The 2008 NFL schedule was released a couple of weeks ago, but I decided to hold off on giving my take on some of the notables from a packed ’08 slate until after the NFL Draft, so that I could involve a couple of storylines involving some top draft picks and their new teams.
This isn’t the only time that I’ll be taking a look at the schedule from the upcoming season, so for now, here’s a look at five storylines that I’ll be watching as the season unfolds.
New signal-callers and new head coaches debuting in Week 1: The Atlanta Falcons and Baltimore Ravens made big moves by taking quarterbacks in the first round, and there’s a good chance that both could be starting in the opening week of the season.
Provided that Kyle Boller (or Troy Smith) doesn’t somehow provide stiff competition to Joe Flacco for the starting spot, Flacco will be under center when the Ravens host the Cincinnati Bengals in John Harbaugh’s regular-season debut as a head coach, and in Atlanta, Matt Ryan could also get to start his career at home when the Falcons welcome the Detroit Lions in Mike Smith’s first ‘real’ game manning the Georgia Dome sidelines.
While the two – or three, if Chad Henne wins the starting job from John Beck in Miami, who also has a rookie head coach in Tony Sparano – are notable in their own right, the most-watched new starter might be in Green Bay, where Aaron Rodgers will get to make his first career start for the Packers on the same night that Brett Favre gets his number retired at Lambeau Field, in a Monday night game against the NFC North rival Minnesota Vikings.
No pressure at all, Aaron, no pressure.
If you want to be the best, you’ve got to beat the best: After their impressive and surprising 10-6 season in 2007, the Cleveland Browns went out and made several big free-agent moves to aid their push towards the upper echelon of the crowded AFC, bringing in DTs Shaun Rogers (Detroit) and Corey Williams (Green Bay), and bringing in receiver Donte’ Stallworth (New England) to give them a legitimate #2 receiver opposite emerging star Braylon Edwards.
But, if they’re to repeat or better their 10-win season, Romeo Crennel’s Browns will have to do it the hard way, the very, very hard way. Their 2008 schedule sees them go up against the NFC East and AFC South, which are arguably the two deepest divisions in the league. So, that’s six games against 2007 playoff teams, including the reigning Super Bowl champions, and another two games against teams who finished 8-8 in 2007, and should push for a winning record and a playoff berth in 2008.
Throw in their divisional games against the Pittsburgh Steelers and in-state rival Cincinnati, along with games against decent (at least) Denver and Buffalo teams, and there’s hardly a ‘gimme’ game on Cleveland’s schedule.
Top picks meet in Week 3: On Saturday, the Atlanta Falcons, much to the chagrin of many fans, elected to go for Matt Ryan with the #3 pick instead of taking Glenn Dorsey. As a result, Dorsey fell to the Kansas City Chiefs at #5, and instead of having Ryan fall to them at #8, the Baltimore Ravens wound up making two trades that landed them Joe Flacco. So, that one move could affect the fortunes of multiple franchises one way or another (see this post for a fine example of how good decisions can make you, and bad decisions can set you back a couple of seasons, at least).
Well, the Chiefs and the Falcons face off in the ATL in Week 3, so we’ll be able to get a pretty early indication of the progression (or regression) of each team with their new additions. The second that Dorsey knocks the snot out of Ryan (if he’s in), will he be wishing that he had gone to a team with a better offensive line, though he might be pretty happy that he doesn’t have to worry about Jared Allen…well, not until Week 16, at least.
On a related note, we’ll get to see right out of the gate just what kind of potential the new-look Chiefs have, because they start the season with a trip to New England.
Ohio St. vs. Michigan all over again? Vernon Gholston was one of only two people to register a sack against Jake Long in Long’s career at Michigan. Their rivalry will be renewed for what should be the first of many meetings on the pro level when Long’s Dolphins go up against Gholston’s Jets in the season opener in Miami.
When Henne takes the reins for the Dolphins, which he should at some point in the near future, that feeling of deja vu will increase even more.
Week 17 doesn’t shape up to be a throwaway week: The final week of the season can sometimes be used as a ‘rest week’ for teams heading into the postseason, where most starters play little, if at all, and really, what’s the entertainment in that?
In Week 17 last season, the Browns and Titans were fighting it out for the final playoff spot in the AFC, with Cleveland facing an easy opponent in the San Francisco 49ers, who had little to do besides play spoiler and help New England’s draft status with the first-rounder they so smartly traded to them. Meanwhile, Tennessee went to Indianapolis, who had nothing to play for, with the #2 seed in the AFC already wrapped up.
Cleveland won 20-7, but Indianapolis, without much reason to play their starters, lost 16-10 to hand the Titans a playoff berth.
This season, Week 17′s slate stands to have multiple games that mean something for both teams involved, as a few divisions could be decided. The AFC North could be up for grabs when Pittsburgh hosts Cleveland, while the NFC West could be decided in the desert with Arizona going up against Seattle. The biggest game could be in the City of Brotherly Love, where NFC East rivals Philadelphia and Dallas go at it in their regular-season finale.
These are just a few of the stories to follow in the 2008 season. Now that we know who will be playing where, it’s time to sit back and cross off the days on the calendar, because September 4th will be here before we know it.
To check out the full 2008 NFL schedule, click here.
And so that you can be there in person for some of those exciting matchups, how about
picking up your 2008 NFL regular-season tickets at StubHub, where you can also get tickets for
Hall of Fame weekend. And hey, it’s never too early to grab your seats for
Super Bowl XLIII in Tampa.
If there’s a really, really generous person who’d like to buy me one of those nice $240,000 seats for the big game, click the ‘Contact’ tab. I’m kidding…I’m not picky – I’ll take one of the ‘cheap’ seats too.
Talk about taking the cheap and easy road, the Patriots somehow have the biggest panzy schedule in the league after going 16-0* last year.
-Mike
http://www.pitchingideas.net
Great article. I also think that the New England Patriots will be a prime story line. I know just about everyone outside of that region is sick of hearing about them, but we’ve seen in recent history that Super Bowl losers have had an incredibly difficult time the following season.
However, as long as NE is in the AFC East they’re virtually guaranteed a playoff spot, so the drop won’t be precipitous. But how far will they fall?