In the last seven days, the NFL has tried to act like it's business as usual, announcing the preseason and regular-season schedules in a matter of a week.
Of course, sandwiched in were two days of mediation in Minneapolis last Thursday and Friday, with Tuesday's third session ending one hour before this season's schedule was announced.
The intent is to try and get fans excited even when there are serious questions whether the games will be played. That was evident earlier this week when the NFL announced that the Chicago Bears and Tampa Bay Buccaneers would play in London on Oct. 23, but only if the lockout ends by Aug. 1. If not, the game will be played in Tampa.
Still, after mediation ended Tuesday, when commissioner Roger Goodell was asked about the chances of games being missed, he said, "We have every intention of playing the full schedule and that's why we're releasing it as we normally do."
That schedule begins on Thursday, Sept. 8 with the defending Super Bowl champion Green Bay Packers playing host to the New Orleans Saints on NBC, and ends with 16 divisional matchups on New Year's Day. The major bowl games in 2012 will be played on Monday, Jan. 2.
Kickoff Weekend also features eight division games, a Monday night doubleheader and the New York Jets playing host to the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday night, the 10th anniversary of the 9-11 attacks. Earlier that day, the New York Giants will travel to play the Redskins in Washington, the two cities where the terrorists struck. The New England Patriots will be at the Miami Dolphins and Oakland Raiders at the Denver Broncos in the two Monday night games.
As has been the custom for several years, Sunday night games starting in Week 10 can be changed if the league decides to choose a more attractive matchup. There will be no change in Week 16 when the Chicago Bears play at Green Bay on Christmas night. There are no other games that day; 13 others will be played the day before. In the final week of the season, no game is currently scheduled for Sunday night. That choice will be made by Tuesday of that week at the latest.
The NFL Network will once again televise eight games, with seven on Thursday night beginning Nov. 10 and one on Saturday night, Dec. 17 between the Dallas Cowboys and Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Tampa. The network's Thanksgiving night game between the San Francisco 49ers and Baltimore Ravens concludes a holiday tripleheader that begins with Green Bay at Detroit and Miami at Dallas.
The game between the 49ers, coached by Jim Harbaugh, and the Ravens, coached by John Harbaugh, is the first time in league history that sibling head coaches will compete against each other.
The season's 17 NBC games (16 on Sunday night and the Thursday night opener), features just 15 different teams. Appearing three times are Baltimore, Dallas, Green Bay, Indianapolis, the New York Jets, Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. On twice are Atlanta, Chicago, New England, New Orleans and the New York Giants. Kansas City, Minnesota and San Diego are on once.
By contrast, 23 different teams will be seen on the 16 ESPN Monday night games, with nine teams appearing twice. One of those nine is the St. Louis Rams, which improved to 7-9 in 2010 and hasn't been on Monday Night Football since 2006. The Rams will visit the Giants in Week 2, the team head coach Steve Spagnuolo was with before being hired by the Rams in 2009, and they will also play at the division-rival Seattle Seahawks in Week 14. The Detroit Lions will be on Monday Night Football for the first time since 2001 when they host the Chicago Bears on Oct. 10.
No team is on more than once on the NFL Network schedule. In total, there are just five teams that don't play any games in prime time: Arizona, Buffalo, Carolina, Cincinnati and Tennessee.
Another unusual aspect of this year's schedule is the number of teams that will play three consecutive games on the road at some point in the season. Normally, that number totals only two or three, but this year there are eight: Buffalo, Cleveland, Indianapolis, Miami, the New York Jets, Arizona, Carolina and New Orleans. The Dolphins' three games are interrupted by their bye week.
Baltimore, Dallas, Indianapolis, the New York Jets, Philadelphia and Pittsburgh have five prime-time games. Atlanta, Chicago, Green Bay, New England, New Orleans, New York Giants and San Diego have four. Jacksonville and Kansas City have three. Miami, Minnesota, St. Louis San Francisco, Seattle and Tampa Bay have two. Those with one are Cleveland, Denver, Detroit, Houston, Oakland and Washington.
