Sunday day games to night games...

[CrazyCowboy]

I just as soon to play early so I can sleep after the game......I get so wound up especially on a loss, I cannot sleep on late games

 

[jlust22]

Saints might not march in at noon on Dec. 10

By Barry Horn/Dallas Morning News

06:52 PM CDT on Friday, October 27, 2006

If you're planning your Dec. 10 around a noon Texas Stadium kickoff for the Saints-Cowboys, you may want to think again.

Of the eligible Cowboys games, it is the only one likely to be "flexed" to Sunday night.

Welcome to the world of "flex" Sunday night scheduling, where published schedules aren't always what they appear to be.

For years, the NFL and its network partners have been shuffling late-season games between the noon and the more desirable 3 p.m. time slots on Sundays. We've become so used to it, we hardly notice.

This year, with the advent of the first-ever Sunday night package on network television, the NFL has added that 7:15 p.m. slot, sold to NBC, to the second-half shuffle.

The idea is to have meaningful games played in prime time. Recent ABC Monday Night Football schedules, set in stone in the spring, produced too many late-season games between teams playing for high draft picks rather than high playoff positions.

ABC lobbied for years for a flex schedule. But the NFL was loath to move game days. A same-day game-time switch, however, produces fewer logistical problems.

This season's final seven Sunday night games have not been announced. The games have been penciled in for NFL eyes only but not revealed, allowing the NFL to shuffle matchups that may have greater national interest. The flex deadline is 12 days before kickoff.

On Tuesday, the NFL announced early that the first "flex game" on Nov. 12 will be the Bears at Giants. Coincidentally, that was the game the league had penciled in for NBC's 7:15 p.m. start.

In an effort to be fair to CBS and Fox, the league earlier this month allowed each to protect five games over the seven-week Sunday flex span. There is an eighth Sunday tucked in there, but NBC does not have a game scheduled on Christmas Eve.

Like the league, the networks have been mum on flex scheduling. They have not revealed their protected games.

Which brings us back to why the Saints-Cowboys game is prime for prime time. Know that because of their other NBC appearances as well as those on ESPN and the NFL Network, league rules allow for only one Cowboys game to be flexed. So let's go with the process of elimination.

On Nov. 19, the Cowboys host the Colts. You can be certain that CBS, which gets only two Dallas games this season, protected this matchup against Peyton Manning, the AFC's top draw. The network has been promoting this game since the schedule was announced. The only switch here would be from the scheduled noon kickoff to 3 p.m.

The Thanksgiving game against the Buccaneers is not eligible to be flexed from Thursday to Sunday.

You can bet your house that Fox protected the Dec. 3 game against the Giants, which features one the league's ratings magnets against the league's biggest TV market. It is another candidate to move from noon to 3 p.m.

The game Saturday night, Dec. 16 at the Falcons belongs to the NFL Network and cannot be flexed to another night. There is no Dec. 24 game.

Of course, there is the Dec. 31 meeting with the Lions. You think the NFL wants to see the hapless Lions in prime time?

The Saints, on the other hand, are the NFL's feel-good story of the year. Fox would not protect the Cowboys-Saints the week after it protected the Cowboys-Giants. It's too risky to use two of the five options on the same team in consecutive weeks.

If the Cowboys' offensive line can offer the slightest protection for Tony Romo, you'll need an extra couple of layers to sit through another night game.

E-mail bhorn@***BANNED-URL***

 

[Tuna Helper]

The flex deadline is 12 days before kickoff.

This goes back to my point. 2 weeks is the normal time to change travel plans without breaking the bank, not 12 days. Couldn't they change it to something like 16 days to give people time to shuffle travel plans, and possibly schedule time off work the following Monday? Do 4 more days make that much of a difference? Clearly, the NFL is throwing a bone to the travel industry.

I have tix to the Saints/Cowboys game, but I have chosen to drive to avoid changing flight plans due to this flex scheduling BS. I saw this coming when the Saints started hot on a winning streak.

 

[MC KAos]

so when do they announce the game for that week?? i see they got it through week 10 when the bears play the giants, when will they say week 11's game??

 

[MC KAos]

can anyone merge this with the other thread on this topic? i had missed it