Right On Schedule » Brats & Beer

The NFL finally released its schedule for the 2007 season with much fanfare yesterday (did ESPN really have to do a two-hour special?) so now we can see what our lives will look like the final four months of the year. For us Packer fans, it looks like we might be in for a bumpy ride.

Since I haven’t studied in detail any of the other teams’ schedules, I wouldn’t say that Green Bay’s is the toughest, but it certainly doesn’t look easy. The Packers open 2007 at home against the Philadelphia, play back-to-back Thursday games, and close the year with four of their last six games on the road.

I suppose in a way it’s good to get that (seemingly) annual meeting with the Iggles out of the way early. It’s not clear yet just how good the Eagles are going to be this year, but certainly they won’t be a pushover. It’s a rough way to get the season started but who knows, if Philly gets off to a slow start it could mean good things for the home crowd at Lambeau Field.

The league penciled Green Bay in for three prime-time games plus their Thanksgiving game against Detroit for four national TV appearances. Of course one of those is on the NFL Network, so a large number of us with cable TV will most likely not get to see that one. (Curse you Time Warner!)

That game also completes a pair of Thursday games that starts with their Thanksgiving match-up against the Lions. I’m not sure how good I feel about the back-to-back Thursday games as it breaks up their routine right as the post-season race will be heating up, but hopefully by then they will have learned to deal with adversity.

As I look at it through my Green & Gold colored glasses, and not knowing yet what the draft or potential trades might mean for the roster, I think the Packers should be able to win 10 of these games this year. In the “winnable” category I would put Philadelphia, NY Giants, Washington, Kansas City, Carolina, Oakland, and St. Louis. I’m not saying they’ll win all of those, but these are the games I think Green Bay has a chance to win. They certainly should beat the suck-ass Raiders and Washington, and St. Louis doesn’t look much better than last year. Out of the rest, let’s say the Packers win one from Philly/Giants and one from Panthers/Chiefs. Toss in their home game against the Bears and a sweep of Minnesota and Detroit and we’re in the playoffs.

Yeah, it’s just that easy. Especially in April.

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