2020 schedule to be released tomorrow - (UPDATED: Pats open vs MIA on 9/13)

[Sicilian]

Tough on paper. But this year more than any other is likely to be weird. We don't know:

A) How many of these games we're actually going to play.

B) How any player or team in the league is going to do with preparation under the current guidelines. I'd like to think that Belichick's experience gives him an edge here, but it's uncharted territory.

Basically, we have a bunch of general unknowns regarding the season, to augment the usual unknowns that go along with the schedule (teams rising and falling, injuries to starting QB's, etc). Predicting records right now is tough, since we don't even know how many games we have to predict. You could predict 8-6 or 9-4 and they'd be just as viable, at the moment.

 

[sb1]

Tough on paper. But this year more than any other is likely to be weird. We don't know:

A) How many of these games we're actually going to play.

B) How any player or team in the league is going to do with preparation under the current guidelines. I'd like to think that Belichick's experience gives him an edge here, but it's uncharted territory.

Basically, we have a bunch of general unknowns regarding the season, to augment the usual unknowns that go along with the schedule (teams rising and falling, injuries to starting QB's, etc). Predicting records right now is tough, since we don't even know how many games we have to predict. You could predict 8-6 or 9-4 and they'd be just as viable, at the moment.

And will there be fans? Games @ KC, @ BUF and @ SEA are a lot less daunting in empty stadiums....

 

[Sicilian]

And will there be fans? Games @ KC, @ BUF and @ SEA are a lot less daunting in empty stadiums....

Good point. It really reminds me of how I feel before every Super Bowl. The conditions are so WEIRD that making predictions based on the usual criteria is tricky. Hell, week 1 of the NFL season is already hard to predict each year, so the opening night game in Miami now has absolutely no basis for prediction at all:

1) It may not exist.
2) It's a weird location to play at that time of year.
3) It's opening week when no one has any film, and barely any real idea of their own identity.
4) It's two QB's (likely) that have never started an NFL game.
5) The preparation leading up to the game is likely to be different, somewhere along the way.

 

[Patjew]

Good question...

I agree!

 

[Uptown]

 

[Chevy]

I see a lot of posts talking about crowds being an advantage. I wonder if this is true - does a loud crowd make it tougher than an empty stadium which is eerily quiet?

Kind of like working in a data center. You learn to process out the white noise, but when it goes away it's disturbing.

 

[sb1]

Looks about right.

2 of those underdog games are +3 on the road meaning a pick em game on a neutral field.

 

[Nikolai]

9-7 for me too at early look

8 games at 1 pm
I love 1 pm games
This was the first thing i looked..

If there is a silver lining in all this, the return of regular 1pm games is one of those things.

Like you, I find myself several hours ahead of the US regularly, so I love 1pm games way more than most!

 

[Ring 6]

Good point. It really reminds me of how I feel before every Super Bowl. The conditions are so WEIRD that making predictions based on the usual criteria is tricky. Hell, week 1 of the NFL season is already hard to predict each year, so the opening night game in Miami now has absolutely no basis for prediction at all:

1) It may not exist.
2) It's a weird location to play at that time of year.
3) It's opening week when no one has any film, and barely any real idea of their own identity.
4) It's two QB's (likely) that have never started an NFL game.
5) The preparation leading up to the game is likely to be different, somewhere along the way.

It’s in Foxboro. The opener.

 

[Vatahala]

If there is a silver lining in all this, the return of regular 1pm games is one of those things.

Like you, I find myself several hours ahead of the US regularly, so I love 1pm games way more than most!

Just curious, ever have friends come over at 2am to watch a game?

Enjoying a victory pleasantly buzzed and stepping outside to see the sun rise would be a memorable experience.

 

[Nikolai]

Just curious, ever have friends come over at 2am to watch a game?

Enjoying a victory pleasantly buzzed and stepping outside to see the sun rise would be a memorable experience.

That sounds pretty amazing actually. Most times, I'm somewhere not cool, but I did emerge from the MWR after the 2018 win over the Packers to a beautiful pre-dawn sky over the mountains of Afghanistan.

Thanks to the miracle of VPN and NFL GamePass, I did get to enjoy last year's first Dolphins game in Dubai, but still alone, in a really nice hotel with room service

 

[captain stone]

That sounds pretty amazing actually. Most times, I'm somewhere not cool, but I did emerge from the MWR after the 2018 win over the Packers to a beautiful pre-dawn sky over the mountains of Afghanistan.

Thanks to the miracle of VPN and NFL GamePass, I did get to enjoy last year's first Dolphins game in Dubai, but still alone, in a really nice hotel with room service

Stay safe my man...and Thank you.

 

[Nikolai]

Stay safe my man...and Thank you.

Will do!

And no, thank you!

 

[LightSkinSmurf]

Hard for me to get excited about anything with so much uncertainty right now.

 

[patsinthesnow]

Patriots vs Dolphins
Patriots @ Seahawks
Patriots vs Raiders

Seahawks

• likely no fans
• no Clowney
• CB2 likely suspended (replacement Flowers is horrible)

doable

 

[sb1]

Patriots vs Dolphins
Patriots @ Seahawks
Patriots vs Raiders

Seahawks

• likely no fans
• no Clowney
• CB2 likely suspended (replacement Flowers is horrible)

doable

No fans completely changes the outlook of this schedule.