Skins get season opener against giants Sept 4, Thursday p.m. game.

[hagams]

At least you guys have the option to go to the game or not. I'm not about to fly from Japan for it.

[celts32]

Am i the only one not happy about this? Playing them in the opening game in front of a highly energized crowd celebrating a super bowl win makes what is always a difficult game for the skins almost impossible. I prefer our divisional road games to be on Sunday at 1pm.

[MTK]

Originally Posted by celts32

Am i the only one not happy about this? Playing them in the opening game in front of a highly energized crowd celebrating a super bowl win makes what is always a difficult game for the skins almost impossible. I prefer our divisional road games to be on Sunday at 1pm.

I'm looking at it as all the pressure is on them. They're the SB Champs opening up at home.

[GTripp0012]

Originally Posted by Mattyk72

I'm looking at it as all the pressure is on them. They're the SB Champs opening up at home.

From a schedule perspective, theres a pretty sizable advantage to playing your most difficult game in Week 1 when you are still 0-0.

I mean, as a team, you don't want to start 0-3, or 0-4 because the NFL loaded up all your hard games at the beginning of the year, but giving your team 6 months to prepare for the theoretical 'toughest' game of the year is a pretty big advantage.

[SouperMeister]

Originally Posted by celts32

Am i the only one not happy about this? Playing them in the opening game in front of a highly energized crowd celebrating a super bowl win makes what is always a difficult game for the skins almost impossible. I prefer our divisional road games to be on Sunday at 1pm.

I seem to recall the Cowboys smoking us in the 1992 season opener following our last Super Bowl title. Cowboys went on to win the title, and we returned the favor the following year by destroying them in the '93 opener - definitely the high water mark for the short-lived Richie Petibone era.

Bottom line, just because it's the Giants first game off their title doesn't mean that the Skins will roll over and hand it to them.

[celts32]

Originally Posted by SouperMeister

I seem to recall the Cowboys smoking us in the 1992 season opener following our last Super Bowl title. Cowboys went on to win the title, and we returned the favor the following year by destroying them in the '93 opener - definitely the high water mark for the short-lived Richie Petibone era.

Bottom line, just because it's the Giants first game off their title doesn't mean that the Skins will roll over and hand it to them.

True, they but IMO this is the toughest week of the season to play the Giants in NJ. Maybe they will win anyway and it will spark a great season...but a lot of what makes a schedule hard or easy is where the games are placed and this is the worst spot the @ NY game could have been placed. My thinking was that since we have a new coach and a new offense it would have been better to get our feet wet in a non divisional game. It is what it is though...I am not going to cry about it anymore but I have to be honest and my initial reaction was negative towards being in this opening game.

[firstdown]

Originally Posted by celts32

Am i the only one not happy about this? Playing them in the opening game in front of a highly energized crowd celebrating a super bowl win makes what is always a difficult game for the skins almost impossible. I prefer our divisional road games to be on Sunday at 1pm.

I really like the fact that we are thrown right into the fire on opening day. If we win that game our team gains a ton of convidence. If we play a good game and they win I think we still go away feeling good about how we played. The only thing that could really be bad is if we get blown out but I just don't think that will happen.

[GeneParmesan]

It will be nice to start the season off with a bang. Prime time against the champs, division game, doesn't get much better. And of course a nice thrashing of the g-women would be the icing on the cheddar.

[Monkeydad]

Game probably will be moved back to 4:00 EST so it doesn't conflict with the Republican Convention and McCain's acceptance speech.

Good idea...then no one will have to make a choice between these two important events.

[GeneParmesan]

I thought they were saying a 7pm kickoff? 4pm sounds awfully early.

[Monkeydad]

A time change is being discussed so the game won't be interrupted or going up against another important event.

Hey, it's a holiday, the Skins' first game...just work half a day.

[calia]

I believe I have made this observation in previous seasons, but it seems to me that the Skins more often than not get a tough schedule. Often, the bye comes either too early or we play the out-of-division teams we think will be tough on the road and the weaker teams at home. And now we begin this season with a new coach on the road against the team that won the Superbowl. That's a tall order. I cannot help but wonder why the schedules seem to come out this way.

Look at last year (below), as an example -- bye in week 4, home games against Miami, Detroit, and Buffalo, and away games at Green Bay, New England, and Tampa. Now I know at the start of each season, one never knows who will be tough and who won't be, but the teams I have identified above were not hard to predict (and I think we would have beaten the Bills had it not been the first game after ST's funeral).

Someone call Oliver Stone -- I sense a conspiracy.

1 Sep 09 MIA 13 @ WAS 16 FINAL
2 Sep 17 WAS 20 @ PHI 12 FINAL
3 Sep 23 NYG 24 @ WAS 17 FINAL
4 Bye
5 Oct 07 DET 3 @ WAS 34 FINAL
6 Oct 14 WAS 14 @ GB 17 FINAL
7 Oct 21 ARI 19 @ WAS 21 FINAL
8 Oct 28 WAS 7 @ NE 52 FINAL
9 Nov 04 WAS 23 @ NYJ 20 FINAL
10 Nov 11 PHI 33 @ WAS 25 FINAL
11 Nov 18 WAS 23 @ DAL 28 FINAL
12 Nov 25 WAS 13 @ TB 19 FINAL
13 Dec 02 BUF 17 @ WAS 16 FINAL
14 Dec 06 CHI 16 @ WAS 24 FINAL
15 Dec 16 WAS 22 @ NYG 10 FINAL
16 Dec 23 WAS 32 @ MIN 21 FINAL
17 Dec 30 DAL 6 @ WAS 27

[lwiedy]

Originally Posted by calia

I believe I have made this observation in previous seasons, but it seems to me that the Skins more often than not get a tough schedule. Often, the bye comes either too early or we play the out-of-division teams we think will be tough on the road and the weaker teams at home. And now we begin this season with a new coach on the road against the team that won the Superbowl. That's a tall order. I cannot help but wonder why the schedules seem to come out this way.

Look at last year (below), as an example -- bye in week 4, home games against Miami, Detroit, and Buffalo, and away games at Green Bay, New England, and Tampa. Now I know at the start of each season, one never knows who will be tough and who won't be, but the teams I have identified above were not hard to predict (and I think we would have beaten the Bills had it not been the first game after ST's funeral).

Someone call Oliver Stone -- I sense a conspiracy.

1 Sep 09 MIA 13 @ WAS 16 FINAL
2 Sep 17 WAS 20 @ PHI 12 FINAL
3 Sep 23 NYG 24 @ WAS 17 FINAL
4 Bye
5 Oct 07 DET 3 @ WAS 34 FINAL
6 Oct 14 WAS 14 @ GB 17 FINAL
7 Oct 21 ARI 19 @ WAS 21 FINAL
8 Oct 28 WAS 7 @ NE 52 FINAL
9 Nov 04 WAS 23 @ NYJ 20 FINAL
10 Nov 11 PHI 33 @ WAS 25 FINAL
11 Nov 18 WAS 23 @ DAL 28 FINAL
12 Nov 25 WAS 13 @ TB 19 FINAL
13 Dec 02 BUF 17 @ WAS 16 FINAL
14 Dec 06 CHI 16 @ WAS 24 FINAL
15 Dec 16 WAS 22 @ NYG 10 FINAL
16 Dec 23 WAS 32 @ MIN 21 FINAL
17 Dec 30 DAL 6 @ WAS 27

Can't buy it. The schedule is a set formula established years in advance and there is no way to know who is going to be what and when. In 2005, the 2007 GB game was looking like no problem.

A case can be made that the road games were scheduled (date-wise) in our favor. NE & GB in October (not December) and TB in November (not Sept.)

As for the off-week (it not a bye, the Celtics don't play tonight and no one says they have a bye), you really need to know how those are established before saying they are assigned as a purposeful detriment. Besides, if you have injuries early (i.e. Jon Jansen) couldn't that help a team reorganize?

[skinsfan_nn]

Originally Posted by Buster

A time change is being discussed so the game won't be interrupted or going up against another important event.

Hey, it's a holiday, the Skins' first game...just work half a day.

If it's a holiday, work half a day? Doesn't that usually mean a WHOLE day off? I thought you would agree.

[redskinsfanatic]

i'm glad to see the skins play so early of course,but i can sit here and think of a lot more match ups that would get higher ratings than this game would.