Amid the NFL’s efforts to expand interest in the game and showcase the league’s most marketable stars, comfort for member clubs and players is often lost in the fold. There has always been a huge disparity between the cumulative travel distances of certain teams, like the Raiders in 2018 and 19, who were so scandalously overwhelmed that the league’s broadcast chief delivered an apology as close to an apology as we’ll see from the NFL. .
In 2018, Oakland drove more air miles than three other teams combined. In ’19, his final season before moving to Las Vegas, the Raiders went from September 22 to November 3 without playing a game at their home. and through who – which for a month Stretching, they logged more air miles than nearly the entire NFL. Compared to their colleagues’ comfortable business travel, John Gruden was mainly Eudoxus of Cyzicus.
Look at this year’s AFC North, for example. A narrow geographical division always enjoys comfortable short-term travel. This year, the Steelers will travel less than 6,500 miles. If they don’t feel like flying to Atlanta, they can take the bus for the entire season. They do not cross time zones. This is an immeasurable advantage to break for a rising midfielder who will already have his head spinning. Kenny Beckett can lie in Winnebago filling his gas tank hours before he sets off, still has plenty of time to get to reveal his Instagram outfit.
While this post will not be based exclusively on travel issues, everything should be taken into consideration: rest time, total opponent strength, and number of challenging games respectively. Starting an NFL season with a glove is like taking off on a short trip across the country powered by a balloon led by a balloon. We’ll also dive into what appears to be the politics behind prime time games and where that leaves some of the perks.
Let’s start with the six teams that could make an argument for getting rid of the schedule makers this season.
1. Seattle Seahawks
The Seahawks won the most-traveled franchise of the year, with 29,446 air miles, thanks to their state and history in Munich (week 10, November 13) against the Buccaneers. While their schedule (based on last year’s winning percentage) is relatively manageable at 11th, and their opening fixture list (Broncos, 49ers, Falcons, Lions, Saints and Cardinals while DeAndre Hopkins is suspended), post-Munich can be survived. Goodbye extended gaming week. The Seahawks will rest after a week in Germany before playing the Raiders, Rams, 49ers and Chiefs over five weeks, with a match against the Panthers serving as their only respite. The Seahawks’ game wasn’t too bad from a comfort standpoint, with a six-day rest period between week one and week two, and one short week between the Sunday game and the week. Thursday night footballIt will be held from the 11th to the 15th of December. All in all, the international game (which, being the first time Germany has hosted an NFL game, comes with some additional complications), along with four significant cross-country road trips (Tampa Bay, Kansas City, Detroit and New Orleans). Make this an unenviable way to start the post-Russell Wilson era.
2. Cleveland Browns
To be clear, Brown chose it. We’re not saying they’re dead-ends, per se, but we’re pointing out a clear contrast to Cleveland’s prime-time games versus other teams that have made similar roster moves in this off-season. The Browns are scheduled to have two such confrontations: Thursday’s week three match against the Steelers and a Halloween home tilt against the Bengals in Monday Night Football. Although the NFL has not released any information regarding a possible suspension of Deshaun Watson, one has to wonder if the idea was to sweep the Browns’ prime-time matches in the early part of the season – when Watson is likely to waste time – So that broadcasters don’t have to spend three hours discussing the disturbing details of Watson’s allegations, a task some commentators have faced before.
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The Broncos, for example, play five primetime games and one featured game in London, which is also in an alternate time period. Matt Ryan and the Colts have three primetime games. I think we can say, with some confidence, that Brown’s placement – almost exclusively on the CBS 1 p.m. slot – is an attempt to avoid a prolonged influx of criticism directed at the league’s broadcast partners of what would be a perceived inability to deal with a sensitive topic. If you’re a player enjoying prime time, or a coach on the Browns’ crew hoping that extra TV time will help your nomination for the main coaching opportunity in 2023, it’s a pity that you only have one prime-time game on the network and one prime-time viewing opportunity in 2022. Appearing in those situations is important.
From a scheduling standpoint, there’s a pretty brutal stretch to Cleveland’s schedule from week five to week 12 (Chargers, Patriots, Ravens, Bengals, Dolphins, Bells and Pirates).
3. Arizona Cardinals
The Cardinals’ schedule is wickedly loaded front and back, with the only identifiable soft spot appearing in the late September and early October extended season. Arizona opens the season at home against the boss and then travels to Las Vegas in order to open House Raiders under Josh McDaniels. after that? Hosting the defending champion Super Bowl Rams. The Cardinal follows a short swing (October 16-20 in games against the Seahawks and the Saints, respectively) with a challenging stretch that includes a game in Minnesota, a trip to Los Angeles to face the Rams, and an eight-day break before the 49ers play in a brutal Mexico City tilt at heights high, which is followed by a short six-day rest period to host the chargers at home. After that Chargers game on November 27? They are Patriots, Broncos, and Pirates. Good luck to Cliff Kingsbury & Company, who participated this season knowing they will have the second toughest strength on the schedule. While the Cardinals’ short-rest matches are fairly balanced, unlike other international teams, they don’t have a goodbye after leaving the country. I’d be curious to hear the NFL’s opinion on this. Yes, the Phoenix to Mexico City trip takes about 3 and a half hours, but it’s a trip to unforgiving terrain, 2,000 feet above sea level than Denver. Also, according to comfort metrics provided by NFL Statistics and Information, The Cardinal has had one of the least useful short breaks in the league this year.
4. Dallas Cowboys
The Cowboys are tied with the easiest schedule in the NFL this coming year, which means we don’t have to feel sorry for them. However, the way their schedule unlocks is tricky, as only one game can be won between the start of the season and Halloween. Dallas begins the season with home games against Tampa Bay and Cincinnati, followed by two divisional games against the Giants (Monday night football) and a short rest game against the leaders. After facing a talented Washington defensive line, the Cowboys travel to Los Angeles to take on the reigning champions, then ski again across the country for a tag team match against the much-improved Eagles in Philadelphia, a 1,200-mile journey followed by 1,300 flying miles. A game of Mike McCarthy’s rivalry against the Packers looms after such an unenviable stretch. It’s worth noting that the strength of the pre-season schedule tells us nothing about any upcoming season if the out-of-conference games are stratified in a rather difficult way. Oftentimes, for example, NFC East teams tend to underestimate their opponents within divisions and lose matches in the season that they shouldn’t.
5. New Orleans Saints
Always curious to hear what the teams think about the need for a farewell week after international travel. The Saints, who crossed the second most time zone in the NFL this year (30), do so not Goodbye after coming home from the Vikings match at Tottenham. Indeed, they go from England to a home game against the Seahawks, to a home game against the Bengals, to a four-day turnaround game Thursday night against the Arizona Cardinals. This is thorny from a logistical point of view, but some coaches prefer to keep playing if their perceived momentum is going in the right direction. I think there anticipation Comfort after international travel, but whether or not to complain about it directly depends on recent performance. The Saints didn’t have a farewell week until early December. I think coaches with veteran quarterbacks would rather say goodbye later to injury maintenance late in the season, but with James Winston, I don’t want to wait that long for a chance to self-discover a famous passerby, especially without Sean Payton on board.
6. Green Bay Packers
The award for the least useful rest schedule goes to… the Packers. According to the NFL Department of Data Science, Green Bay has the most unbalanced rest days gained versus rest days lost among all NFL teams. This would be something to look into as Aaron Rodgers has in the past expressed frustration with the way the Packers handle some of the travel logistics. In order to reclaim some lost recovery days, players must be smart about certain extensions, such as the London trip at the start of the season, which are immediately preceded and followed by home matches. The Packers schedule is also notably loaded, and features a season-ending game against the Lions, which could be significant given Detroit’s emergence as a trendy playoff pick this year. The Lions have the best rest hand out of any team in the NFL this year.
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