Football Friday, Volume 9 (Part 2)
By Mark Lenehan
First a quick note. I am passing on writing about college football this week. The scandal at Penn State is obviously the biggest story of the week and it has been covered and talked about everywhere. I don't feel like I could add anything to the conversation that hadn't already been said so I am just going to abstain. My heart goes out to all the victims, as it seems that they have been forgotten during the uproar over Joe Paterno. Take a second and just remember who the real victims are in all of this.
So we will instead take a look at the NFL this week...
We have entered the point in the NFL season where the term "flex-scheduling" comes into play. It is now possible for games that were scheduled to be in prime time on Sunday night to be moved to a daytime start and vice versa.
Already the NFL has announced that the New England Patriots home game against the Indianapolis Colts on December 4th has been "flexed" out of primetime and shifted to a 1 PM kickoff.
So let's take a look at the schedule for the rest of the season and see which games will likely remain in primetime and which games could be shifted.
(Note: I believe that the Week 11 Eagles at Giants game is already locked in so we will begin with Week 12.)
Week 12:
Scheduled Game: Pittsburgh at Kansas City
Outlook: I would say this game is likely to be flexed to an earlier kickoff. The Chiefs, a playoff team last season, have struggled to meet expectations this season. They also play in primetime the week before this game (at New England on Monday Night Football).
Candidates to be flexed: Buffalo at NY Jets or Chicago at Oakland; Buffalo and the Jets are currently tied atop the AFC East, while Oakland leads the AFC West and Chicago is in the thick of the NFC playoff race.
Week 13:
Scheduled Game: Indianapolis at New England (already flexed out)
Candidates to be flexed: Cincinnati at Pittsburgh, Detroit at New Orleans, or Green Bay at NY Giants; Cincy and Pittsburgh could be battling for first in the AFC North (and Pittsburgh could potentially lose a primetime game the previous week), Detroit and New Orleans are both potential playoff teams in the NFC, as are the Giants and Packers (who could still be chasing an undefeated season).
Week 14:
Scheduled Game: NY Giants at Dallas
Outlook: This game will be staying where it is as these two teams are currently the top 2 teams in the NFC East. Also it is a storied rivalry in the NFL with two large fan bases.
Week 15:
Scheduled Game: Baltimore at San Diego
Outlook: I would tend to think that this game is safe in prime time. I can't see San Diego falling out of the race in the AFC West and Baltimore could be fighting for home field in the AFC. NBC won't pass on a possible AFC playoff preview.
Week 16:
This is Christmas weekend. Most games that week are scheduled to be played on Saturday though there is a Sunday night game on Christmas night (Chicago at Green Bay). That is a game that would likely stay in primetime regardless but I would also assume that it cannot be moved since it would involve switching the day of a game, not just the kickoff time.
Week 17:
Scheduled game: None
Candidates to be flexed: Buffalo at New England, Detroit at Green Bay, Baltimore at Cincinnati, Tennessee at Houston, San Diego at Oakland; gotta love the divisional heavy schedule in week 17. All of the above games could potentially decide division races.
On to the picks...
Predictions (Home Teams in CAPS)
NCAA
Ohio State (-7.5) over PURDUE
Wake Forest (+17) over CLEMSON
Oklahoma State (-18) over TEXAS TECH
Florida (+3.5) over SOUTH CAROLINA
Michigan (-1) over ILLINOIS
KANSAS STATE (+5) over Texas A&M
BOISE STATE (-16) over Texas Christian
Auburn (+13) over GEORGIA
ARKANSAS (-15) over Tennessee
STANFORD (-3.5) over Oregon
Last Week: 6-4
Season: 48-48-4
NFL
BENGALS (+3) over Steelers
Broncos (+3.5) over CHIEFS
Jaguars (-3) over COLTS
COWBOYS (-5.5) over Bills
BUCS (+3.5) over Texans
PANTHERS (-3.5) over Titans
Redskins (+4) over DOLPHINS
Saints (-1) over FALCONS
BROWNS (-3) over Rams
EAGLES (-13.5) over Cardinals
Ravens (-7) over SEAHAWKS
Lions (+3) over BEARS
Giants (+3.5) over NINERS
Patriots (+1) over JETS
PACKERS (-14) over Vikings
Last Week: 7-7
Season: 65-57-8
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