REP: 2014 NFL Schedule Release with John Elway and Jim Nantz

2014 NFL Schedule Release with John Elway and Jim Nantz... The 2014 NFL season kicks off with a rematch of one of the more infamous games in NFL history. Aaron Rodgers and the Packers look to avenge their loss in the "Fail Mary" game when they head to the Pacific Northwest to take on Russell Wilson and the defending Super Bowl champion Seahawks.  What a way to kick off the 2014 season, right? And that's only a small sample of what the folks in the NFL scheduling department have served up for the 2014 schedule, which now includes 16 Thursday Night Football games that will air on both CBS and NFL Network.  Rich Eisen, along with producers Chris Law and Chris Brockman, take a full look at the entire 2014 schedule and talk about some of the new broadcast rules, including the NFL's ability to flex schedule Sunday Night Football games as early as week 5 and what the newly announced "cross-flexing" means for viewers on Sundays.    Broncos EVP of football operations John Elway then joins Rich to break down Denver's 2014 schedule.  The slate welcomes Andrew Luck and the Colts to Mile High for the Broncos’ season opener, plus a Super Bowl XLVIII rematch with Seattle in Week 3. Eisen then says "hello friend" to Jim Nantz, who takes over the play-by-play commentary on the new-look "Thursday Night Football" package on which NFL Network and CBS have partnered. Eisen and Nantz examine the entire TNF schedule, which includes an unprecedented 14 divisional rivalry games this year.   Enjoy, and as always, thanks for downloading!

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Jerry Steinfeld, good to see you. So it's the New
York super Bowl. We're in New York City, but the
game itself is in New Jersey. The team's play in
New Jersey, Jerry, that's the no one cares no. Colin Hanks,
good to see you, sir. Pete Carroll. He's the kind

(00:20):
of step dad you dream about. He's the kind of
step that's I Haye Man. We'll watch a movie with
Will Ferrell, Steve Carrell, Dave Keckner. I'll run. Could you
write a comedy sketch for Bill Belichick? This is It's
great to be here in New York. We've got a
great show, he said. We guess sound Garden. Bruce Dern,

(00:42):
Jack young Blood. Bruce, you need to write a book.
I did right. I wrote one. It was six years ago.
Where were you, Brick? Why didn't you buy it? Adam
Carolla here in studio, A lot of guys have lower
back pain. I have upper sack and that's because of
Ridge Eyes And there go hello everyone in fact for
joining us. I'm Richard Eisen. I don't download many podcasts,

(01:08):
but when I do, I prefer Rich Eyes and podcast.
Here's your host, rich Hey everybody, Welcome to a special
two thousand fourteen scheduled edition of the Rich Eyes and Podcast.
It came out on Wednesday, Uh, the it being the
two thousand fourteen National Football League schedule. Chris law and

(01:30):
Chris Brockman, you have just received copies of it. Were
we are taping this hours before the schedule release show.
It's what they call hot, Rich is literally hot off
the presses. I received this about two hours ago, and
as I tweeted out moments ago, if you just to
date the show, uh, people find the timeline. I tweeted

(01:50):
out that I've just spent an hour with the schedule
in preparation for tonight show. And as I tweeted, this
is not a humble brag, it's a straight brag. That's
a straight brack and and and years ago, when we
first did this on NFL network, make a television show
out of the release of the NFL schedule, we were
mercilessly mocked as a young network trying to make something

(02:14):
out of nothing, trying to put the NFL on on
a in a headline type environment, when this is the
sort of stuff that's just an agat type uh piece
of information. Especially also since the minute the season's over,
everybody knows who plays who and who plays who where.

(02:36):
The opponents for the following season are determined by fourteen
of the sixteen opponents are determined by rotation. That you
know who you play obviously within your division, and by
rotation you know which division plays which division within the
conference and which division out of conference. It's on by
a rotation. For instance, the a f C East plays
the a f C West this year. The last time

(02:58):
that happens two thousand eleven. Last time that before that
was two thousand and eight. So now we know all
of that. The only thing that you don't know who
are the other two opponents, And that is based on
your order of finish within your division. And so we
know who plays who and where because it comes out

(03:18):
your division opponents, and I guess it's determined by sheer
luck or how. That's the thing I don't know is
how do you determine who plays where? Because you know
New England was gonna play Denver again just because it
was the a f C East against the a f
C West, But they didn't know they were gonna play
Indianapolis and didn't know they were going to play uh

(03:39):
Cincinnati until those divisions were decided. But we found out
when the schedule came out that but the home in
that we knew that New England was gonna play um
home against Cincinnati, and they knew. We knew they were
gonna play at Indianapolis. We just didn't know that they
were gonna play Cincinnati on Sunday night on on Monday

(04:00):
night football schedule to be Monday or Sunday night football,
pardon me, against Cincinnati on October five, And didn't know
that they're gonna play at Indianapolis on a Sunday night
flex game on November didn't know that. We found that
out on Wednesday when the schedule came out. So we
make this big thing out of what people think is nothing.

(04:21):
But there's a lot that goes into planning and also
knowing what happens when the schedule comes out. You have
to play him. When you play him, you take a
look at who gets to play three in a row
on the road, who has to play through in the
road on the on the road, who finishes up where?
Because those end of the season division games end up

(04:43):
being huge. It's what Howard Kats, Mike North and Jonathan
Payne locked in a room there. Mike North, we chatted
with him in prior uh he called into our our
show meeting over a trillion possibilities for the NFL sketch. Wow,
there's over a trillion possibilities. And this year was particularly

(05:06):
difficult because of various things. For instance, three London games,
and what that means is that means there's three teams,
six teams that have to have by weeks the week
after have to and you have to figure out where
they're playing the week before. It has to be somewhat

(05:26):
geographically sound in order to get to London from there,
so they have to build that in Also the new
San Francisco Levi's Stadium. Did you know they can only
play games on Sunday there this year? I did not
know that. The reason for that is no. The reason

(05:47):
for that is is it's their first year that's there,
and most of the parking that's going to be used
it's in Silicon Valley. It's it's it's just down the
road from the San Jose Airport. It's a lot of
corporate parking lots that they're gonna need to use in
year one, So you can't have a game on a
Thursday or Monday because Google is using their parking spots.

(06:09):
You know, there's Google employees, there's Oracle employees. Right. Has
that been known before today? Before? It might have been,
but it really didn't become All their home games are
either Sunday or Sunday night, for instance, the Levi Stadium debut,
because the San Francisco fort start the season on the road.

(06:31):
Just to start digging. That's what we're gonna do on
this show. Is just digging too schedules as we as
we come up and talk about it. And John Elway,
I chat with John Elway on this program and Jim
Nance who's gonna be the voice of Thursday Night Football
this year. We say hello friends to him and remind
people we had a great one earlier this week of
the general manager of the Rams and UH and Larry Fitzgerald.
So go check that up. But San Francisco opens up

(06:53):
the season on the road at the Jones the Hall
at Dallas. That is a late afternoon Sunday game on Fox,
and then their home Sunday night that's Week two of
NBC Sunday Night Football. They open up Levi's Stadium with
the Chicago Bears, so they play all their games on Sunday.

(07:14):
And also they couldn't have a game week seven. You
know why because there was a Santa Clara quilt show.
That's a real thing, true story, Mike North. These are
also other things in addition to baseball stadiums that are
multi purpose. We're also you know, the or or parking
is shared. Like in Baltimore, Minnesota. We all know they're

(07:37):
they're they're outdoors this year at the University of Minnesota.
There's considerations about college games obviously, then there's also considerations
about um Week nine in Chicago, the Bears have a
rugby match on Saturday. There there's a soccer match MetLife
week eleven. Nothing does the needle like Santa Clara quilt.

(08:02):
The Santa Clara quilt. Should you take a look at
week number eleven on your NFL schedule, Week number of
the eleventh weekend, as they would say, the Giants are
playing the San Francisco forty Niners uh at home at
one Eastern time the day before. There's a soccer game

(08:22):
now with the field tur if you don't have an issue.
But in Chicago, Week nine is a rugby match, so
you take a look at you take a look at
at Chicago week number nine, and um, sure enough they're
on a bye week along with everybody else who who
was on in London the week before, which is Detroit

(08:45):
in Atlanta, I mean, and and those things create As
you see week nine, the number of teams on a
bye week, there's six of them. Yeah, that only happens
once or twice a year. Where there's six spots on
week nine and week ten there are six teams each
on bye weeks. Also was a major issue for the
NFL this year, will fully figure out the schedule. One

(09:05):
Direction how To Tour has a tour this fall. They're
hitting four different NFL stadiums. Oh my buddy, Harry Styles
creating problems for your buddy Mike North and Howard Kats
and the rest of the crew. Didn't Drew Brees do
a commercial with one Direction and I ran into I
ran into Harry Styles at an l A diner at

(09:26):
two thirty in the morning. So these things are all
going into how everything works fantastic And also this year,
to keep in mind, that's that's different about the schedule
is flex scheduling. The normal Sunday night games that are scheduled,

(09:47):
the league can still flex out of them in advance.
That's weeks eleven through sixteen on NBC. There are games
scheduled on the schedule right now to be on NBC.
Weeks eleven through sixteen is that limited. The league may
flex out of any of those games twelve days in advance.
They have to inform the teams that they've been flexed out,

(10:10):
and then choose from a pool of games that CBS
and Fox have left unprotected when they made their peremptories.
They can only protect a handful of games, and they
make that decision after Week five. That's the way things work.
After Week five is over, CBS and Fox tell the NFL,

(10:32):
I believe it's three games that or four games that
they need to that they can't be touched if hands off.
Weeks eleven and sixteen are through sixteen are flexed out
this year, Weeks five through ten on the Sunday night
schedule can also be flexed out. However, here's how that works.

(10:53):
The NFL will tell the two teams involved that they
may be like, say week six, Week five, weeks six,
what's the week six Thursday Sunday Night football game? Let's
just a Week six is Giants at Eagles. Let's say,
Eli mannings uh Ankle gives away. Suddenly, I know all

(11:13):
the Giant fans like, let's just I'm just throwing that
out there, okay. And and suddenly and Nick Foles has
a hamstring issue. Suddenly it's Josh Freeman against Mark Sanchez
Week six on NBC. Where two teams are you know,

(11:34):
two in three or three and two or two in
or one and four? Right, what just throwing that out there.
So what the league will do is call up CBS
and Fox twelve days before, right after Week four is over,
and say to him, Eagles and Giants is in jeopardy.

(11:56):
We're thinking of switching out and CBS and Fox and
have twenty four hours to call the league up and say,
here's the one week six game you can't touch. So
is that a couple of questions? One the league is
calling them, not NBC. Isn't saying we want NBC My well,

(12:16):
I don't think. I don't I don't think the n
F I think let's put it this way, the NFL
and NBC will be on the same page. Okay. Second
question is they can only choose from the afternoon games, correct,
the four o'clock games. That's what I know. I could
choose from the one or the four. They can choose
from anything except for except for except for well, one
o'clock is the afternoon. I know you're talking specific time

(12:38):
here in your head. Yeah, no, I'm at four o'clock,
all right, But no, you can choose from. Well, here's
what they say. They call up CBS and Fox and say,
we're thinking of doing this. You've got twenty four hours
to tell us one the one game we can't touch.
CBS and Fox call back the NFL and say here's
the one game you can't touch. The NFL will then
sit there and go, well, from the rest of the pool,

(13:01):
you know, Freeman against Sanchez is still better. We're gonna
stick with it, and we are no worse the wiser.
We don't even know that it was even being considered
about being flexed or after the one peremptories are taken
in the twenty four hour period, the league looks at

(13:22):
the rest of the schedule goes, well, you know what,
that other game is better than the one that we think.
Giants and Eagles will be flexed. But they can only
do that twice in weeks five ten, So the league
has to be wise, like, you know, do we go
ahead and make that switch in week six, because that
means we'll have one less opportunity in weeks eight, nine,

(13:44):
and ten maybe. So there's a lot of games of
cat and mouse they're going on, as you picked a
good week weeks six because another game that could possibly
look as sexy Cowboys at Seahawks, Well, you know, Cowboys
at Seahawks will be the one that you know prodected. Yeah, well,
you know, Cowboys of Sihous is a Fox game. Fox.
That's another thing too. By the way, there are six

(14:06):
games on the schedule that you can you know, normally
we go, well, that's a Fox game because and I
know we're getting deep here, but that's what this podcast
is for, all right, for those who are somewhat uninitiated
or may not be as familiar with the television scene.
Certainly if you're overseas and this whole Fox CBS thing
doesn't matter to you because you have a different way
to watch your games. The away team, whatever conference that

(14:31):
is in, you can figure out which network is covering it.
CBS has the American Football Conference package. Fox has the
National Football Conference package. Whichever team is on the road,
that's the conference whose network gets to cover it, except
in six cases this year. They're calling this cross flexing,

(14:55):
which sounds like a terrible workout regimen. But I'm also
hearing the phrase because networks are being switched. All you
need to know is the game times aren't being switched,
the game days aren't being switched. Just where you normally
would think you're going to tune in with CBS and
you don't see your team there. For instance, Week one
Bills at Bears. Bills is the a f C team.

(15:18):
You think that's a CBS game, That one's on Fox.
And the reason why they do that is they take
a look at the games that CBS would have. Okay,
and CBS and Week number one in the first opening window,
Patriots and Dolphins, Raiders and Jets are going to get Steelers, Jaguars. Well,

(15:41):
I mean those are gonna be the ones. At least
I'm just throwing the Patriots, Dolphins, Raiders, and Jets. They
may get bigger windows then certainly Bills and Bears, and
Fox doesn't have as many early games, so they just say,
you know what, people will more of the country will
get to see this game when it's on Fox based
on CBS. Does this make any sense to you? So

(16:02):
they're switching that whenever they see that one network has
bigger games in a window, that another game that's on
that network in the same window will get to be
seen by a fewer percentage of the country that would
be larger if it just happened to be on another network.
They're gonna send it to another network. That's happening six
times this year. The biggest game that that is happening

(16:24):
with this was an eyebrow raiser, to say the least.
The biggest game that this is happening with is week
twelve deep into the season, week before Thanksgiving, Red Redskins
at forty Niners. Normally that's a Fox game, it's on CBS.

(16:48):
And the reason for that is is you take a
look at the other games that Fox has on throughout
the day. They you know, Bucks play the Bears. Then
that's Lovey Smith's return to Chicago Packers Vikings Packers VI
Kings is one that leaps out at you Patriots question
on this. Okay, so those those are all games that's
gonna be cross flexed or since it involves network they

(17:11):
want to. I think they're gonna end up calling it netflexing,
which comes which you're one syllable away from a major
copyright infringement. But it makes sense. It's a netflex Netflix.
It's not a cross flex. It's a netflex both workouts
coming to West Hollywood. It is, in fact, yeah, neither
of which I think I want to do. Um question,

(17:34):
So with this cross flexing, and we may not have
the flex of this, can a game then be flexed
by NBC that's tagged for cross flexing if they want
to do that. It's entirely possible. I guess secret flexing,
secret flexing. But the reason another reason why they wanted
to to to have cross flexing or net flexing is

(17:58):
to make sure is again the idea to do this
is to make sure that games are seen by larger
members of our viewing population. And it's not that fewer.
It's too let's prevent fewer people from seeing game just
because it's on a certain network. Just change it to
another network and you can get a wider audience. And

(18:19):
a perfect example of that is Thanksgiving. You take a
look at the Thanksgiving games, what normally happens is each
Thanksgiving there is one either the Lions or the Cowboys
play an interconference game because both teams that are hosting

(18:41):
the traditional Thanksgiving games are are NFC teams Lions and Cowboys,
and if they both play divisional or inter intruck conference games,
CBS can't get one of them because you have to
have an a f C team on the road on
Thanksgiving for CBS to broadcast one year. Last year Oakland

(19:02):
went to Dallas, CBS had that game. The previous year,
New England went to Detroit. CBS has the game every
year that is interconference. This year with the two teams
being possible to go to the NFC UH North I believe.

(19:23):
I don't know what the two teams were, but they
were certainly not as interesting as Chicago at the Lions
as your first Thanksgiving game, because the second Thanksgiving game,
these Thanksgiving games are off the charts. The NFC North
has the first game bears it Lions. Then your second

(19:45):
game on Thanksgiving is an NFC East game, the Eagles
at the Cowboys. You know what that was? The the
uh the Buddy the Buddy Ryan game on Thanksgiving, the
body bag game. Not the body bag game. The Bounty game.
Excuse me, the bounty game was on Thanksgiving Day, kid
in your head log. And then so basically CBS gets

(20:05):
the Bears at the lines. Fox will get Eagles at Cowboys.
And then NBC's night game is the first of the
two meetings between the Seahawks. And and that's in San
Francisco where they wanted to give San Francisco at least.
I guess one non Sunday game you put on Thanksgiving.

(20:27):
Nobody's in the Google parking lot, right, they have off.
I imagine Google gives their employees off on Thanksgiving. Imagine
kicking your feet up with your third piece of pie
and your third helping a Thanksgiving dinner to watch the Seahawks.
And and you're and that's that's the first of the
two games. They play each other two weeks later in
Seattle on a late window on Fox. Are we burying

(20:50):
the lead here with the kickoff game a little? I mean, well,
I mean, I'll just figured that by now people have
talked about that, but I just wanted to get out
there some of the interesting aspects of the schedule. It's different.
It's different this year in that regard. I mean, again,
you've got three divisional games on Thanksgiving. That never happens

(21:11):
because to make CBS a home for a Thanksgiving game,
there always has to be an a FC team visiting
an NFC team, And this year the league said no.
And what happens to this year on Thursday Night Football? Remember,
everybody's got to play, everyone's got to go to get
that orange wedge. This year, that is not the case.
Two teams do not play on Thursday Night Football this year.

(21:34):
And uh those teams are Seattle. They do play on
Thursday night on on Thanksgiving, on Thanksgiving and also kick off.
I'm just talking about the Thursday night package on CBS
and NFL Network. And I believe Cleveland is the other.
That's not true. Actually Cleveland is not the other. Which

(21:54):
one was that I saw that I've got all these
pieces of paper right here. I shouldn't bring it up
unless I don't know off the top of my head,
but um, I know Seattle is one of them, and
there's only one other one. And what this means also
is that there are teams that double up. The Redskins
have two Thursday games two mm hm this year. The

(22:16):
Washington Redskins on Thursday Night have where I got their
schedule right here. Washington has two Thursday night games Week
four home against the Giants, and then, um, they have
a Thursday night game a week four against the Giants
and then a pardon me, they don't play twice on Thursday.
They played twice on the package. They have a Saturday

(22:39):
games the Philadelphia Eagles. I'm glad the Saturday games are back. Yeah,
there's a Saturday doubleheader in December. Eagles are taking on
the Washington Redskins, and the San Francisco forty Niners are
hosting the San Diego Chargers, and I'm imagining that's going
to be the late window game obviously, since on the

(23:00):
West coast. And when do we start going international? Here?
Hold on a minute, let me get this anomaly here.
I've got these anomalies. Hold on a minute, Hang on
a second. I know where I saw it. Here we go.
Here are the teams that uh that Lions and the
Seahawks are the two teams that are not plump part
of the Thursday night football package. And the lines have
never played in the package because again they don't want

(23:21):
to have teams doubling up on Thanksgiving and doing it again,
except this year that's gonna be true. Uh, that's gonna
actually happen. Redskins and Chargers double up this year. But
they double up and like I said, a Thursday Saturday,
they're not playing two Thursdays. The reason, part of the
reason why they also put Chicago on Thanksgiving in Detroit

(23:43):
is to then put them on the following Thursday night
on NFL Network. That gives me weeks rest. It's very
rare to have Thursday night NFL Network football games. Would
teams have full week of rest. They're playing the Cowboys
in Chicago full week first Thursday in December. So yes,

(24:04):
they've had a Thursday night game double where both teams
are off for a full week before. That happened once
before where they took two teams from Thanksgiving and did
it again the next week. And it was Green Bay
at Dallas in two thousand and seven when Farve was
playing Romo. I think both teams were nine and one

(24:26):
or something insane like that, and Farv got hurt in
the first half of the game and his backup Aaron
Rodgers came out and we were all like WHOA. I
remember standing there with Marshall and the rest of the
crew in the end zone in the old Texas Stadium
and we're like, oh my, this guy can play football

(24:47):
Chicago at Dallas. Dallas and Chicago. Pardon me, that's happening
such an international level. And we'll talk all about it
with Jim Nance later on. The London games begin Week four,
Miami at Oakland in London, and then you've got, uh,
the Lions and Falcons and you also have the Cowboys

(25:07):
and Jaguars. Those are your three London games, and um,
let's just start digging into it. Here's your Thursday Night
football schedule again. The first seven games are excluding r
and CBS and NFL Network simulcast. Nansen SIMS are doing
them all, by the way, and everybody thought, okay that
the league is gonna have to give CBS some good

(25:29):
games because they want to raise the profile of this
CBS put down a nice chunk of change. The first
one is a good one. Baltimore hosting Pittsburgh, not messing around.
Tampa at Atlanta. That's a sneaky good early NFC South game,
Giants at Washington, which, by the way, was the last

(25:51):
game of our first year of the Thursday Night football package.
Tiki Barber was the postgame guest after I believe they
beat Jason Campbell in two housing and six. My memory
serves um. Minnesota at Green Bay is the week five kickoff.
Week six kickoff, Indianapolis at Houston. Week seven is when

(26:14):
the Jets ce Revas in the Patriots uniform for the
first time at Gillette at New England. Week eight a
replay or at least the Broncos, hope not of that
stellar's season finale that we had of Thursday Night Football
this year, San Diego at Denver. Those are the games

(26:35):
that CBS gets. Those are the seven some superstars, maybe
some rookie quarterbacks in those games. Rich with the Houston
and Minnesota, you could see Clowney though, going after Andrew Look.
New Orleans at Carolina is Week nines kickoff, Week tends
kick off a battle of Ohio Cleveland at Cincinnati. Week eleven,

(26:56):
Buffalo at Miami. Have have have you noticed the theme
here yet? Division division? Every one of them, Every one
of them. Kansas City at Oakland, which we had in
our first year of the Thursday Night Football package as well,
that was the famous Adam Schefter Mongerer game. You've heard
me tell that story many times on this show, and

(27:18):
then we finally got our first non division game Dallas
at Chicago. That ain't bad. Arizona at St. Louis is
our NFC West contest that we get this year. Uh.
Then Tennessee at Jacksonville at Jacksonville again is our final Thursday.
And then and then comes the Saturday finale, one of

(27:38):
which will be on our network, one of which will
be on CBS. Philadelphia at Washington, San Diego at San Francisco.
Fourteen of the sixteen games or Divisional last year was
eight of the third team. Again, the Lines and Seahawks
are part of the package. Redskins and Chargers a little
more intrigue when their division games. In my opinion, that's

(28:00):
your Thursday Night football. Here's Sunday Night football. Kicks off
the season of what we predicted in our first show
this week, Packers at Seattle. Well, I mean you take
a look at they were not going to go ahead
and start the season with a rematch of the Super
Bowl after the way the Super Bowl went down, right,

(28:21):
maybe if it had been a closer game. By the
way they just waited three weeks for that, Well, you
called both Thursday Thursday the kickoff game and the sun
and the game. Well, you know what, I know what
I talk about it because that's the first game of
the year. I mean again, they could have had the
Giants and the Cowboys, they could have gone divisional. They're
definitely not going to go with the Filet MiG yawn
of Niners at the Seahawks. I feel like we need

(28:42):
a show presence for this game. What do you mean
we need to do a broadcast from kickoff weekend. They're
blowing out to the sound up there in Seattle for
the kickoff. They do a whole kickoff event. Now, okay,
take a show on the road. Come in. You never
know where the show is going to be, you never,
right now, Packers at Seattle and then the Sunday night

(29:02):
first Sunday Night itself with Alan and Chris, Colts at
Broncos Luck Saddle up Boys at Denver and we might
as well just quickly hit because we're gonna hit this
with John Elway later on. Denver's schedule is interesting. Denver
starts home at the Colts home with the Chiefs at
the Seahawks. Bye week. That's their September. Could you see

(29:24):
them owing three? No? I can they come off to
buy their home for Arizona, they're at the Jets, then
their home for San Francisco, home for San Diego, so
and then and then that's September and October. Five of
those games in September October are at home. They need

(29:44):
to win those games because six of their last nine
are on the road, including there one of four teams.
Let's get that inequity shoot here, um three game road
trip there one of four teams along with the Bengals,
Rams and Bucks have three straight on the road with
no bye week, breaking it up. Three straight on the

(30:06):
road Denver is at New England at Raiders at Rams.
That's the way the November starts. We'll talk about it
with Elway soon. The Thursday, the Sunday night schedule, Week
two is Bears at forty nine. Is the opener of
their new stadium. Will be seen by the entire country because,
as we mentioned, the Niners start the season in Dallas

(30:29):
in the Jones MA Hall. That's week two. Alan, Chris
and the Gang then head to Carolina for the Steelers
at Panthers. That's an interesting Week three. Throwing Cam Newton
in front of the country. And we've talked about this
We talked about this with DJ and Bucky Brooks. I
think the most un you know, the story under the
radar the most this offseason is Cam having surgery and

(30:53):
won't be able to get started until training camp at
the earliest. How much is he how much is he
gonna have? How how much time are gonna have been
training camp? And and they blow up their receiving corps
at the same time, he has nobody. You're a Michigan guy,
Jason Navan who's very good, but he's not He's not
a one that God bless him. Marvin McNutt, all of
those other guys, right or is it Melvin mcnut Marvin

(31:15):
McNutt my bad so and and who they draft? Clear
they're gonna draft one, if not two rookies. These are
all guys. I mean, we talk about how you have
to throw in the off season right with your guys
and get you have camp whatever fill in the blank
of the name of your quarterback. So Cam's got a
big test to start is we might as well just
hit that's a Week three game for Carolina. What do

(31:37):
they open Carolina opens up with I've got their schedule
right here. Tampa Bay, which is a very that's Lovey
Smith's opener and a big start to the season. Their
home openers against the Lines, then their home for Baltimore
and home for Pittsburgh and at Baltimore. Those are the
four games. Three, those are the four games that they're
gonna have to start getting their feet wet with Cam

(31:59):
and his receiver or they they started slowly in two
thousand thirteen and finished strong, you might have to do
it again. Week fourth, Sunday Sunday Night Football, Saintsed Cowboys
Sean Payton at the place where everybody thinks he's gonna
wind up coaching one days. There's a house and all
that stuff. Saintsed Cowboys. That's a big one. Week five,

(32:21):
Sunday Night Football, Bengals at the Patriots. That's your first
one with an asterisk that can get flexed out of.
I doubt if they'll do that. But that is uh,
that's a that's that's no. Actually, it's a it's a
it's a match up. It's a playoff matchup that people
expected to have happened. If you remember, the seating was
wind would have wound up with Cincinnati going to New England.

(32:43):
If you know the Bolo tie didn't go in and
and and and knock him out and keep them Oh
for the Marvin Lewis era in the postseason, Andy Dalton
saying this week, he doesn't understand. He doesn't get his detractors.
They don't bring up the fact that he's he is.
He does have some great regular season numbers. Was the
most third most passing touchdowns in three years in quarterback

(33:06):
history three years into his career. What would like Marino
and somebody else. That's very impressive. Yeah, he's like, people
don't bring that up. Nobody cares about that man in
the postseason. It's the postseason. It took a franchise and
it hadn't been to the postseason in backs back years
in over two decades there for three in a row.
So the playoff matchup that many people were expecting to
have happened, that will happen in the regular season. Week

(33:28):
five onto the Sunday Night Lights. That then moves to
Philadelphia Giants at Eagles. That'll be interesting. Week seven Sunday
Night Football, Niners at Broncos. Get ready. Week eight Sunday
Night Football Packers at the Saints. I don't see how
any of these are gonna get flexed out. But we

(33:48):
all you always have that surprise though, well, I mean
we didn't year. We didn't expect Eli Manning a stroll
in the Chicago last year on five did we know exactly?
So on Thursday Night Football, Week nine, Sunday Night Football
Ravens and Steelers, there's your other Ravens Steelers game. That's
week nine. It's funny how those two are out of

(34:09):
the way by week nine. But yet Seahawks and forty
Niners don't play each other till week thirteen for the
first time. Week ten, Sunday Night Football Bears at Packers.
In case you're wondering that is, let's check it out.
I don't know these things off the top of my head,
but that's the second and final matchup between them. Packers
visit Chicago the last week of September. By the way,

(34:32):
and when you take a look at the Minnesota Viking schedule,
keep in mind that those games are outdoors this year.
So when the Jets visit Minnesota, December seven's bed and
when the Bears finish up the season December, three days
after Christmas in Minnesota, that's cold. That is cold. The

(34:53):
week before Thanksgiving, Minnesota has Green Bay there and the
week up Thanksgiving. The Sunday after Thanksgiving, the Panthers are
outdoors in Minesota, just rolling through it. Week eleven Sunday
Night Football, Pats at Colts. Week twelve, Cowboys at Giants. Yeah,
NBC's play gets loaded up every year. Week thirteen is

(35:14):
Broncos at Chiefs. We remember last year, Chiefs. We're undefeated
on Sunday Night football, going to Denver, all right. Week
fourteen Pats a Chargers sneaky. Week fifteen, something's gonna get flexed,
invariably Cowboys at Eagles. Well. Week sixteen is Seahawks at Arizona,

(35:35):
and we all know the Week seventeen game. The flex
game is whichever game is going to be a winning
in which means you can book Cowboys at Redskins for
that game this year, Cowboys at red Cowboys at Redskins
is going to be your game two fifty six this year.
Let's just let's just write it in stone right now.
You've got to be kidding me. But the question, the

(35:56):
only question is will the Cowboys be eight and seven
or seven and eight in that? Am I wrong? Tell
me if I'm wrong? This is that's your week seventeen
Flex finale right now is Cowboys at the red Skins.
Could we be seeing Johnny Manzel quarterback the Cowboys. I
don't even know why the doubt, because each game gets
a gets a number next to it. I don't know

(36:18):
how they assigned the number next to it, because but
that's the game that gets assigned to an official, like
if you're gonna be your your official at your officiating
game one in the NFL schedule. For some reason, Jets
at Vikings Week fourteen has gotten that moniker. I don't
even know why, because it's not even alphabetically when you
take a look at the way the league put out
the seventeenth weekend, I don't even know why. They just

(36:39):
for for for for just some giggles. They didn't make
Dallas at Washington game two fifty six, just cause why not.
I know they have to put West Coast games towards
the bottom of the docket, which they do in every
week for good reason, because it's played later in the
day and you do it by time. They just put

(37:01):
that in the four o'clock windows, just wind out what when?
What's it to them? And you switch it around anyway.
To our listeners, that are falling around and doing a
great job. Explain you don't go to NFL dot com
slash schedule because you can visually see all of this, uh,
and it will be much easier to follow on some
of the dates and times that we've kind of thrown
out there. Yeah, and they also just for you know,
just throughout the postseason anyway, the first Saturday and Sunday

(37:24):
of of two thousand fifteen or the wild Card games
ESPN as a wild Card game that year. This year
and then um Sunday February one will be the Super
Bowl in Glendale, Arizona. And the question is which teams
will wind up there? Those are your Thursday and Monday
night schedules. And let's get to my conversation with the

(37:45):
top man um in the Denver Bronco organization talking about
the a f C champion Broncos schedule with John Elway.
Let's now chat with the man a top the float
chard of the management in Denver, Colorado. He also happen
is to be a Pro Football Hall of Famer and
two time Super Bowl champion. John Elway joins us right
now on Broncos Cam. How are you John doing great? Rich?

(38:08):
How you doing. I'm doing fine, So let's let's hop
right into this Week one. You see Andrew Luck Luck,
as we all know, one of the few quarterbacks to
actually hand your team a loss last year. What are
your thoughts about your your Week one first game right
out of the game on NBC in front of the
whole country against the Colts. Well, we've we've been on
national TV, I think the last couple of years, so

(38:28):
we're excited about It's always nice to open on in
front of national TV, especially at home in front of
our home crowd. And plus we know with Andrew Luck
coming in with the Colts, they're gonna have a darn
good football team. Like you said, they beat us last
year and the playoff team too, so we know we're
gonna have to be ready to go that first week. Yeah,
and you first two games are at home, as you
can see right on the screen, you actually three of
your first four are at home, and you've got a

(38:51):
bye week Week four, You've got a big game Divisional
against the Chiefs in Week two at home, and then
the rematch of the Super Bowl in Seattle with an
early by week. What are your thoughts on your September
schedule as a whole. John, Well, you know when you
first look at it and show you know that really
means we're gonna have to come out of the shoot fast,
because like you said, we have three playoff teams, uh
and with Kansas City in the second week, a divisional

(39:12):
game that is so important, and then you know, going
up to the visit the Seahawks up there, the defending
world champ and so we know we're gonna have to
come out of the shoot fast. You know that bye
weeks a little bit earlier than we like it, but
it falls where they fall, and so um, you know,
hopefully we can get through that those first three and
have some success there and and then get get rest
in the fourth week. Your bye week is is early,

(39:34):
as you mentioned in week number four, and because you
play five of your first eight at home, that means
six of your final nine are on the road, and
again there is no bye week to break that up.
I'd love to pick your brain on on that portion
of the schedule to finish things up. You know, I
think the way that you look at the schedule is
the bottom line is is you know, we gotta win
those games at home. And so with five as you

(39:55):
said with five out of the first eight. I think
you said at home that, uh, you know, we've we've
got to start fast. We've got to get those games
at home, and then hopefully we hit our stride when
we go on the road. There's a section there where
we have three on the road where and I think
the first November, that first three weeks in November on
the road three in a row. So you know, it's
gonna be important for us to start fast and hopefully
hit our stride and then play those tough ones on

(40:17):
the road. And as you know, you have to play tough,
play better on the road, and so hopefully we're playing
very well by that day that three in a row
on the road's kicked off by Brady Manning sixteen, the
meeting between your two teams with the Patriots, um kicking
off the three in a row on the road, John,
that at least, I guess, and you take a look

(40:38):
at that, it's not in the middle of it. That's
something that that is it beneficial that it's the first
of the three. Well, I think so, And I think
if you really look at it, you try I guess
anytime I did the same thing as the players I
do now, and the fact that you try to look
at all the positives in the schedule, and obviously you
know you're dealt the hand that you're dealt, and the
schedule is what the schedule is. But I think if
you look at New England at the front, the front
end of that three game schedule, the other two the

(41:00):
Raiders uh in the divisional game, and then we go
to St. Louis after that, And I guess the one
positive about it that the trips aren't too far and
so uh, you know, geographically they're they're a better situation
than having to go all the way back to the
East Coast a couple of times. John, the extra two
weeks to get ready for the draft this year, is
that a blessing? Or are you just champion at the bit? Uh?
Normally it would be just a Thursday night, just one

(41:21):
day away, we would be right now from drafting. What
are your thoughts on that, Well, I mean, I think
we're used to it, especially with us with our season
as as long as when obviously going to the Super
Bowl and our season going into February, we kind of
looked forward to the fact that we have the extra
couple of weeks, so it would be have been it
would have been nice to have the draft this week,
but the extra two weeks is gonna help us, and

(41:41):
so it's working out fine for us. And and your
draft board is it set right now? No? You know,
since you broke that six oh, your name is not
up there yet. So your name, that would be the
first thing that I do when I go back upstairs,
is uh, get a tag printed out with a magnet
and your name is going right on there. I appreciate that, John,
and I appreciate using the word magnet because magnetism is

(42:03):
usually a word that is associated with me and my
forty yard dash ron John. So that's an appropriate that's
an appropriate use of the word right there. Yeah, and
you're gonna go right there at the top. I was,
I was glad that you you you made your goal.
I did and it was last year at the combine.
You said that I would make your board had I
broken six seconds, and I didn't two years ago, but

(42:23):
I did this year. So I hope share you're a
man of your word, and I might hear my name
is Mr irrelevant? I am you know what where I'm
gonna take a picture of it and send it to you.
You do that, John, You do that. Listen. I appreciate
you spending some time obviously after getting your schedule and
just a couple of weeks before the draft. John, always
a pleasure visiting with you. That is John Elway, uh,

(42:46):
the the e v P of the Denver Broncos and
perhaps my next boss joining me on Broncos can Thanks John,
take care, Thank you. And after that conversation, Elway was
laughing for another fifteen seconds more I could see it
off camera. I I included, we included his laughter. Well

(43:09):
after we were done and the mics were taken down,
he was rocking further back in his chair, laughing. He said,
and maybe my next boss. So you got to get
him a magnet made so you're on the board if
I am. If they are really going to go through
with it and put my name on the Broncos draft board,

(43:33):
I'm going to tell you right now you will never
hear the end of it. Well before that interview started,
you never hear the end. You're gonna get Elway to
text you a photo or how are we going to
get First of all, let's see if they do it.
Patrick Smith will get him to do it from the
from the Broncos organization. But before the interview started and
you were talking down way before it actually happened, they

(43:53):
played back your forty. Yeah, well he brought it. He
brought it up prior to the conversation. That's one of
those things where you know that that's I may or
may not have asked him the same question. I asked
if less need is your board set yet, just to
lead him down that road. I may or may not
have done that in the core room, Ridge, that's leading

(44:14):
the wi. I definitely let one. But again, you take
a look at the Denver Broncos schedule and six of
their last nine are on the road. You know who
had that, the Cowboys a couple of years ago. She
started six of nine on the road. Well he wound up.
It's just they go down to it's the same journey,

(44:36):
just mix it up. The roads on the journey just
getting mixed up. Yeah, I mean, and and um by
in week four, that is a rough one. Their December
is home for Buffalo at San Diego, at Cincinnati, home
for the Raiders. So they they end up fairly fairly strong.
I mean, that's that's kind of that I'm gonna say

(44:56):
it's easy, and that at Cincinnati is a Monday nighter.
That's the mundane finale on the worldwide. That's not like
they're ping pong and all around the nation there in
December when they need to be getting ready for the playoffs. Yea,
and their three in a road or you you heard
you say it's not too far but travel although Denver
in New England is no great great shakes, but at
Oakland and at St. Louis that's not too far from.

(45:16):
But I'm telling you that's September. Colts Chiefs at Seahawks
Chiefs are gonna have to prove it to me again
this year. They're gonna have to prove to me. Agreed.
Yes they are, Yes they are. Their chief schedule, their
home for the Titans at the Broncos, at the Dolphins,

(45:37):
Monday night home against the Patriots. That's September. October's at
the Niners. That's Alex Smith's return, and we might as
well hit on a couple of those. Alex Smith returns
to San Francisco week five, the Shawn Jackson his return
to Philadelphia week three. That's just the first type of reception.

(45:59):
Do you think he gets. I think he gets cheered.
I mean they cheered. They cheered mcnam when he came back.
The fans, the fans like deject They're a little frustrated
with him at times. But folks were scratching their heads.
Why while he had to go one of them over here,
another division foe is going to pick them up. Well,
I'm sure they didn't. Well, I guess they should have
expected that. Um we mentioned how week. Um I believe

(46:24):
it is week number seven on Thursday Night football when
the Jets see Revas for the first time. Jets fans
see Revas Week sixteen, they put the Patriots in met
Life against the Jets deep deep into December. Do you
think Reva's plays in that game? You mean Willy be hell?

(46:49):
I guess was the last time? When was the last
time the Patriots took somebody like that and it didn't
work out? Give me somebody, Hainsworth, Raynsworth is not rivus.
That was a total flyer. Is another one where he
was talking about you know what I'm talking about, Antoine Smith.

(47:11):
Even you go back to ts worked every running back,
It's worked for him. What Corey Dillon Revis will be
playing in that game picking to the house. Smith, that's
a good question. But every time we sit here and
go how are the Jets gonna work out their quarterback situation?

(47:32):
It does somewhat shake out in some way, shape or
form in a matter you don't expect it. By the way,
that's the only Jets home game in their final four.
The Jets December is Monday night home against the Dolphins
at Minnesota Outdoors. Chris Johnson's return to Tennessee is Week
fifteen home for the Patriots, and then they're at the

(47:54):
Dolphins again, finishing up the season at the Dolphins again.
Um Jared Allen's return to Minnesota is Week eleven with
the Bears, and then the one where there's apparently going
to be what is it? Blood on the floor, blood
on the field, blood and guts? What is it? What? What? What?
What was the phrase Steve Smith used? It was blood

(48:15):
on the field. I think, well, it's it's uh, it's
gonna be at least a warmish day in Baltimore. When
the Carolina Panthers visit week four, blood and guts, it
was blood and blood and guts. Yeah, that's the blood
and guts game right there. Those are the returns that
if thrown out there, Let's give him my conversation with
Jim Nance. Right now, we say hello friend to Jim Nance.

(48:37):
How are you, Jim? Hello friend, I'm doing great. I'm
excited about this schedule. You know, I'm sitting down. We've
got all kinds of paperwork scattered trying to extrapolate all
these different matchups. And I'm first off, i gotta say,
you know, you wonder how much would they dilute the
product by trying to parcel out all the games. And

(49:00):
I gotta tell you they went with the strength And
I'm really impressed by the game plan here. You've, of course,
you've heard of the strategy divide and conquer. I think
if there's a theme this year that Howard Katon on
Thursday Night games are all divisional games. The first one
that's not a divisional games, not one is December the
fourth and at Chicago and Dallas. And those are the

(49:24):
only two teams that I can come up with who
draw the distinction of having to play two Thursday games. Yeah,
and Bears and the Cowboys each will play a game
on Thanksgiving Day and they'll play, uh, you know, the
week after Thanksgiving to play another Thursday game. Yeah, and
it's gonna be neat because they have a full complement
of rests coming into that big Thursday night battle that
have a full week off. Washington and San Diego are

(49:46):
are on our docket gym twice this year, except that's
a Thursday, and they're both part of the Saturday doubleheader
that I know so many fans are gonna be looking
forward to because that's right in that sweet spot. After all,
the most of the college games are over in some
folks are sitting around on Saturday wishing they could watch
some football, and they're gonna watch. They're gonna be able
to watch show what what we're able to put on

(50:06):
the air, Jim. Yeah, and there's a San Diego San
Francisco game on the Saturday to uh the week the
Saturday before Christmas, so uh, the Thursday lineup, Uh, it's
it's really good. And you know, if you have me
on this show next year, I'm gonna tell you, I
can't imagine you can hold me to it. I can't
imagine they could do better as far as like giving

(50:27):
out good games, and they've done this year. Very excited about.
I don't think anybody would ever question, this is the
strongest Thursday Night lineup we've ever seen for the NFL.
Why I could personally attest to that. Yes, I really
like some of the contests that that we do see,
certainly in the in the early going with the Jets
in New England, it will be the first time that
the Jets battle Darrell Reevas wearing a New England uniform

(50:51):
and San Diego and Denver last year was our last
game on Thursday Night. That was a shocker with Philip Rivers,
who's going to join us later live and and Jim,
I know you're still gonna be calling games on CBS.
You've got the rematch of the Super Bowl. You've got
Brady manning six team as well on the dock at Jim,
I'm imagine you're excited about calling those games as well

(51:11):
with Phil. Well, Phil and I, we're gonna have a
lot of fun with it. First off, there's nothing better
than just getting to a stadium about five hours before
kickoff and watching it come to life and sing all
the energy just fill up a stadium. And we're gonna
double up, you know this season when we have a
doubleheader games and you mentioned it, we have the likes
of Denver at Seattle. I believe that's week three we

(51:32):
have we do have once again. We just did Brady
Manning in the a f C Championship game. We have
them again in the regular season at New England. We
have Brady against Rogers. We have New England. At Green Bay,
we have Andrew Luck against Tony Romo, Indianapolis and and
the Cowboys. So you know, I there's there's a lot
there to like, that's for sure. Now, Jim. We're excited

(51:55):
obviously to have you, yeah, in any mix with the
NFL and at work. So it's it's it's good times
coming up. We appreciate it. I'm looking forward to sharing
a lot of that out there on the road and
seeing you and and a lot of the crew looking
forward to it. Rich me too. It's gonna be me too, Jim,
Jim Nance, everybody, Jim Nance, Roselle Award winner. He's in

(52:16):
the Pro Football Hall of Fame, fresh off the Masters
to dude, come on his his week every year, the
final four Final Game Masters. That goes from Saturday to
a Sunday following something that's his eight days. Sometimes he's
calling the Super Bowl prior to that once every three years.

(52:37):
Once every three years, you throw the Super Bowl and
that every year he does the a f C Championship game.
This year he's gonna do Thursday Night Football. He's gonna
do fifteen of the He's gonna do that all games
but one, because he can't be in two places at
once on that Saturday. He's no these There are gonna
be some weeks where CBS has a smaller amount of games.

(52:58):
He's just gonna take that week off. That's why I
would have been very difficult for NBC to have been
successfully for the package because if Fox had gotten it
Bucking Aikman, there are certain weekends where Fox doesn't have
that many games in their window and they get the
week off. But Alan Chris, there's no week off. So

(53:20):
I don't know, you know, it's it's gonna be um
interesting someone scheduling inequities. As I mentioned, there are four
teams with a three game road trip Bengals, Broncos, Rams, Bucks.
Three teams start on the road with two games Jaguars, Patriots,
and Saints don't play their first home game till Week three.

(53:45):
Seven teams finished with two in a row on the road, Bills, Browns, Lions, Colts, Eagles, Chargers,
Seahawks all finished with two on the road in a row. Wow.
Five teams finished with three of their last four in
the road. I'd mentioned one of them earlier. The Jets,

(54:08):
the Bills, Cowboys, Colts, and Seahawks are those teams. And
then one really crazy inequity a road game after a
road Monday night football game, meaning you've been on the
road on Monday Night football and then you have to
on a short week going the road again. That happens

(54:31):
to the Texans forty niners in Washington. So I don't
know if we've left anything else out here. I mean
we if we if again, if we didn't go over
specifically your team schedule. Obviously we're not gonna sit here
and read all thirty two. We have a lot of
international listeners. So for the London game, the first one
Dolphins it Raiders. Um. The Raiders play the week before

(54:54):
that against New England. They just stay right on the
East coast and then fly directly. Imagine they don't travel
back because that means the team that has to travel
the furthest distance is the Dallas Cowboys because they have
a home game the week before they're the furthest West
traveling all the way to Wembley. It'll be odd flying
in the bus, right in the Jerry Jones bus. We

(55:15):
should get ourselves to London. Please, that would be so great.
Please come on. There's three opportunities this year, and how
we're going to do it saying hashtag just saying so
we could go. We could tweet it out and say Ireland,
here we come. That's the UK. That is the UK.
I know what the UK is. I don't know if

(55:36):
you do. He does now. It's one of my favorites.
NFL dot com slash schedules is how you do everything.
I want to finish this up with just a little
bit of fun. You guys have your your week by
week schedule. Okay? Um? Week one? Which one are you

(55:57):
looking forward to the most? On On the Sunday. On
the Sunday, Saints and Falcons opened up against each other
for the first time again last year, remember they opened
up with each other. They finished up in the game
win of the last second. My initial is that that
Niners Cowboys. It just takes you back to those nineties
NFC championship games. Spangles at Ravens is a big start.

(56:23):
The Ravens start at home against two opponents. That's gonna
be fascinating. First five days of the season for the Ravens.
They play the Bengals at home, and then five days
later they stay put for the Steelers on Thursday Night
football to kick off on CBS. I am looking forward
to that Saints Falcons game. I mean, what a disappointing

(56:44):
two thousand thirteen season for Atlanta. Certainly, if Atlanta says,
you know, Mike Smith said, if you asked, he said
that this week. If you ask me I'm going to
be in the playoffs, I'll say, yes, we are. That's
certainly a game you think, Matt Ryan always play at home.
You want to win that division, you have to beat
the Saints. Certainly gotta win you you gotta keep your
home tourn week one right out of the question marks
surrounding that team. How about this one week one? How

(57:07):
about this one Washington at Houston. If the Texans take Clowney,
the first guy has got to chase down and around
would be r G three. And you think about Jacksonville
at Philly, Cleveland at Pittsburgh. Take who's going to be
Johnny Manzil his first shot might be against Chip Kelly
in Philly the Birds man or whoever starting at quarterback

(57:29):
for Cleveland is a Derek car Blake Bortles Manzel, who
knows what Pittsburgh Dick Cleobo against a rookie quarterback? And
what's the one place in division you, as a Patriot
fan don't want to go to? What's the one place? Well,
at Miami they correct clear you're not gonna see here,
and met life, met life, You've got no problem with that,
you don't, I mean, for some reason, Miami Dolphins. The

(57:51):
Dolphins have the Patriots number in Miami or more. Week
one at Buffalo as always well, I wonder it's always dicey,
but you still get your in, you still get your
w up in Buffalo Mall heartbreaker, the one where it
falls apart and it doesn't get put back together usually
happens in Miami. That's where the Patriots are opening up.
The Titans are at the Chiefs, so Ken wizzen Hunt

(58:14):
opens up in Kansas City, that Vikings Rams game not jumping?
How do you Week one? No, I mean, let me
who knows the ram? I mean, could Sammy Wantkin? I mean,
if Sammy Watkins is the real deal, right, and we're
still thinking of the bread crumbs that less needs said
he left us on our previous show. This week, I'm
personally to meet court Darryl Patterson finished December. You've got Tavon,

(58:36):
Austin Patterson, maybe Watkins maybe Ports maybe, and the Rams
last year had a real tough problem stopping the run sometimes.
Here comes Adrian Peterson Downhill Zimmer's first gaming in St. Louis.
That's a really good, sneaky early one. Browns at Steelers
is a great UM North matchup always, and the Steelers

(58:58):
don't have to turn around and go on the road
to take on the Ravens. And in week number two,
let's see the Browns host the Saints. Oh my gosh,
that's Petton's first home game Saints and Brown's. So, I mean,
it's not a round robin per se in the a
f C North to start, even it's half a round robin?
Is the Browns take on the Steelers and Jets shops

(59:21):
first game in Oakland, who's playing quarterback for New York
taking on the Jets. Yeah, and then the Panthers and
the Bucks love you Smith's first game back taking on
the Panthers, Colts, Broncos, and then the Monday night double
dip Giants and Lions, and then probably Berman at the
mic and Hotel Arizona, the Charges in the Cardinals. That's

(59:41):
your that's your week one. And then just one more thing.
I want to do this because we did this on
the on the on the schedule show that we're gonna
do later on week eleven. This is the week that
SAP chose the week before Thanksgiving, So that's week uh
week twelve, week before Thanksgiving, he says, is when things

(01:00:03):
really begin to get the nidian and gritty, beginning Thursday
November Carolina Pitt. Wait a minute, you don't know what
a mask. I'm just saying it was on the week twelve.
There's always a game that you never think is going
to mean something and you never think means nothing. Okay,

(01:00:24):
let's circle it. Which game in week twelve? Do you
think that currently you look at won't mean much, but
it's going to mean something? Jets at Bills Law that
that that's a good one. I mean the one that
jumps out that I think doesn't have a chance. But
Gus Bradley in his second year Jags Colts is my

(01:00:44):
choice for meaning something that you don't think is gonna
mean anything. I don't know. I don't mean to jump
on that train yet. But just like Jacksontil made, like
the picks that Jacksonville's made, play hard for, if Johnny
Football goes there, imagine it running around the turf weet twelve,

(01:01:09):
he's just finding his stride. He's throwing the cecil shorts
the third And give me a game that you think
is definitely gonna mean something, it's gonna wind up meaning nothing.
Redskins at nine Ers, Mhm, why tell me why. I
think San Francisco is sort of imploding on itself. I

(01:01:33):
still don't believe what we've seen this past month means
that much. There may be smoked there, but I don't
think there's gonna be a fire Either that or Washington
is just but it'll mean something for San Francisco, You
know what I mean. The game that you think means
something when you don't think it means anything. You only

(01:01:54):
need one of those teams to be involved. The game
that you think means something, it's gonna mean nothing. I mean,
I think both of these teams perfect examples. You remember
when the Colts hosted Houston a few years ago on Thursday,
we thought would be for all the marbles. We certainly
didn't think that Indie would be coming off its first
win of the season and Houston will have already clinched
the division with t J Yates at quarterback, for instance.

(01:02:19):
I mean it's an extreme example. Um, what about the
Monday Night or Ravens at Saints. That's gonna have to
mean something. Yeah, for the Saints at least, I think
that's gonna have to mean something. I think a total wipeout.
What's gonna be total wipeout? I mean, this is tough
because I think I think St. Louis is on the

(01:02:40):
way up. I think they're going to replace San Francis.
Gonna choose a total wipeout. I'd have to go. Jets
at Bills. Mike means nothing like forget it, put it
on a milk cart in a two percent game of
the week. That's all I know is we're not talking
about bowling alleys and planes gliding. This is much better
Titans and Eagles, Tights Eagles. That's gonna have to mean

(01:03:01):
something because the NFC East is going to be that
right that that track meet slash dumpster fire again you
think again, Game to fifty six, lock it in, ripped
the knob off Cowboys redskins. It's currently listed on your
sheets as the other seven and eight on your sheets.

(01:03:25):
Technically it's known as game tree right now. But we
all know it's gonna be Game two. We all know
winner in, loser out, we all know. Please we could
sit here and say, oh, it's a total mystery, total crapshoot.
Come on, good chat, guys. Absolutely, um again, Um, the

(01:03:52):
housekeeping is, we've got less need dropping bread crumbs as
to what he's gonna do with the number two overall
pick in the draft. And a couple of Thursdays Larry Fitzgerald. Um,
the headlines of that was, um, he's got his softball
tournament this Saturday. Go to Larry Fitzgerald dot com to
help raise funds for his UH charity organization down in

(01:04:14):
the Desert. He also said he would forego a Pro
Bowl appearance for his Super Bowl appearance in his home
stadium in the Hall of Fame. Yeah, a lot, as
I I knew he would say that. Plus Uh, the
the headline is, uh, he turned down a role as
a henchman of Chalky Whites on the final season in
Boardwalk Empire because he doesn't want to give off the

(01:04:35):
impression that it's not all about winning. He said he
only has a finite of time in his career to
do what he wants to do on the field, because
when he was on the previous time, we were talking
about the same thing about loving it well, he said
he got the offer and it was after it's happened,
after he came on here and talk about how much
he loved Baldwalk. Right. I have to think we we
had something to move in the dial. I think so well.

(01:04:58):
I can't wait to see what next role Chris Law
and I are gonna land a couple other things, using
the hashtag r ep mock draft for standing some. Yes,
we've come the next side, but have we heard from
side bottom to get back to side bottom as yet
to surface side bottom side bottom is yet yet to

(01:05:18):
come up for air side bottom as yet to uh
rise up? Yes, all of that good stuff. Thank you
at Chris Law, at Chris Brockman, I'm at Rich Eyes
and for at the Eyes and Podcast. Go to NFL
dot com slash schedules. If we did not hit what
you want to hear thank you and peace out. Next week,

(01:05:39):
we've got Bob's Sackett on this program. Have we have
we come closer to landing the Mayock jet? The mack
jet is being trying to be You're tracking it? Are you?
Are you trying to avoid another in artful place? Not
trying to use the word plane at all this episode?
If possible. Okay, we'll see you next week on this program.

(01:06:01):
Stay listening,