NFL Schedule: Patriots Victimized by Week One Travesty

Kelly Lytle rails against an obvious snub by the league's scheduling honchos.

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Sports

April 01, 2008

The New England Patriots are not playing on primetime during the NFL’s opening weekend.

The team that captivated an entire sports-nation throughout last season has been cast aside as an also-ran for the 2008’s inaugural weekend.

How can we not be shocked by this news?

New England is unquestionably the NFL’s biggest attraction. For an entire NFL season, they toyed with the emotions of all football fans. If you were from the Northeast (or were an adopted Patriots fan) then you celebrated each win with convincing authority. They didn’t just beat teams, they embarrassed them.

Forget Bridget and Giselle. Tom Brady’s most explosive fireworks came from his connections with Randy Moss on the football field. With each victory, perfection seemed more and more probable.

And with each victory, those outside Patriots’ Nation grew increasingly frustrated. Cries rang in decrying this team as cheaters, profiteers of an elaborate video-cheating scheme. Their coach, with his impeccable resume, was called a curmudgeon, criticized by the national media more for his choice in sweatshirts than for his play-calling and game management.

Yet no matter which side of the fence you found yourself standing on, it was impossible not to be captivated by what transpired during the 2007 season. Love and hate, there were no other emotions involved.

When the New York Giants pulled their best David impersonation in Super Bowl XLII, the world outside New England rejoiced. I’m surprised Don Shula and Mercury Morris didn’t go so far as to host a Giants victory parade in the streets of Miami in the days following the upset.

Despite the Super Bowl loss, the Patriots remain the NFL’s preeminent attraction. Super Bowl XLII was the most watched Super Bowl of all-time and the regular season meeting between the Patriots and Giants was the most watched regular season NFL game since 1995. Tom Brady is the biggest star in the NFL. Randy Moss is more dangerous to opposing defenses than Roger Clemens’ testimony is to his freedom.

No, the Patriots will not be playing in primetime opening weekend. Instead the NFL brings us the Giants and Redskins, the Bears and Colts, Packers and Vikings and finally, the Broncos and Raiders. All interesting matchups, all games where the teams have great histories playing against each other. However, outside of the Giants and Redskins, none of these games are as appealing as seeing the New England Patriots return to primetime.

The defending champion Giants deserve to be at the forefront of the NFL’s opening weekend—especially when the contest is against a passionate rival such as the Redskins. But do any of the other games inspire levels of emotion anywhere near those the Patriots would generate?

Peyton Manning vs. the Bears defense? Please, that game was played two Super Bowls ago and everyone knows how exciting it was.

Green Bay vs. Minnesota does present a few intriguing storylines: Aaron Rodgers starting his first game in the post-Brett Favre era in Green Bay, the electrifying and hard-nosed running of Vikings TB Adrian Peterson to name two. However, I’ll take Tom Brady and his impeccable abilities over a QB match-up pitting Aaron Rodgers vs. Tarvaris Jackson any day of the week.

And what do we make of Denver vs. Oakland? Granted, this is one of the NFL’s fiercest rivalries. Last time I checked, though, Denver completely missed last year’s playoffs and Oakland has been busy this off-season spending like the women from Real Housewives. No, I’m pretty sure I’d rather see how New England’s offensive brain trust approaches this season after the Giants so successfully dismantled them in the Super Bowl than sit through another 60 minutes of Jay Cutler’s errant passes.

With its decision to leave New England off the primetime schedule for opening week, the NFL is making a clear statement. The black eye delivered to the Patriots’ reputation from the “Spygate” scandal is enough of a deterrent from a publicity standpoint that the league would rather push it to the backburner during the season’s first weekend. I’m not sure if this is an attempt by the league to “punish” New England or not.

What I am sure of, though, is that on the weekend pro football returns to center-stage, I want to watch the league’s most intriguing team in primetime. Controversies or not, New England deserves a place in one of these games.

Sports

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comments (20) write a comment »

reply to comment by Anonymous
5 months ago

Well done!! love the "David" and "Real Housewives" references...My one pseudo negative critique would be that you did not mention "Spygate" until the last paragragh. It's clear your intent was to not focus on Spygate, but I must admit as I was reading paragraph by paragraph I was wondering why it had not been mentioned? It's obvious that is a huge, (if not the only) reason why they are not being aired on primetime. But again, to focus on that would be a completely different story...Over all I enjoyed it very much, well thought out and well written...in fact, there for a second I thought I was reading O'Reilly from Page 2 on espn.com. Weellll maybe not that good, but definite potential!!!
1. by Dave
  from 4 months ago
  
  He mentioned it in the 4th paragraph, he just didnt call it spygate.
reply to comment by Steve
5 months ago

I do agree-the Pats should be some where in the opening lineup for the NFL season start. I'm begining to develope a nervous twitch, coupled by a conspiracy theory about not only why the Pats, the most TV viewed team in the NFL and the record setting all time TV audience in the US does not have an opening game on the opening day of the '08 season, but also why aren't the Pats playing the Giants? Perhaps the NFL is trying to keep the Pats beat down a bit? Perhaps the NFL doesn't want the Pats to come back with a vengance and man-handle the Giants, thus putting doubt in peoples mind that the Giants are indeed the world champs....perhaps...perhaps....perhaps I'm just over exhaggerating all of this, and am way off base here......or am I?

Either way, good points you brought up, and I agree with all of them!
reply to comment by Anonymous
5 months ago

The Pats are a formiable team with no indications that they couldn't do it again. Until this whole Matt Walsh/Spygate thing is over, it will be hanging around thier necks like an albatross. Is it a snub? Probably. I'm sure they will use it as fodder for another season of "us against the world". Fortunately for the rest of the NFL, the Northeast and the "adopted Pats fans" (also known as bandwagoneers) don't write the schedule. Good article.
reply to comment by Anonymous
5 months ago

Unless you are a Pats fan everyone else hates the team. Everyone sees them as cheaters. Where do you get your stats regarding the most tv viewed team in the NFL?
The Cowboys probably have the biggest fan base out there.
reply to comment by Anonymous
5 months ago

Think about it. Maximum limit for Pats on primetime is 6 games. We got 16 games to go. I prefer them on primetime and away from NFL network later in the season and when they play against formidable opponents. Those who wait the longest get rewarded the best.
reply to comment by Stew
5 months ago

if you go to profootballtalk.com they talk about this issue and have a great reason why the Patriots (and other very popular teams like the Cowboys) are not part of the NFL's primetime opening weekend - because the NFL does not need the patriots that weekend. love them or hate them, the Pats are a huge ratings draw. I don't know if they get the best ratings, but they are among the best. But there is a rule limiting how many nationally televised games a team can have. The NFL knows everyone will watch opening weekend (for example, see last year's terrible 49ers-Cardinals game to open MNF). So why waste one of those slots on the Patriots (or cowboys) if you don't have to.
1. by Kelly
  from 4 months ago
  
  Thanks to everyone for pointing out the limit to the number of primetime appearances one team can make in the regular season. In my haste to write this morning I neglected to think about this fact. Though by no means am I a Pats fan, I do hope to see them scheduled to play in primetime when the NFL's full schedule is released.
2. by Kelly
  from 4 months ago
  
  Thanks to everyone for pointing out the limit to the number of primetime appearances one team can make in the regular season. In my haste to write this morning I neglected to think about this fact. Though by no means am I a Pats fan, I do hope to see them scheduled to play in primetime when the NFL's full schedule is released.
3. by Kelly
  from 4 months ago
  
  Thanks to everyone for pointing out the limit to the number of primetime appearances one team can make in the regular season. In my haste to write this morning I neglected to think about this fact. Though by no means am I a Pats fan, I do hope to see them scheduled to play in primetime when the NFL's full schedule is released.
4. by Kelly
  from 4 months ago
  
  Thanks to everyone for pointing out the limit to the number of primetime appearances one team can make in the regular season. In my haste to write this morning I neglected to think about this fact. Though by no means am I a Pats fan, I do hope to see them scheduled to play in primetime when the NFL's full schedule is released.
reply to comment by Anonymous
5 months ago

Uh, I think the NFL knows everyone will be watching prime time week 1 to get their NFL fix, so they're saving the best matchups for later in the season.
reply to comment by John
5 months ago

So what?

Are YOU still going to see the game?
reply to comment by Jacob
4 months ago

Maybe they just want to open the season with some games where everyone watching doesn't know who's going to win.
reply to comment by Sam
4 months ago

I notice you forgot to mention who the Pats are playing.

Chances are, it'll be an unexciting game that's dominated by Tom Brady against a meager defense that can't do anything to slow him down.

Enthralling.
reply to comment by Eric
4 months ago

EXCLUDING PAT FANS; NEWS FLASH- WERE TIRED OF THEM !!!!!!

old defense- boring as hell T. Brady and bitch #1 Moss and they all low class NOW!!!
reply to comment by XXX
4 months ago

It won't be long till they are primetime once more each and every week, I say enjoy the break.
reply to comment by Anonymous
4 months ago

Good marketing decision by the league - America is still trying to get the taste of the 24/7 Patriot TV coverage out if their mouths. Their Super Bowl loss helped, but jebus...
reply to comment by Anonymous
4 months ago

Believe it or not there is more to the NFL than the Patriots. Is it possible that fans are just sick of the "dream team"? Put the spotlight on the some of the other teams. It's bound to be more interesting than watching the Pats steamroll another victim.
reply to comment by Anonymous
4 months ago

The Cowgirls! Biggest fan base? Where? In Dallass maybe!