Week 4 NFL thread

Digging up the rules:

CBS and Fox can each protect five games (not more than one per week) between weeks 11 and 16. They can't protect any Week 17 games (that's why, I think, they both get to have doubleheaders in Week 17). The NFL has to decide if a game/which game flexes no later than 12 days in advance except for Week 17, which can be chosen as late as Sunday night of Week 16. I remember that last year's Week 17 flex game was announced at halftime of the Week 16 Sunday night game.

The NFL picks the Week 17 SNF game on its own. It consults with the networks but can put whatever game it wants there. Then the last couple of years, it's shuffled the rest of the schedule around to try and make sure the majority of the 4:25 games have some sort of playoff implications.

Then there's also the other rules, such as the maximum number of prime-time appearances each team can make. Only three can appear six times (on any night). The other teams are limited to five.

 

Saints were mighty impressive tonight, but I want to see what they do on the road the next two weeks at Chicago and New England before I start getting Super Bowl Fever.

And, while I know there is a lot of football to be played, that Dec. 2 Saints at Seahawks Monday nighter could be the biggest game of the season, with home-field in the NFC on the line. Did not realize until tonight that the Saints with Brees are 9-0 on Monday night.

 

Tampa Bay will wear white at home early in the season when it's hot, figuring that gives them some advantage in comfort. I wish it was consistent, too, but I kind of liked the weird rarity of seeing the Cowboys' blue jerseys.

 

Regarding Peyton, that depends on how many games into the season the Broncos secure their playoff spot. I don't think they'll have everything secured until at least 14 games into the season, because the Pats will likely find a way to be in the hunt for a top seed. In fact, as a Broncos fan, I'm still not going to declare Broncos vs. Pats a sure thing for the Broncos simply because the Pats just seem to find ways to win games, even if they aren't the dominant team they once were.

And I'm not ruling out the Colts, either. I had expected they'd take a step back given I wasn't convinced they yet had a good O-line or defense, but they have been better than I expected.

Oh, and it seems the rule for the Broncos and Chiefs has been for the two to split their games most seasons. It's one of those things that can't be explained but just seems to be that way. And given that the Chiefs are a better team this year (largely because of coaching and Smith being an upgrade over Cassel), I wouldn't be surprised to see Denver and KC split this year.

ETA: And regarding Favre, it was all about his ego in keeping his "games without missing a start" streak going.

 

Gosh, the Colts always used to sit Manning in December, and it was widely thought that contributed to their playoff losses. I'm not sure that's true, but that's what was said.

 

In stride, into the end zone and into the tunnel, say goodnight, Giants.

 

The Dolphins and Panthers do that, too. San Diego has done it a few times, including their first two home games this season, but not always.
Off the top of my head, I think the regular white at home crew is the Cowboys, Panthers, Bucs, Dolphins, Browns, Saints and Jaguars.
The Eagles and Jets have also been known to break out the home whites once or twice a season.
Out of all those, the Cowboys are the only ones that do it every game, with no variation at all (except the Thanksgiving alternates, of course).

 

The Cowboys blue uniforms are one of the best in the league ...



... and at least the blue on the uniform and pants matches the blue on the helmet, unlike their white uniform:



Shame they don't wear the blues more often, especially since the Redskins reverted back to wearing maroon at home instead of white.

 

I think there is some risk in sitting a player for too long. If you've clinched by Thanksgiving, I don't think you can sit a guy for six weeks and expect him to go out and be sharp. Perhaps the optimum is 1-2 weeks, especially if you have a bye factored in before your first playoff game.

San Diego and/or Kansas City may be decent enough to postpone Denver's mathematical division clinching until mid-December.

 

From what I remember, the blue on the road kept getting darker in hopes of busting the jinx. If you look at 60s footage or Super Bowl V, the blue is much closer to the home color. (The NFL made the Cowboys wear blue in SB5 because the rule was that the home team had to wear a colored uniform regardless of what they actually wore at home.) In this photo, it appears the Cowboys and Colts' blues are the same shade.



The shade of blue on the throwbacks seems to be accurate based on this 1960 team photo: