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Sept. 6, 2005 Since February, fans of pro football have had to make do with arena football, NFL Europe and Canadian football, which, while good in their own right, just aren’t the same as the real thing. The wait will soon be over. The 2005 NFL season promises to be quite interesting. And although the defending Super Bowl champion New England Patriots insist that they’re starting from scratch like everyone else, the truth is that until someone knocks them from their perch, they are the team to beat. Few teams, though, have worn the bullseye better. There’s no “I” in that team anywhere. Here is a preview of the upcoming season. NFL 2005 Kickoff: On Thursday, September 8, New England hosts the Oakland Raiders in the season’s primetime kickoff game. This is only the second time these two teams have met since the infamous Tuck Rule playoff game that started the Patriots’ drive to victory in Super Bowl XXXVI at the end of the 2001 season. The Raiders beat the Patriots the next season 27-20 out in Oakland. Week 1 (September 11-12): The opening Sunday of the NFL season is always an emotional occasion. But as this falls on September 11, the anniversary of the horrible terrorist attacks on New York and Washington, emotions will be very strong indeed. Both the Giants and the Redskins open at home against old foes. The Arizona Cardinals, sporting sharp new uniforms and old familiar face Kurt Warner, visit their old NFC East rivals from Gotham. Washington, starting the second, and possibly last, year of the second Joe Gibbs era, hopes that this visit from Chicago isn’t as bad as one the Bears paid back in 1940, when they blasted the Redskins 73-0 in the championship game. Eerily enough, the Jets will be on the road at Kansas City, a team they last visited in 1998. A Jets win will give each team 15 wins in the overall regular-season series. The first Monday-night tilt of the season is a rematch of last year’s NFC Championship Game. This time, though, the Eagles will be visiting the Falcons. The Georgia Dome will be rocking, as a primetime crowd will be on hand to cheer the home time. Week 2 (September 18-19): The Carolina Panthers host the Patriots, in their first meeting since Super Bowl XXXVIII. It’s an important game for the Panthers, who open Week 1 at home against NFC South rival New Orleans. A 2-0 start will have folks in Charlotte thinking playoffs, especially if everyone is healthy. An 0-2 start is something the Panthers, and every other team in the league, wants to avoid. The Saints, meanwhile, will play their home opener in New Jersey because of the damage done by Hurricane Katrina. The NFL will donate a portion of the gate proceeds from their game against the Giants to the relief efforts. The game will either be played on Sunday, as part of a day-night doubleheader with the Jets, or on Monday night. There are a number of division-rival games this week—Lions at Bears, Jaguars at Colts, Rams at Cardinals, Chargers at Broncos, Dolphins at Jets, Chiefs at Oakland (in primetime on Sunday night), and Redskins at Cowboys (in primetime on Monday night). Week 3 (September 25-26): The Patriots visit the scene of two of their AFC Championship Game triumphs, Heinz Field, to take on the Steelers. This likely will be the national game for CBS’s doubleheader this week, as Pittsburgh tries to avenge last season’s 41-27 loss in the championship game. The Chiefs, meanwhile, have a Monday-night tilt against old foe Denver. Kansas City could be 2-0 going into this game, but Invesco Field at Mile High is not exactly the like the friendly confines of Arrowhead Stadium. Interconference match-ups dominated the schedule this week. Among the ones to watch are Falcons at Bills, Panthers at Dolphins, Raiders at Eagles, and Titans at Rams. The byes begin this week, too, as Baltimore, Detroit, Houston and Washington have the week off. Week 4 (October 2-3): For the first time in NFL history, a regular-season game will be played outside the United States. The Cardinals will be the host team when they face the San Francisco 49ers in Mexico City. Unfortunately, the running joke is that the Cardinals will draw a larger crowd there than in Tempe. But the NFL has given Mexico a good look with exhibition games in the past, and been pleased by the crowds and support there. Don’t be surprised if an old club itching to move doesn’t go south of the border to cash in. The game will be in shown in primetime on Sunday night. Other games of note this week are Colts at Titans (Peyton Manning’s annual appearance in Tennessee) and Packers at Panthers (on Monday night, here in Charlotte). The Bears, the Browns, the Dolphins and the Steelers get to watch the action from home this week. Week 5 (October 9-10): Fox’s national game this week will likely be the Eagles at the Cowboys. These two old NFC East foes don’t care for one another, and they seem to be headed in opposite directions. While Philadelphia won the division for the fourth straight season and gave New England a serious fight in Super Bowl XXXIX, Dallas followed up a 10-6 campaign from 2003 with a 6-10 finish in 2004. Only a season sweep of Washington saved them from being last in the division. It will be interesting to see how far both teams have come at this point. Those of us in the Charlotte area won’t get to see this tilt without NFL Sunday Ticket. We’ll get the Panthers slugging it out against the mighty Cardinals in the second game that Sunday. Other games of note this week feature the Patriots at the Falcons (in a potential preview of Super Bowl XL), Seahawks at Rams, and Steelers at Chargers (on Monday night). The Chiefs, Vikings, Giants and Raiders all have the week off. Week 6 (October 16-17): What Atlanta does in Week 5 against New England will likely dictate how they fare against New Orleans in Week 6. The Falcons lead the overall regular-season series 41-30, but the Saints have beaten them three of the last four meetings. If Atlanta beats New England, the Saints have to like their odds for an upset. If New England wins, the Saints might do better taking the day off and their coach, Jim Haslett, might have to dust off his resume. Key divisional games this week include Browns at Ravens, Vikings at Bears, Giants at Cowboys, Jets at Bills, and Chargers at Raiders. Arizona, Green Bay, Philadelphia and San Francisco get their break this week. Week 7 (October 23-24): During the holidays last season, the Vikings blew a golden opportunity to unseat Green Bay as NFC North champions. They won’t have to wait too long for their first crack at them this year. And they better make the most of the opportunity. Their next meeting will be a primetime affair, on the frozen tundra of Lambeau Field. This week’s schedule has several interconference matchups. Among the more interesting will have the Chargers taking on the Eagles and the Jets visiting the Falcons (on Monday night). Key division games involve the Steelers at the Bengals and the Colts visiting the Texans. Two of the leagues big cats, the Panthers and the Jaguars, will take the week off to lick their wounds. New England and Tampa Bay will join them on the sidelines. Week 8 (October 30-31): There have been some scary games played around Halloween over the years, including one tilt in which the Packers and Bears faced each other in a driving rainstorm. This year’s game, between the Ravens and the Steelers on Monday night, will involve more drama than picking our your little ghoul’s trick-or-treat outfit. If my wife’s right, Tommy Maddox will be guiding Pittsburgh by then. Question is, who’ll be guiding Baltimore if Kyle Boller hasn’t panned out? Key division games this week include Bears at Lions, Redskins at Giants, Chiefs at Chargers and Bills at Patriots (on Sunday night). Other games of interest include Vikings at Panthers, Raiders at Titans, and Eagles at Broncos. The Falcons, Jets and Seahawks will join the Colts on the ground for the bye-week. Week 9 (November 6-7): Every time the Indianapolis Colts seem like their going to plow on to the Super Bowl, they keep running into a roadblock of red, white and blue. The New England Patriots will host this only regular-season meeting between these old divisional rivals on Monday night. If it comes down to a tiebreaker for home-field advantage in the playoffs, Indy will want this win in their pocket. Games of note this week include the Bengals at the Ravens, Texans at Jaguars, Raiders at Chiefs, Lions at Vikings, Steelers at Packers, and Eagles at Redskins (on Sunday night). Buffalo, Dallas, Denver and St. Louis are off this week. Week 10 (November 13-14): A lot of people think the Jacksonville Jaguars have what it takes to challenge for the AFC South crown. They will get a huge test this week when the Baltimore Ravens come to town. Byron Leftwich is rounding into shape as a top signal-caller, and the Jags defense loves to hit. It could be a long day for Baltimore, especially if the offense struggles. Other games of interest this week include the Chiefs at the Bills, Patriots at Dolphins, Vikings at Giants, Jets at Panthers, Broncos at Raiders, Packers at Falcons, and Cowboys at Eagles (on Monday night). The Bengals, Saints, Chargers and Titans have the week off. Week 11 (November 20-21): Remember that Week 7 preview of the Packers-Vikings game? Well, here’s that Monday-night tundra tilt I was telling you about. And here’s my prediction right now—whoever wins this game wins the NFC North. That’s because whoever wins will hold the first tiebreaker, head-to-head, when it comes time to dole out playoff berths. This game is that big. If the Vikings win, the Packers may be reduced to doing a swan-song lap for Brett Farve, who may very well call it quits after this season. If the Packers win, the Super Bowl-ticket scandal will not be the excuse the Vikings use when it ushers Mike Tice out the door. All 32 teams will be playing this weekend, with the bye-weeks over, and there are some dandies on the slate—Buccaneers at Falcons, Eagles at Giants, Jaguars at Titans, Steelers at Ravens, and Jets at Broncos. Week 12 (November 24-28): There’s no greater tradition in sports than the Lions and Cowboys hosting football on Thanksgiving. This year, Detroit draws a Falcons team that should be rounding into playoff form. Dallas, meanwhile, gets a Denver team that will only be as good as its starting quarterback. Memo to Jake Plummer: Make sure you’re still Denver’s quarterback at Week 12. Games of note this week include Panthers at Bills, Ravens at Bengals, Patriots at Chiefs, Chargers at Redskins, Packers at Eagles, and Steelers at Colts (on Monday night). The Saints also appear in primetime this week, making a second trip to the Meadowlands to take on the Jets on Sunday night. Week 13 (December 4-5): The Carolina Panthers have not had much success against the Falcons. They are 6-14 during their first ten seasons, and have been outscored 426-331. If Carolina is serious about winning the NFC South and getting to the Super Bowl, they have to get this win at home against Atlanta. This weekend is dominated by divisional matchups that will undoubtedly have bearing on the playoffs. Those games include Packers at Bears, Vikings at Lions, Titans at Colts, Bills at Dolphins, Buccaneers at Saints (wherever the Saints call home this season), Cowboys at Giants, Bengals at Steelers, Broncos at Chiefs, Jets at Patriots, and Raiders at Chargers (on Sunday night). Week 14 (December 11-12): By the time this week rolls around, the Saints will have already won the affection of football fans everywhere. Not only has the team been displaced from its normal home, the Louisiana Superdome, but it will represent a city that will not be the same for many years to come. They will be a feel-good story to everyone, except the Falcons, who look to strengthen their position in the division with a late-season matchup at home, with a Monday-night audience looking on. Look for more divisional games to hold sway on the playoff picture. The Patriots visit the Bills, the Buccaneers face the Panthers, the Browns are at the Bengals, and the Colts are at the Jaguars in some of the more critical contests. Week 15 (December 17-19): Action cranks up on Saturday this week with three games—the Buccaneers at the Patriots (the early game on Fox), the Chiefs at the Giants (the middle game on CBS), and the Broncos at the Bills (the late game on ESPN)—to fill the void left by college football. Other games with possible playoff implications this week include Chargers at Colts, Jets at Dolphins, Panthers at Saints, Cowboys at Redskins, and a key interconference tilt between the Packers and the Ravens. Week 16 (December 24-26): Last-minute shoppers can sit back for a bit and catch a full slate of on Christmas Eve, which falls on Saturday this year. Key matchups include Cowboys at Panthers, Steelers at Browns, Chargers at Chiefs, Falcons at Buccaneers, Giants at Redskins and Raiders at Broncos. Two games are on tap for Christmas Day—the Bears visit the Packers and the Vikings visit the Ravens. And the day after Christmas, the Patriots visit the Jets. This will be the final Monday-night football telecast for ABC, which is giving up the package after this season. Week 17 (December 31-January 1): Two New Year’s Eve games—Broncos at Chargers and Giants at Raiders—may have playoff implications, or just be a good excuse for fans to get an early nip of egg nog to numb the pain of missing the playoffs. New Year’s Day promises to be a fitting end to the regular season, with several key divisional contests—Panthers at Falcons, Ravens at Browns, Bears at Vikings, Dolphins at Patriots (someone please hide the snowplow), Bills at Jets, Saints at Buccaneers, Titans at Jaguars, and Redskins at Eagles. The Wild Card round will be played on the weekend of January 7. ABC will host the games on Saturday, with CBS showing an AFC game and Fox an NFC game on Sunday. The Divisional Playoffs following the weekend of January 14. CBS and Fox will each carry a game on Saturday and Sunday. The AFC and NFC championship games will be played on January 22. For only the third time in NFL history, the Super Bowl will be played in a northern city. Detroit has the honors for the second time, as it will host Super Bowl XL at Ford Field on February 5. ABC will close out its NFL coverage with this showcase game. The season wraps up on February 12 in Honolulu, at the AFC-NFC Pro Bowl. This marks the twenty-seventh year that Hawaii has hosted the Pro Bowl, a partnership that has been a very successful one for the state and the NFL. The Pro Bowl is the only all-star event to be played on a completely neutral site, at the end of the sport’s season, and in a location not in the continental United States. ESPN will provide coverage. ------------ About the author: Claxton Graham has written a number of articles for Useless Knowledge. He works as a business systems analyst. Email: scifiwriter8502@email.com Tell a friend about this site! ------------ All articles are EXCLUSIVE to Useless-Knowledge.com and are not allowed to be posted on other websites. ARTICLE THIEVES WILL BE PROSECUTED! |
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