NFL LEAVES SKED-MARKS

Just a day ago, we whetted your appetite for NFL schedule information. Now we can fill in a few of the blanks.

As we said before, each team’s opponents for the upcoming season were already known. Now that the NFL has released the schedule, we can put dates and times to names and get ready for that glorious day in September when we put our heiner in the recliner and watch the NFL until we become one with the furniture.

The season begins with a Thursday night extravaganza on Sept. 10 in Foxborough, Mass. The New England Patriots, the defending Super Bowl champions, will play the Pittsburgh Steelers. You can be sure that all of the football will have exactly the same amount of air in them.

There are always a few ‘circle the date’ games. On Sept. 20, in a Sunday night matchup, the Seattle Seahawks visit the Green Bay Packers. In the NFC championship game last January, the Packers squandered a 19-7 lead and the Seahawks prevailed to earn a second consecutive Super Bowl berth. October 18, also a Sunday night, has the Indianapolis Colts at the Patriots. Ah, Deflategate revisited! The air-pressure fiasco occurred in New England’s 45-7 win in the AFC title game.

Other schedule highlights: The Cincinnati Bengals play at both the Oakland Raiders and San Francisco 49ers. They are a combined 1-15 on the road against those teams … The Cleveland Browns get a Monday night date for the first time in six seasons, and it’s at home against the Baltimore Ravens on Nov. 30. They lost to the Ravens 16-0 in their last Monday nighter, also at home, on Nov. 16, 2009. … The Tennessee Titans have a five-week stretch with no road trips – four home games and a bye.
 
 
Post By: Larry Weisman, a longtime sportswriter for USA TODAY, blogs for Twistity.com. Follow him on Twitter @MrLarryWeisman .