waltcolemansux
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| Posted: Thu Jul 05, 2007 8:32 pm Post subject: Raiders have toughest 2007 NFL Schedule |
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Schedule goes easy on 49ers, not Raiders
Nancy Gay - San Francisco Chronicle, 4/12/07
The 2006 season wasn't kind to the Raiders, and the 2007 schedule isn't cutting them any breaks, either.
Along with the Buffalo Bills, they are saddled with the toughest schedule statistically in the NFL this season.
But you won't hear the 49ers complain about their lineup of opponents.
After narrowly missing the playoffs last season, the 49ers ended up with one of the NFL's softest '07 schedules, facing teams that had a combined .469 winning percentage in '06.
As previously announced, the NFL is spotlighting the 49ers' Sept. 10 season opener at home against the Arizona Cardinals as a marquee ESPN Monday Night matchup between two rising young quarterbacks: Alex Smith vs. Matt Leinart.
In all, the 49ers have four nationally televised games this season, against the Cardinals, the Seahawks, the Bengals and the Buccaneers. The Raiders have no nationally-televised games on tap.
The NFL released its full 17-week, 256-game regular-season schedule Wednesday to much fanfare, with the Super Bowl champion Indianapolis Colts garnering four prime-time television appearances, starting with the league's regular-season debut, a Thursday night Sept. 6 game at home against the NFC runner-up New Orleans Saints. That game marks the sixth consecutive year the NFL has opened its regular season on a Thursday.
Burdened with the worst record in the NFL last season at 2-14, the Raiders will be facing the league's most difficult cast of opponents in 2007. Once they get past their regular-season opener, at home Sept. 9 against the Detroit Lions (3-13 in 2006), the schedule gets a lot tougher.
Combined, the Raiders' opponents had a .539 winning percentage in 2006, and all three of their AFC West opponents finished .500 or better. September may be the Raiders' easiest month: After opening against the Lions, they travel to Denver for a Sept. 16 AFC West game against the Broncos before returning home to face the Browns at the Coliseum on Sept. 23. They finish the month with a long road trip to Miami for a Sept. 30 game against the Dolphins, followed by an Oct. 7 bye. |
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