Wednesday, May 19, 2010

2010 Sunday Night Football Lineup

Week 1
Thursday, September 9
8:30 p.m.
Minnesota Vikings
New Orleans Saints
Louisiana Superdome
Sunday, September 12
8:20 p.m.
Dallas Cowboys
Washington Redskins
FedEx Field
2
Sunday, September 19
8:20 p.m.
New York Giants
Indianapolis Colts
Lucas Oil Stadium
3
Sunday, September 26
8:20 p.m.
New York Jets
Miami Dolphins
Sun Life Stadium
4
Sunday, October 3
8:20 p.m.
Chicago Bears
New York Giants
Meadowlands Stadium
5
Sunday, October 10
8:20 p.m.
Philadelphia Eagles
San Francisco 49ers
Candlestick Park
6
Sunday, October 17
8:20 p.m.
Indianapolis Colts
Washington Redskins
FedEx Field
7
Sunday, October 24
8:20 p.m.
Minnesota Vikings
Green Bay Packers
Lambeau Field
8
Sunday, October 31
8:20 p.m.
Pittsburgh Steelers
New Orleans Saints
Louisiana Superdome
9
Sunday, November 7
8:20 p.m.
Dallas Cowboys
Green Bay Packers
Lambeau Field
10
Sunday, November 14
8:20 p.m.
New England Patriots
Pittsburgh Steelers
Heinz Field
11
Sunday, November 21
8:20 p.m.
New York Giants
Philadelphia Eagles
Lincoln Financial Field
12
Sunday, November 28
8:20 p.m.
San Diego Chargers
Indianapolis Colts
Lucas Oil Stadium
13
Sunday, December 5
8:20 p.m.
Pittsburgh Steelers
Baltimore Ravens
M&T Bank Stadium
14
Sunday, December 12
8:20 p.m.
Philadelphia Eagles
Dallas Cowboys
Cowboys Stadium
15
Sunday, December 19
8:20 p.m.
Green Bay Packers
New England Patriots
Gillette Stadium
16
Sunday, December 26
8:20 p.m.
San Diego Chargers
Cincinnati Bengals
Paul Brown Stadium
17
Sunday, January 2
8:20 p.m.
TBD
TBD
TBD
Subject to change(Flexible scheduling)

Friday, May 14, 2010

2010 Schedule Release- Part 2

Here is the Thanksgiving slate of games on the 2010 NFL docket:

Thanksgiving Early Game:
New England at Detroit (CBS)

MY ANALYSIS: The NFL only had two options because it was CBS' turn in the Thanksgiving rotation, and Detroit was only hosting the Jets and New England. The NFL granted the Jets a game at home on Thanksgiving Night, so the only option here was New England. I like this choice because forget about what Detroit's record will be at the time of the game. You will get Tom Brady, Bill Belichick, and the Pats on Thanksgiving. That is enough to sell this early game to America.

Thanksgiving Late Game:
New Orleans at Dallas (FOX)

MY ANALYSIS: FOX got the Cowboys in the right year for the Thanksgiving rotation. The Cowboys have a very attractive home schedule this year, and the NFL went "all in" with a huge NFC matchup. I thought the league might have opted for Chicago, Washington, or Philadelphia here, but you can't go wrong with the Saints. This is a great matchup and to have it on Thanksgiving day is a huge treat. Nice job by the NFL on this one.

Thanksgiving Night Game:
Cincinnati at New York Jets (NFL Network)

MY ANALYSIS: The NFL threw the Jets a bone by giving them the opening MNF game, so why did they also have to throw in the Thanksgiving Night game? Enough is enough with the Jets already, and the season didn't even start yet. Also, they give us the Bengals at the Jets. Why would you put the Bengals in this spot. There were so many other options here: You could have put the Ravens in this spot, Miami would be a great choice, Green Bay would have been fun, and even Minnesota would have made more sense than the Bengals. Terrible job by the NFL, and this matchup has no juice finishing off the Thanksgiving slate of games.

Thursday, May 13, 2010

2010 Schedule Analysis- Part 1

Over the next few days and weeks, I will be breaking down the 2010 NFL Schedule. I love analyzing the schedule, and I love really analyzing some of the decisions that the schedule makers come up in putting together the schedule. Today's analysis is the opening weekend primetime slate and the Thanksgiving lineup.


Thursday Night Opener:
Minnesota at New Orleans (NBC)

MY ANALYSIS: I don't really like the fact that you go right back to the scene of the crime with the rematch of the classic NFC Championship Game on opening night. I originally thought that the Steelers would be the right choice for this slot, but I guess with all the Ben Roethlisberger stuff going on, it was probably better to go somewhere else. The problem was the Saints' home schedule was horrible. Many people thought the Falcons would get the nod, but Falcons-Saints just doesn't have the appeal for a Thursday Night Kickoff opener. If Favre comes back, then this game will need no hype, and it will be fun to watch. If Favre retires, then this game has no appeal. Everyone will still watch it because it is the first game of the new season, but the game loses everything if Sage Rosenfels or Tavaris Jackson starts it. Overall, a good choice but the Steelers should have been the pick here.

Sunday Night Football Opener:
Dallas at Washington (NBC)

MY ANALYSIS: A great pick by the league and NBC. You get the Cowboys to start off the SNF schedule, and you pit them against their rival, the Redskins. With the addition of Mike Shanahan and Donovan McNabb, the Redskins are one of the most intriguing teams to watch in 2010. The Cowboys are the clear choice to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl, and the fans in D.C. are going to be waiting all summer to see this game. I love this pick and this matchup for the first SNF game of the year.

Monday Night Football Opener Game 1:
Baltimore at NY Jets (ESPN)

MY ANALYSIS: I understand the league wanted to give the Jets a chance to also host a game on opening weekend, so I'm not going to complain about the Jets getting the MNF opener. I don't think the NFL needed to waste Baltimore here in Week 1. The perfect choice would have been Miami. The Dolphins are a hated rival to the Jets, there is bad blood stemming from Rex Ryan's incident at the Super Bowl in Miami, and the Dolphins and Jets both have a good shot of winning the AFC East and making the playoffs. The league could have saved Baltimore and the Jets for a later date in the season.

Monday Night Football Opener Game 2:
San Diego at Kansas City (ESPN)

MY ANALYSIS: What an awful choice here by the NFL. First, you are starting the game at 9:15pm local time in KC. Second, this is the third time since 2007 that SD is playing the second half of the MNF doubleheader. How about you change it up a little bit? Plus, why not just give KC a primetime game earlier in the season instead of sticking them in the late slot on MNF? This selection makes no sense at all. If you were going to go AFC West, you should have had Oakland at Denver (Denver hasn't hosted an opening weekend game since 2004) or a NFC West matchup (Take your pick: Seattle at SF, SF at Arizona, or Arizona at Seattle).

Friday, May 7, 2010

Question and Answer Time!

We are headed into the dead period of the NFL offseason. The Draft is over, free agency is in the rearview mirror, and the schedule has been released. May only features minicamps and an owner's meeting and then June is an absolute dead period for the NFL. Before we head into June, I figured it was a good time to get in a little Q&A session regarding all things Broncos.

How excited were you when Denver drafted Tim Tebow in the first round of the Draft?
On a giddiness scale of 1-10, I was probably at 15. It is amazing how I began thinking about how I wanted Denver to draft Tebow back in late December. How many times does that happen for your team? When the Broncos traded up to get Tebow, it was one of the best Bronco moments since 2005. It was totally better then when they drafted Jay Cutler in 2006. As Tebow was putting on the Bronco camp, I was just going crazy. Tebowmania has definitely hit the Mile High city, and I have bought in completely. I think this is going to be a great move for the Broncos.

Do you think Tebow starts any games in 2010?
At first, I didn't think Tebow would start at all in 2010; however, I am becoming more convinced that he will be at least the number two QB on the depth chart by Week 1. I wouldn't be surprised if Tebow is handed the keys by Week 8.

Who will start at QB in Week 1 at Jacksonville?
There are a lot of rumors being spread, but I still think Kyle Orton starts in Week 1. He has been in the offense for a year, and Denver has plans on being competitive and good this year. I wouldn't be surprised if Orton is moved before then too. Who knows with this QB battle? Right now, I would say it is a 70% chance that Orton is starting Week 1. I would give Brady Quinn a 35% chance and Tebow a 15% chance to start Week 1.

Why do you think Josh McDaniels went "All in" to get Tim Tebow?
Josh McDaniels gets "it." He understands that to win big in the NFL you need to have a stud quarterback. I was so afraid that McDaniels was never going to go after a QB in his tenure in Denver. I figured he was just going to compile QBs like Orton and Quinn and try to develop them in his system. I think he knows he needs a difference maker at that position, and he felt that Tebow was that type of franchise player. Obviously, Tebow needs work, but McD must have felt that the upside with Tebow was tremendous and this could be a guy who could lead this franchise for the next 10 years.

How concerned are you with the Ryan Clady injury?
Obviously the Clady injury is a concern, but let's hold off on the severity until he begins rehabbing and it gets closer to the season opener. Clady injures his patella tendon playing basketball, and he is supposed to be out 3-4 months, which could put him in jeopardy of missing the first game. Some people have come out and said that eventhough it was only a partial tear, he still could miss up to six months and maybe the season. When Brandon Marshall hurt his wrist and missed most of training camp in 2008, everyone said that it would be hard for him to come back and play at a high level. All he did was catch over 100 balls that year. I think the same could be said with Clady. Let's wait and see before we make any judgments.

Now that most of the moves have been made by teams, what kind of season are we going to see in Denver this year?
It is hard to tell right now. The AFC West got a lot better on paper in this offseason. The Raiders dumped Jamarcus Russell and added Jason Campbell. They also made a lot of good moves in free agency and the draft, so they should be a tough team next year. The Chiefs added Eric Berry and Dexter McCluster in the draft, and they should be a lot better in 2010 too. The Chargers are the Chargers, so if anything Denver has to get by them first- which they haven't done since 2005. The Broncos are competitive and everyone has already counted them out, so the motivation will be there to prove everyone wrong. No one thinks Denver is going to be any good this year, and I'm sure the a lot of analysts will pick Denver to be about a 6 win team in 2010. I love when the Broncos go into a season flying under the radar. I think the Broncos are better then a 6 win team, and I think they will be right in the mix for a wild card spot come January.