Bill Belichick will never publicly say this, but the New England Patriots have very few challenges in their 2012 schedule.
The 2012 NFL schedule was released for all 32 teams. The New England Patriots’ schedule features opponents from the AFC South and NFC West while squaring off against the division winners from the AFC North (Baltimore Ravens) and AFC West (Denver Broncos). Both of the games against the Ravens and Broncos will be rematches from last year’s postseason when the Patriots knocked off both squads en route to their Super Bowl XLVI loss against the New York Giants.
Here are the interesting tidbits in the schedule:
1. So much for early division rivalries: Didn’t the NFL want to insert the division games early and late in the season to maximize the importance of these games? That is not the case with the Patriots’ 2012 schedule at least for the early portion of the season. Last season, the Patriots opened in Miami to play the Dolphins. This year, the Patriots first divisional showdown will be in Buffalo in Week 4, which is on the last day of September. The Pats will not see Tim Tebow and the New York Jets until October 21st (Week 7), which is the latest they have ever played the Jets in a season. On December 2nd, the Patriots meet the Dolphins for the first time, which takes away the differing temperatures in the season. One of the key storylines in this series has been how each team deals with the climate.
2. Four Primetime games: The Patriots play the Ravens, Jets, Houston Texans, and San Francisco 49ers at nighttime. Two of those contests (Ravens on September 23rd and Niners on December 16th) will be on Sunday night unless the game against the 49ers gets flexed later in the season. The Patriots will be preparing for a Thanksgiving battle for the second time in three years when they travel to East Rutherford, New Jersey to take on the Jets on NBC. Perhaps, this is to appease the folks on NBC, who were not granted the rights to televise the Patriots affair with Tebow and the Broncos in 2011. The Texans stroll into Gillette Stadium for Monday Night Football on December 10th. There is a possibility that another game could be flexed, but unless there are some surprises, it does not look like any of the Patriots’ other games will be moved into this time slot.
3. Trip to London: For the second time in four years, the Patriots will travel to England. This time the Pats will face off against the St. Louis Rams. All of the beat reporters are probably writing down questions about what they will ask Jeff Fisher in the wake of the Greg Williams bounty scandal. Williams was supposed to be the defensive coordinator for the Rams. Everyone will be comparing Spygate and Bountygate that week. This will take place in Week 8.
4. The Pats Open with Three of Four on the Road While Closing Three of Four at Home: The Patriots will be at Tennessee, Baltimore, and Buffalo to begin 2012. Meanwhile, the Texans, Niners, and Dolphins will be coming to Foxborough in the final four weeks of the year. The only road game the Patriots will have to play is in Jacksonville against the Jaguars.
5. Bye Week: The Patriots’ bye falls in Week 9, which is the midway point of the season. Three of the next four games following the bye are against AFC East opponents. Bill Belichick will keep the team focused on the upcoming matchups.
6. Peyton Manning Comes to Gillette in Broncos uniform: Like last year’s games were not interesting enough with all of the talk about Tebow and the Broncos’ unorthodox offense. In 2012, Manning will be the signal caller for the Broncos and the only talk should be of two worthy Hall of Fame quarterbacks continuing a decade-long showdown.
7. No Team has Two Weeks to Prepare for Patriots: There is no team who has a bye week before they play the Pats. The only opponent who has more than a full week to prepare for the Patriots is the Indianapolis Colts. Before the Colts play in Gillette on November 18th, they will face the Jaguars on November 8th.