The Schedule

The 2012 NFL Schedule was released this past Tuesday. It's amazing that something so routine generates enough interest to demand a three hour chunk of time on NFL Network. It's three hours that you'll never get back. I was actually very interested in the schedule release. I just don't need to hear a bunch of people talking in April about possible big games this fall. Too much can change between now and then to accurately predict big games now. With the draft less than a week away there are far more important things to discuss for three hours. It's still exciting to see the Minnesota Vikings 2012 schedule. I'm sure that we're all in agreement on that. So, here it is.

Sep 9   Jacksonville
Sep 16 @Indianapolis
Sep 23 San Francisco
Sep 30 @Detroit
Oct 7   Tennessee
Oct 14 @Washington
Oct 21 Arizona
Oct 25 Tampa Bay-Thursday Night
Nov 4  @Seattle
Nov 11 Detroit
Nov 18 Bye Week
Nov 25 @Chicago
Dec 2   @Green Bay
Dec 9   Chicago
Dec 16 @St Louis
Dec 23 @Houston
Dec 30 Green Bay

There it is. The first thing that jumps out at me is the Week 11 bye. It's always better to have it late than early but somewhere in the middle is best. The schedule coming out of the bye is brutal and ridiculous. It actually looks like a mistake. All four games against the Green Bay Packers and the Chicago Bears are in the final six weeks. I know that the NFL is trying to end the season with meaningful division games but this is a mess. The Vikings play both games against the Detroit Lions before they play one game against their other division foes. Spread it out, people! One other game that looks like a mistake is the game against the San Francisco 49ers. The last time the two teams played when their respective divisions were matched up, the game was in Minnesota. It should alternate and the game this year should be in San Francisco and I should be there. The Vikings have their one prime time game on a Thursday against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. That game should bring a big TV audience. This year there will be Thursday night games nearly every week of the season and every team gets one. The NFL power people are thrashing the beauty of the Sunday schedule simply for money. Some people love the Thursday games. Except for Thanksgiving games, I'm not one of them. Speaking of Thanksgiving games, the lineup this year is a beauty:

Texans-Lions
Redskins-Cowboys
Patriots-Jets
Great day of NFL football

Every team gets at least one prime time game this year. Very democratic. Speaking of democrats, the big oddity of the 2012 schedule is the first game. The New York Giants face the Dallas Cowboys in the Kickoff Game. Due to the President's duties at the Democratic National Convention the game and the season will start on a Wednesday. As for the prime time games, ten teams have the maximum of five games. It's funny to see the Lions among those five teams. They've been bad for so long. It's nice to see general manager Martin Mayhew and head coach Jim Schwartz turn that team around. It makes things more difficult for the Vikings but I like seeing the NFC North become a strong division.

The NFL has come a long way since the days of commissioner Bert Bell working out the schedule at his kitchen table. Now a computer spits out 400,000 possible versions. It's then cut to 14,000. Those are perused and eliminated for inconveniences and the ridiculous to teams and networks. Like playing two division foes twice in the last six weeks.

I love seeing the schedule announced. The production is pumped up a little too much but it definitely brings the NFL season a little bit closer.