Philadelphia, PA (My Sportsbook) - The release of the 2009 NFL schedule on Tuesday night was a little like last week's announcement that The Beatles' complete CD catalog was being remastered.
The people going nuts over the 26-disc orgiastic feast that will be The Beatles re-releases (due Sept. 9th, by the way) have already heard all of that material hundreds of times, just as those who are hyper-analyzing the NFL schedule already knew who was playing in all 256 games of the 2009 regular season.
Like the Fab Four fans currently fawning over sound snippets and artwork mock- ups, league supporters - who previously obsessed over the already-announced Kickoff Weekend and Thanksgiving schedules - spent their Tuesday night devouring the whole kit n' kaboodle, and dreaming of the fall.
Actually, they were fantasizing about the late summer, since the first meaningful football will be played at Heinz Field on September 10th. On that night, the Tennessee Titans, not so long ago seen stomping on the Terrible Towel - and by association the grave of Myron Cope - will face the defending Super Bowl champion Steelers.
The other marquee games that weekend have the Green Bay Packers hosting Chicago in Jay Cutler's Bears debut on Sunday night, followed by Tom Brady's return to the field against Buffalo on Monday evening, and finally the obligatory Chargers beat-down of the Raiders in the late slot as Monday night becomes Tuesday morning in the east.
But we already knew all that. Here are some things we just found out:
NETWORK DARLINGS
Four teams - the Steelers, Colts, Cowboys, and Giants - got the deluxe treatment from the networks, with the maximum of five primetime games dotting the schedule of each club. Indianapolis, Dallas, and the Giants were each allotted three Sunday night tilts, and Pittsburgh given two, although the NBC- aired opener vs. Tennessee effectively functions as a Sunday-nighter.
Interestingly, four of Indianapolis' five prime-timers (Miami, Arizona, Tennessee, and Jacksonville) will played on the road, with the lights only being turned on at Lucas Oil Stadium for the Nov. 15th Sunday-nighter against New England.
Despite not making the playoffs in 2008, Dallas got hooked up with six captive-audience-style games, with three on Sunday (vs. N.Y. Giants, at Philadelphia, at Washington), one on Monday (Carolina), one on Saturday late in the year (at New Orleans) plus the obligatory Thanksgiving Day matchup against the Raiders.
In addition to those above, the Eagles were also targeted as a watchable team, as three of their four primetime tilts (vs. Dallas, at Chicago, at N.Y. Giants) are scheduled for Sunday night. Philly also faces the Redskins in a Monday night affair.
Note that the Sunday night games from Weeks 11-16 are subject to change, and that no tentative matchup has yet been identified for the Week 17 primetime slot.
NETWORK DUDS
At this time last year, the league and its television partners consulted the bottom of the standings and identified two eventual playoff teams - the Dolphins and Falcons - as a pair that were not ready for primetime. And, despite the fact that there is bound to be at least one rags-to-riches story in the league this year, several of the perceived basement-dwellers of the moment were passed over for primetime affairs.
Unless they get "flexed" over the final seven weeks of the season, the likes of the Lions (0-16 in 2008), Rams (2-14), Chiefs (2-14), Seahawks (4-12), Bengals (4-11-1) and - somewhat surprisingly - the Buccaneers (9-7) will not venture out at night.
Of the teams above, Detroit and Tampa Bay will get at least one "special" game. The Lions will host Green Bay on Thanksgiving Day, and the Bucs travel to London to face New England in an afternoon tilt on Oct. 25.
GRUDGE MATCHES
Of the 11 games that took place in the 2008 NFL Playoffs, just four will be reprised as regular season games in 2009. Of that quartet, two are division rivalries.
The Steelers and Ravens, who met for last year's AFC Championship, will square off for a Sunday night game in Baltimore on Nov. 29th, and in Pittsburgh for a probable 1pm tilt on Dec. 27th.
Meanwhile, the Giants will have two chances to avenge their Divisional Playoff loss to the Eagles this past January, as they travel to Philly for a 4:15 affair on Nov. 1st, and host the Eagles in a Sunday-nighter on Dec. 13th.
Two other '08 playoff rematches pit the Cardinals at the Panthers on Nov. 1st, and the Chargers traveling to meet Pittsburgh on Sunday night, Oct. 4th. San Diego is 0-12 all-time in regular season games played in the Steel City.
INTERNATIONAL FLAIR
As mentioned, the Patriots and Buccaneers will play in the third installment of the NFL's London series on Oct. 25th, which marks the first of two international games on the league schedule this season.
The other comes on Thursday night, Dec. 3rd, when the Bills play host to the Jets at Toronto's Rogers Centre. That game will be aired by NFL Network as part of its late-season package.
EXTRA FESTIVE
The league's three Thanksgiving Day games - Lions/Packers, Cowboys/Raiders, and Broncos/Giants in the nightcap, had previously been announced by the league.
But those three holiday affairs could be trumped by the surprise appearance of a Christmas Night game, which sees the Chargers traveling to Tennessee in a battle of 2008 division winners. That tilt, which will air on NFL Network, replaces what would have been the final Thursday night game of the year.
REVENGE IS A DISH...
In addition to some of the team-driven grudge matches to take place in 2009, a handful of games will have high-profile players matching up against their former employers.
Among skill players, the most notable such matchups have Fred Taylor and the Patriots hosting Jacksonville on Dec. 27th (if Taylor is healthy, that is), and new Cincinnati Bengal Laveranues Coles visiting the Meadowlands to face the Jets the following Sunday.
The offensive line edition of "old home week" will occur on two notable occasions, when Pro Bowl center Matt Birk and the Ravens travel to Minnesota on Oct. 18th, and when the Bears' Orlando Pace (again, probably smart to monitor the injury report) squares off against the Rams on Dec. 6th at Soldier Field.
On the defensive side of the ball, new Bronco Brian Dawkins figures to receive a warm ovation from Philadelphia fans when Denver visits the City of Brotherly Love on Dec. 27th.
The only new head coach to face his most recent former employer in the 2009 regular season will be Denver's Josh McDaniels, who welcomes Bill Belichick and the Patriots to town on Oct. 11th.
INTO THE SPOTLIGHT...
A pair of head coaching eras will begin in the same place, namely Seattle, in Week 1, as Jim Mora and the Seahawks play host to Steve Spagnuolo and the Rams.
In addition to Spagnuolo, the Broncos' Josh McDaniels (at Bengals), Lions Jim Schwartz (at Saints), Chiefs' Todd Haley (at Ravens), and Jets' Rex Ryan (at Texans) must begin their head coaching careers on the road.
Along with Mora, the Colts' Jim Caldwell (vs. Jaguars), Buccaneers' Raheem Morris (vs. Cowboys) and Browns' Eric Mangini (vs. Vikings) have the privilege of opening their respective tenures within friendly confines.
SCHEDULE TIDBITS
- According to the 2008 standings, the Minnesota Vikings have the easiest September schedule in the league, as they'll open with the Browns, Lions, and 49ers, three teams that were a combined 11-37 (.229) last season. The first two of those contests are on the road, however, making Minnesota one of two teams (St. Louis) that will have to wait until Week 3 to make its home opener.
The Broncos, Ravens, and Redskins are next on the early-is-easy list. Denver's first three come against the Bengals, Browns, and Raiders, a trio that finished a combined 13-34-1 (.281) last season. Baltimore squares off with the Chiefs (2-14), Chargers (8-8), and Browns (4-12) in the ninth month, and the Redskins play the Rams (2-14) and Lions (0-16) after traveling to meet the Giants (12-4) in Week 1.
- September will be a mixed blessing for the Falcons, who are one of just two teams (Green Bay) that get to play its first two games at home, but also face the month's most difficult schedule. Atlanta's first three opponents - the Dolphins (11-5), Panthers (12-4), and Patriots (11-5) - were a combined 34-14 (.708) last season.
The Cowboys, who open with the Buccaneers (9-7), Giants (12-4), and Panthers (12-4), have things tough in the early-going as well.
- The Giants and Seahawks play the only three-game road stretches in the NFL this season. The G-Men will get their jaunt out of the way early, playing the Cowboys, Buccaneers, and Chiefs in a stretch that spans Weeks 2-4. Seattle will take on the Cardinals, Vikings, and Rams away from the Pacific Northwest from Nov. 15th through the 29th. Both teams will endure twenty-seven days between home dates during those respective runs.
- Eight different teams will play three-game homestands in 2009, with the Chiefs, Colts, Dolphins, Eagles, Falcons, Jaguars, Rams, and Vikings finding it possible to get comfortable for extended stretches.
Of that group, Philadelphia and Miami will spend the most time at home during those expanses, due to bye weeks. The Eagles won't play a road game for a span of 34 days between trips to Carolina (Sept. 13) and Oakland (Oct. 18th), and the Fins will be home for the same amount between visits to the Chargers (Sept. 27) and Jets (Nov. 1). Miami won't play away from home for the entire month of October.
- There might be a lot of people dressed as empty seats by the banks of Lake Erie come December. Half of the Browns' eight-game home schedule arrives on Dec. 6th or later, with home tilts against the Chargers (Dec. 6), Steelers (Dec. 10), Raiders (Dec. 27), and Jaguars (Jan. 3) coming in Cleveland's final five games. Cleveland is the only club in the NFL that will play four of its last five either home or away.
Three teams will play their final two games at home (Browns, Cardinals, Dolphins), while the same number will play their last two on the road (Jaguars, Chiefs, Ravens).
