Posted on 04/12/2007 8:08:39 AM PDT by Boston Blackie
Want to make an NFL coach happy? Try this. On the day the league releases its schedule, utter the following words 16 times: Sunday at 1.
That is sure to sit well with most coaches, who prefer their teams stay on a normal routine, which is why early-afternoon kickoffs on Sundays are most desired.
As it turns out, 2007 won't be a Sunday at 1 type of season for the Patriots. Based on the team's success and national following, their schedule includes five night games and three 4:15 p.m. kickoffs, which accounts for half of the 16-game schedule.
The journey begins with two rematches from the 2006 playoffs.
On Sunday, Sept. 9, the Patriots visit the Jets (1 p.m.), before returning to Gillette Stadium for their home opener, a Sunday night game against the Chargers Sept. 16. Those are the first of eight games against 2006 playoff teams.
(Excerpt) Read more at boston.com ...
I’m used to it at this point. Heck I remember when the Pats games were always on at 1:00. They were for a reason and I don’t want to go back to those days. Ever.
Pinging you :-)
You’ll be home halfway through, hopefully!
Making excuses already!
Apparently it’s never too early to start making excuses.
(Whining about three 4:15 kickoffs? Give this guy credit for originality.)
Hey, at least the bye week isn't until November.
Sheesh. That didn't take long.
It's a local website reporting on the local team's schedule. It's all very factually reported. What do you consider as "making excuses"?
I was kind of hoping to get San Diego to come up to Foxboro in December. Oh well.
The good news is that after losing to my J-E-T-S, Jets, Jets, Jets in week 1 the Pats should beat the Chargers at home.
Waiting for Belichick's moves on draft day..
That’ll be a tough one for them to start out with. We don’t make too much out of opening day anymore after getting crushed by Buffalo 31-0 in the 2003 opener and then losing only one more game the rest of that season.
The one advantage to them playing at night so often is I get to watch more of the other teams play. I still hate having to wait around all day for the game.
I was joking. I wasn’t thrilled to see the Pats as our opening game, but at least it’s at home. I do expect the Chargers to take a step back this year though so your home opener should be a great game.
I think the Jets could win that one but I’d still put my money on the Pats. I know SD coming in the next week will be all about the revenge factor but it’s a lot to ask a team to adjust to an entirely new coaching staff.
The bye comes after the ninth game, the latest bye week on the schedule. That would have to be considered a coup for the Patriots, who had an early bye last year, after their fifth game.
Four of the final six games are at home, and from a travel perspective, the Patriots have three short flights (Buffalo, Baltimore, New York) from mid-November on.
Only one game will be played on natural grass -- at Miami (Oct. 21).
In today's NFL, when a team faces an opponent can be as important as who the team is facing. Playing a team after a bye week, for example, is considered an advantage for the team that has had the week off.
Along those lines, the Patriots do not face a team that is coming off a bye week.
After the Oct. 1 Monday night game in Cincinnati, the Patriots return home Oct. 7 to face the Browns, who are coached by former New England defensive coordinator Romeo Crennel. And following the team's Dec. 3 Monday night game in Baltimore, the Patriots will entertain the Steelers (Dec. 9). Having two home games on those short weeks should lessen the strain.
Meanwhile, the Patriots face one team on its own short week -- the Cowboys. When the Patriots make their first trip to Dallas since 1996 for an Oct. 14 game, the Cowboys will be coming off a Monday night game in Buffalo. The Patriots have never won at Texas Stadium in four tries.
I think that streak will end this year.
Works for us who have moved away from Taxachusetts ... we’ll get to see more games on the tube. Sounds to me like the plusses outweight the minuses in that schedule.
It’s much better than the ones the have had over the past two seasons.
Why were the Baltimore Colts home games always at 2:00, back in the 70s?
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