2014 NFL Schedule: Flex games can now start in Week 5

[BLeonard]

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap2000000343369/article/flex-scheduling-can-now-start-as-early-as-week-5?campaign=Twitter_atl



The potential flex games between Week 5 and Week 10 come with a stipulation. The NFL can't change the tentative "Sunday Night Football" game every week. The league can flex up to two games total into Sunday night between Weeks 5-10. The rest of the flexible schedule procedures from previous years remains intact. After Week 11, the NFL can flex any Sunday night game.


Jesus Christ.... How long before the entire schedule can just be "flexed" to whatever times and networks that they want...?

-Bill

[better days]

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap2000000343369/article/flex-scheduling-can-now-start-as-early-as-week-5?campaign=Twitter_atl



Jesus Christ.... How long before the entire schedule can just be "flexed" to whatever times and networks that they want...?

-Bill

Flex games suck for people going to the game, especially if coming from out of town.

But it should provide a more compelling game for TV audiences.

[BLeonard]

Flex games suck for people going to the game, especially if coming from out of town.

But it should provide a more compelling game for TV audiences.

Keyword: "should"

Many people thought this past season's Super Bowl would be a pretty good game, too... No way of telling how "good" a game is until it's actually being played.

I don't mind them flexing so much, if a game has playoff implications, but in week friggen 5...? Come on.

-Bill

[better days]

Keyword: "should"

Many people thought this past season's Super Bowl would be a pretty good game, too... No way of telling how "good" a game is until it's actually being played.

I don't mind them flexing so much, if a game has playoff implications, but in week friggen 5...? Come on.

-Bill

Agreed. That is why I said should instead of would.

[YardRat]

Yeah, week 5 is a little early. Hopefully they use it judiciously, and only flex a couple of games that might feature a team(s) that unexpectedly start hot out of the gate. Like Buffalo :D

[gr8slayer]

This is GREAT NEWS.

[stuckincincy]

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap2000000343369/article/flex-scheduling-can-now-start-as-early-as-week-5?campaign=Twitter_atl



Jesus Christ.... How long before the entire schedule can just be "flexed" to whatever times and networks that they want...?

-Bill

What does Jesus have to do with the NFL schedule?

[JohnnyGold]

I don't mind them flexing so much, if a game has playoff implications, but in week friggen 5...? Come on.

-Bill

Normally I would agree with you whole-heartedly, but at this point, I just sit back and applaud every move the NFL makes.

Do you realize that tonight, millions upon millions of people will be huddled around their televisions and computers for a sporting "event"... but it won't be the freaking playoffs in two of the other major North American sports leagues; not a Yankees Red Sox game; it's for the release of the NFL schedule.

The NFL has marketed itself in such a way whereby every single transaction that takes place is seen as some integral strategic move on the grand chess board that is professional football. Cue some classical music in the background, and the voice of NFL films, and suddenly a matchup between 0-2 Cincinnati vs. 1-1 Cleveland feels like the fate of the middle of the country hangs in the balance.

It is, for lack of a better word, brilliant.

And now, the NFL seems like it will have full discretion to move their marquee matchups to primetime, for 75% of the season. That's amazing.
Think of last year, when Carolina (unexpectedly) took the league by storm... it seemed as if they were playing a huge game every week, but yet they were getting the typical 1pm Sunday time slot. Although that's not a bad thing, when the Bills are playing at 1, that's all I'm going to watch--so I missed many of their games.

When you add in the extra wild card team next season... damn. The NFL is going to absolutely control the national conversation year round (not that it doesn't already).

I would say if it ain't broke don't fix it, but the NFL is the one league which seems to adhere to the principle of "we owe our fans nothing except the best possible experience we can deliver." I can actually appreciate a league/commissioner that changes with the times, as opposed to vice versa. How well is the alternative working for baseball?

[chris66]

Hockey playoffs are on. Schedule can wait till tomorrow

- - - Updated - - -

Hockey playoffs are on. Schedule can wait till tomorrow

[Generalissimus Gibby]

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap2000000343369/article/flex-scheduling-can-now-start-as-early-as-week-5?campaign=Twitter_atl



Jesus Christ.... How long before the entire schedule can just be "flexed" to whatever times and networks that they want...?

-Bill

I kind of agree with the NFL on this one. I mean suppose you put a team in prime time but that team has turned to **** while another team that stank the previous year is suddenly on fire. I think you go with the match up that will be exciting over the one that will be a stinker.

[Historian]

Jesus Christ.... How long before the entire schedule can just be "flexed" to whatever times and networks that they want...?

-Bill

How long until the crap teams like Buffalo and Cleveland are "radio broadcast only" because the league doesn't want to tie up the sattelite time with crappy matchups?

[trapezeus]

it's definitely a pain for the traveling fan.

but i think this exists until the NFL takes all of this in house to their own network. they love those tv contracts and need these carveouts to help their TV partners not get stuck with snoozzer after snoozer when they've paid billions for the rights. ,

i think NFL network and thursday night games have been their way to see if they can truly scale up the operation and just sell the games on their network. ofcourse, this gets into all sorts of legal issues with the antitrust exemption rules. And perhaps they don't need to "sell" the games to the fans, they just need to have a bunhc of channels on cable that are part of the regular package. then they can just interact with their sponsors directly and drop the middle man of the networks.

Even if the NFL thinks that the costs to scale up to all games are too expensive, simply showing that fans will seek out nfl network and watch the game shows the network that they need to keep upping the ante.

[SpikedLemonade]

How long until the crap teams like Buffalo and Cleveland are "radio broadcast only" because the league doesn't want to tie up the sattelite time with crappy matchups?

Are you saying that Buffalo does not belong in today's NFL?

[Historian]

Are you saying that Buffalo does not belong in today's NFL?
I'm saying that the team is not as attractive as those of us here (myself included) seem to think it is.

[trapezeus]

the team can be a draw. they need to win. kids across the country are more likely to get excited about a fun team or an exciting player. we have neither. they are less geographically connected as families move everywhere. they like it for super stars and great teams.

most of us grew up a bills fan because that's where we were born and that'the only game we had access to.

People are greenbay fans. it's about winning regularly. look at the patriots. one of the lamest fanbases, exploded when the started to win.

The bills need a vision, they need to stick with it, and thye have to know sometimes, you have to bite the bullet and sign a player as you are building something. i think byrd will be missed to some degree and whoever we get and if he's as good or better, will cost more the next time around.

This team just loses and the small fanbase that sticks by them makes it worthwhile for the beancounters. it won't change.

[OpIv37]

I hate the flex scheduling policy.

I get it: the NFL is a business and they make more money when more people watch the night game, so they try to make it as interesting as possible.

The problem is that when they do this, they **** over the most loyal fans: the ones who bought tickets and want to go to the games. Not every fan lives 10 min from the stadium of their favorite team.

[stuckincincy]

I hate the flex scheduling policy.

I get it: the NFL is a business and they make more money when more people watch the night game, so they try to make it as interesting as possible.

The problem is that when they do this, they **** over the most loyal fans: the ones who bought tickets and want to go to the games. Not every fan lives 10 min from the stadium of their favorite team.

Well said.