A league source recently told us that the NFL could accelerate the release of the 2009 regular-season schedule, if portions of it were to be leaked.
As a reader points out, the New England Patriots apparently have busted the dam. At least as it relates to their own schedule.
Now appearing on the team’s official web site is what appears to be the specific order in which the Patriots will play their games, with the only missing information the time for kickoff.
Though the bye week isn’t mentioned, the league typically gives the teams that play in England the following week off.
So if Week Eight will be the Pats’ bye week, and if the list posted on the team’s web site wasn’t merely random, here’s the week-by-week schedule.
Week One (Monday, September 14): Bills.
Week Two (September 20-21): at Dolphins.
Week Three (September 27-28): Jets.
Week Four (October 4-5): at Broncos.
Week Five (October 11-12): Ravens.
Week Six (October 18-19): Falcons.
Week Seven (Sunday, October 25): at Buccaneers (in London).
Week Nine (November 8-9): at Jets.
Week Ten (November 15-16): Dolphins.
Week Eleven (November 22-23): at Texans.
Week Twelve (November 29-30): at Colts.
Week Thirteen (December 6-7): Panthers.
Week Fourteen (December 13-14): Jaguars.
Week Fifteen (December 20-21): at Saints.
Week Sixteen (December 27-28): Titans.
Week Seventeen (January 3): at Bills.
Keep in mind that, in early November, NFL Network airs games on Thursday nights, and possibly on one late-season Saturday. So one or more of the games from Week Nine forward could be played on a day other than Sunday or Monday.
Lately, the Colts-Pats have played on a Sunday afternoon in early November, at the start of the ratings “sweeps” period. This year, they square off on Thanksgiving weekend, in what could be one the Sunday night or Monday night game. (If it’s the Sunday evening game, it could be flexed out of the prime-time slot in the unlikely event that either or both teams have a poor record at that point in the season.)
At this point, it’s unknown whether the list of games appearing on the Pats’ web site reflects the actual schedule, or whether some guy was just messing around and trying to guess the order of the games.
Either way, we’ve got a feeling that the list will be disappearing soon.
UPDATE: We’re told that this isn’t the actual schedule, and that someone at the team’s web site plugged them in randomly to complete the grid.