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Houston Texans Schedule Tough....At Least On Tailgaters' Livers

Stephanie StradleyPosted Apr 17th 2008 2:10PM by Stephanie Stradley (author feed)
Filed under: Texans, AFC South, NFL Fans, Houston


Notes on the 2008 NFL Schedule:

If you look to 2007 NFL team win-losses, the Texans have the 7th hardest 2008 schedule in the league. The start of the season is a brutality with four of the first five against last year's playoff teams, and being one of only two NFL teams with three of four on the road in September. (The Cardinals are the other team with a road September).

The Texans need to learn quickly how to win on the road against good teams given that they won only twice on the road last year, both against teams with losing records.

In an attempt to find a bright side of the schedule, I will direct you to this Pro-Football-Reference blog post from a few years ago that says that though strength of schedule absolutely does matter to teams, estimates of schedule strength based on last year's numbers don't really matter. Some teams that were bad last year will be good and vice versa. You probably knew that already, but it is nice to see actual numbers that say the same thing.
Continue Reading Houston Texans Schedule Tough....At Least On Tailgaters' Livers

NFL Helps Buccaneers Avoid Cold Weather

David J. WarnerPosted Apr 17th 2008 12:45PM by David J. Warner (author feed)
Filed under: Buccaneers, NFC South, Tampa Bay

Martin Fennelly of the Tampa Tribune points out something very interesting about the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' 2008 schedule -- there are no real cold weather games.

You can see the full schedule here. Notice that road trips to Chicago and Denver come early in the autumn, well before the snow usually falls in those cities. There's a trip to Kansas City in early November as well, but it usually doesn't get that cold there so early.

Then after their Nov. 9 bye, the Bucs play four of their last seven at home and two of those last seven in domes. The only outdoor game is the Monday night tilt in Charlotte against the Carolina Panthers, and North Carolina is known for its generally mild early winters. That's why so many Steelers fans leave Pittsburgh and move here.

That's quite a break for a team that traditionally does so poorly in cold weather. Until 2002, the Bucs had never won a game when the starting temperature at kickoff was below 40 degrees, and over all, they've only won two such games in their history. It looks like they won't have to worry about that this year. That has to make Jon Gruden a little less angry this week. Maybe.

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

Enrico CampitelliPosted Apr 16th 2008 3:11PM by Enrico Campitelli (author feed)
Filed under: Eagles, NFC East, Philadelphia

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

Josh AlperPosted Apr 16th 2008 12:00PM by Josh Alper (author feed)
Filed under: Jets, AFC East, New York

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

Sportz AssassinPosted Apr 16th 2008 2:52AM by Sportz Assassin (author feed)
Filed under: Vikings, NFC North, Minnesota

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

Sportz AssassinPosted Apr 16th 2008 2:26AM by Sportz Assassin (author feed)
Filed under: Cowboys, Redskins, NFC East, Dallas, Washington, DC

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

Sportz AssassinPosted Apr 16th 2008 2:02AM by Sportz Assassin (author feed)
Filed under: Bengals, AFC North, Cincinnati

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

Sportz AssassinPosted Apr 16th 2008 1:39AM by Sportz Assassin (author feed)
Filed under: Redskins, NFC East, Washington, DC

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.

Will Prime Time Matchups Help Jaguars Sell Stadium Naming Rights?

David J. WarnerPosted Apr 15th 2008 8:45PM by David J. Warner (author feed)
Filed under: Jaguars, AFC South

We all know why the NFL scheduled three prime time games for the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2008.

First off, they were a playoff team in 2007, and if not for a few dropped passes, they would have had a real shot at knocking off the Patriots. They feature one of the best QBs of 2007 in David Garrard, a dynamic and physical young running back in Maurice Jones-Drew, and a potentially game-changing receiver in Jerry Porter.

Oh, and they face the AFC North this season, which guarantees another round against the Steelers, except this time it's in Jacksonville on a Sunday night. The other prime time home game is a Thursday night tilt with Indianapolis in late December on NFL Network. CBS will also feature a Browns at Jaguars game at 4:00 PM on October 26.

Here's the real question in Jacksonville, though. Will these featured games help the Jaguars sell the naming rights to their stadium? Clearly, the NFL schedulers believe this is an up-and-coming team that could be fun to watch and could return to the playoffs. Can anyone convince potential advertisers of the same thing? Or are they all still scared that Jacksonville is too small a market and too big a risk in this weak economy? Given the national appeal of the NFL, market size seems like it should be a small concern here.

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

Josh AlperPosted Apr 15th 2008 8:30PM by Josh Alper (author feed)
Filed under: Bears, NFC North, Chicago

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.
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