).

By the way, pretty much every Bengals game this year will be at 1:00pm. Only a Week 5 game at Dallas (4:15pm) and a Week 12 game at Pittsburgh (Thursday night game) differ in time.

Redskins 2008 Schedule Highlighted With Three Primetime Games

The NFL schedule has been released and the Washington Redskins have a tough one -- as is usual in the NFC East.

The highlights include three primetime games, including the NFL's season opener at the Super Bowl Champion New York Giants.

In Week 9, the Redskins get a visit from the Pittsburgh Steelers for a little Monday Night Football. That is significant because it will be Election Day Eve and the D.C. area will be buzzing.

After their Week 10 bye, the Skins host the Dallas Cowboys on NBC's Sunday Night Football.

One interesting aspect of the schedule is that the Redskins face NFC East rivals in three of their first five games -- and all of them on the road. After visiting the Giants in Week 1, Washington heads to Dallas in Week 4 and Philly in Week 5. They also have four of their last six games on the road ... including a trip to new head coach Jim Zorn's old haunt, Seattle (oh, and that is also a rematch of the last two Redskins' postseason games).

Here is another wild fact: the Cleveland Browns will be making their first trip to Washington since 1991. On the flip side, the Skins head to Cincinnati for the first time since that very same season.

They also visit nearby Baltimore to play the Ravens for the first time ever.

Are You Ready for a Whole Heckuva Lot of Bears Football?

Notes on the 2008 NFL Schedule

A quick perusal of the schedule of primetime football telecasts reveals a number of the usual suspects. The Patriots play five games on ESPN, NBC and the NFL Network, including the annual hyped to the heavens matchup with the Colts. The first post-Brett Favre Packer game kicks off the Monday night slate, the Super Bowl champion Giants play each of their divisional rivals in primetime and, except for their annual diversion from your pesky family at Thanksgiving, the Lions are kept out of view.

Several teams equal the league-high five appearances of the Patriots. Some, like the Chargers, are established as strong teams while others, the Browns, are clearly a bet on future success. The big surprise, though, is that the Bears, who are neither, are also featured five times.

Now Devin Hester is as exciting as football players get in 2008 but the rest of the Bears are bit lacking when it comes to marquee, must-see TV football players. Chicago's a big market, though, and ratings matter above matchups. That would explain why NBC's running with the Eagles and Bears on September 28 instead of a splashy meeting between Adrian Peterson and Vince Young.

Here's hoping Rex Grossman is finally a ready for primetime player. If not, we'll all have a few more free hours this football season.

If Broncos Recover Mile High Magic, They Can Get Off to Great Start This Fall

Notes on the 2008 NFL Schedule

From 2003-2005, the Denver Broncos went 20-4 at home during the regular season. All three of those seasons ended with playoff berths. Over the last two seasons the team has only won nine of their 16 home contests which, not surprisingly, has left them on the outside looking in come postseason. It stands to reason, then, if the Broncos can regain their Mile High mojo, they should be in good shape come January.

They'll need to have it working right from the get-go. Four of the first six games will be at home which offers the Broncos a chance to hit the ground running and put a lot of pressure on the presumptive division favorites in San Diego. They host those Chargers in Week Two and then play the Saints in Week Three while the fifth and sixth games of the year will be against the Bucs and Jaguars, respectively.

It's not an easy slate, three playoff teams and a near-miss, but it will behoove the Broncos to take advantage of the home cooking. Their final nine games feature trips to New England, Atlanta, New York, Cleveland and Carolina which will tax their bodies at just the wrong time. Getting off to a good start, the first two roadies are in Oakland and Kansas City which should help, is going to be imperative if Mike Shanahan wants to end a two-year playoff drought.

Patriots Should Cruise Through September

Notes on the 2008 NFL Schedule.

The NFL is releasing its complete regular-season schedule today on NFL Network, and as reporter Adam Schefter pointed out, it's a schedule that should result in the New England Patriots' 19-game regular-season winning streak being extended by at least a few games.

The Patriots' first four games come against teams with a combined 2007 record of 14-50. New England's opener is at home against the Kansas City Chiefs, and that's followed by a pair of games against AFC East rivals, Week 2 at the New York Jets and Week 3 at home against the Miami Dolphins.

After that the Patriots have their bye, and then they play the San Francisco 49ers on the road. Anything other than a 4-0 record through the first quarter of the season would be a disappointment.

And that sets up what will undoubtedly be one of the biggest games of October, when the presumably 4-0 Patriots have an AFC Championship Game rematch at the San Diego Chargers. Look for the Patriots to have a 23-game regular-season winning streak on the line.
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