ChosenOne Posted April 21, 2011 Report Share Posted April 21, 2011 (edited) Every Week 3 game of the NFL's 2011 schedule features matchups between teams that share the same bye week, a measure ostensibly included as insurance against a lockout. Translation: If the lockout costs the league three games, all 16 regular-season contests could still be played, starting in what would have been the fourth week of the schedule. All bye weeks would be lost, and the NFL would also cut out the extra week between the conference championship games and the Super Bowl. It would be easy to suggest that Commissioner Goodell's rosy outlook is just a charade, but it's hard to blame the league for taking practical measures to ensure a full season. NFL schedule could buy three weeks The recently released NFL schedule leaves open the possibility that there could be no games the first three scheduled weeks and all 16 regular-season games could still be played. Every game in Week 3 has teams which share the same bye week later in the season. That means the teams could make up that week's games on what was originally scheduled to be their bye. The NFL also could lose the week between the conference championship games and the Super Bowl, and has secured hotel rooms in Indianapolis -- site of the Super Bowl XLVI -- for two weeks, meaning the Super Bowl could be played a week later than its originally scheduled date of Feb. 5, 2012. The NFL season is scheduled to begin on Sept. 8, with a full slate of games on Sept. 11-12. That means the league could start the season as late as Oct. 2, 2011 and still finish the Super Bowl by Feb. 12, 2012. When the scenario was brought to NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy, he declined comment. Wednesday, after four mediation sessions between the NFL and its locked-out players, a federal judge in Minneapolis decided to give both parties an extended break. They will reconvene on May 16. In the interim, U.S. District Judge Susan Richard Nelson is expected to decide well before then on the players' request to immediately lift the lockout, which is now almost six weeks old. ESPN.com NFL Schedule Edited April 21, 2011 by ChosenOne Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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