The NFL schedule has been released and I’ve listed the Saints’ official schedule on the right panel of my blog. Based on the schedule, I think it’s mostly positive for the Saints. They play some tough teams, but the one game that had the potential to be horrible weather in Green Bay is the first game of the season. The coldest game they’ll have is in Nashville in December. They also play in Minnesota in December, but their stadium is a dome so weather may affect travelling but it won’t affect field conditions. The schedule features four national games: Season opener @ Green Bay, Sunday night hosting the Colts, and two Monday night home games vs. Giants & Falcons.
Here’s the schedule in it’s entirety:
Thu 9/8 @ Green Bay Packers, 7:30pm NBC
Sun 9/18 vs. Chicago Bears, 12pm FOX
Sun 9/25 vs. Houston Texans, 12pm CBS
Sun 10/2 @ Jacksonville Jaguars, 12pm FOX
Sun 10/9 @ Carolina Panthers, 12pm FOX
Sun 10/16 @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 3:15pm FOX
Sun 10/23 vs. Indianapolis Colts, 7:20pm NBC
Sun 10/30 @ St. Louis Rams, 12pm FOX
Sun 11/6 vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 12pm FOX
Sun 11/13 @ Atlanta Falcons, 12pm FOX
BYE
Mon 11/28 vs. New York Giants, 7:30pm ESPN
Sun 12/4 vs. Detroit Lions, 12pm FOX
Sun 12/11 @ Tennessee Titans, 12pm FOX
Sun 12/18 @ Minnesota Vikings, 12pm FOX
Mon 12/26 vs. Atlanta Falcons, 7:30pm ESPN
Sun 1/1/12 vs. Carolina Panthers, 12pm FOX
Overall, I think the schedule is very favorable with the exception of 3 straight road games in October. If the Saints can get through that stretch, the season sets up well for them. The especially good news is no cold weather games, and they have two home games following both of their home Monday night football contests. The challenge with Monday nights is that it puts you on a short week, but at least they don’t have to travel for that game or the following week. I’m also a big fan of the bye week being later in the season, and for the Saints it comes after they play 10 games. That’s huge because that will come at a pivotal time to nurse injuries.
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