2010 NFL Schedule Release: Open Thread

Here is the full 2010 Saints schedule directly from the league as well as the opening weekend slate and notes from around the league regarding other teams and their schedule. 

You can view the Saints entire schedule on NFL.com right here. 

What are you guys thinking? How does it look? Easy or tough?

Sorry this wasn't posted earlier. I had my times screwed up and wasn't thinking about east coast time

New Orleans Saints 2010 Schedule

POSTSEASON

Saturday, January 8     AFC and NFC Wild Card Playoffs (NBC)

Sunday, January 9       AFC and NFC Wild Card Playoffs (CBS and FOX)

Saturday, January 15    AFC and NFC Divisional Playoffs (CBS and FOX)

Sunday, January 16      AFC and NFC Divisional Playoffs (CBS and FOX)

Sunday, January 23      AFC and NFC Championship Games (CBS and FOX)

Sunday, January 30      AFC-NFC Pro Bowl in Hawaii (FOX)

Sunday, February 6      Super Bowl XLV in North Texas (FOX). 

Official NFL Release

2010 NFL SCHEDULE ANNOUNCED

-- Complete 2010 Schedule Available on NFL.com --

The NFL announced today its 17-week, 256-game regular-season schedule for 2010, which kicks off on Thursday night, September 9 in New Orleans and concludes on Sunday, January 2, with 16 division games.

The season begins with the NFL's annual Thursday primetime kickoff game.  This year the opener on September 9 on NBC (8:30 PM ET) features the Super Bowl XLIV champion New Orleans Saints at home against the NFC North champion Minnesota Vikings in a rematch of last season's memorable NFC Championship Game.  In a format introduced in 2004, the Super Bowl champion annually hosts the NFL Thursday night season kickoff. 

NBC will carry two primetime games on Kickoff Weekend (Thursday and Sunday nights) for a season total of 18 primetime games (the opening Thursday night kickoff and 17 Sunday Night Footballgames).  The Sunday night Kickoff Weekend game will feature an NFC East showdown when the Dallas Cowboys visit the Washington Redskins. 

Among the Kickoff Weekend highlights are the debuts of two venues.  The new Meadowlands Stadium will host two games on Kickoff Weekend, including one in primetime.   On Sunday, September 12, the New York Giants will face the Carolina Panthers (1:00 PM ET, FOX) in the first regular-season game at the stadium.  A day later, the New York Jets will meet the Baltimore Ravens in the first nationally televised Monday Night Football game (7:00 PM ET, ESPN) of the season.  The second contest of ESPN's opening weekend doubleheader will feature the Kansas City Chiefs hosting the San Diego Chargers, showcasing the unique renovation of one of the NFL's iconic venues - Arrowhead Stadium (10:15 PM ET, ESPN).  For the remainder of the season, ESPN will televise one Monday night game for the next 15 weeks.  There will be no Monday night game on the final regular-season weekend (Week 17), enhancing the ability to schedule the opening weekend of the NFL playoffs.

The regular season will conclude with Week 17 on Sunday, January 2.  All 16 games scheduled for Week 17 are division contests.  In the final three weeks, there will be a total of 28 division matchups, up from 15 division games in the final three weeks of 2009, to enhance the potential for more games at the end of the season with playoff ramifications.    

The 2010 season will come to a close on Sunday, February 6, 2011, when the NFL will crown a champion at Super Bowl XLV at Cowboys Stadium in North Texas.

For ticket information, fans may visit www.nfl.com/tickets.

NFL KICKOFF 2010 WEEKEND 

Thursday, September 9

Sunday, September 12

Monday, September 13

Two of the highlights in a season sure to have many will come in late October and early November when the NFL again extends beyond the borders of the United States.  On October 31 at London's historic Wembley Stadium, the NFL will continue its International Series of regular-season games when the San Francisco 49ers host the Denver Broncos (1:00 PM ET, CBS).  Then on Sunday, November 7, the Buffalo Bills will venture north to Canada for the third consecutive season when they host the Chicago Bears in Toronto at the Rogers Centre (1:00 PM ET, FOX).

NFL Network will kick off an eight-game "run to the playoffs" schedule on November 11 when the Atlanta Falcons host the Ravens.  The network will televise seven games on Thursday night and a Saturday night game on Christmas featuring the Cowboys and Arizona Cardinals.  All NFL Network games will start at 8:20 PM ET, except for the December 25 matchup, which will kick off at 7:30 PM ET.

The season again will utilize "flexible scheduling" in Weeks 11-17.  In Weeks 11-16, the schedule lists the games tentatively set for Sunday Night Football on NBC.  Only Sunday afternoon games are eligible to be moved to Sunday night, in which case the tentatively scheduled Sunday night game would be moved to an afternoon start time.  Flexible scheduling will not be applied to games airing on Thursday, Saturday or Monday nights.

A flexible scheduling move would be announced at least 12 days before the game.  For Week 17, the change will be announced no later than six days before the game.  The schedule does not list a Sunday night game in Week 17, but an afternoon game with playoff implications will be moved to that time slot to conclude the season.

Flexible scheduling will ensure quality matchups in all Sunday time slots in those weeks and give "surprise" teams a chance to play their way into primetime.

Thanksgiving will feature an NFL tripleheader.  The early game will send the New England Patriots to Detroit to face the Lions (12:30 PM ET, CBS).  The late afternoon game will feature the Saints at the Cowboys (4:15 PM ET, FOX).  The holiday feast concludes with the Jets welcoming the Cincinnati Bengals (8:20 PM ET, NFLN) in the first Thanksgiving game hosted by a New York team since the AFL's first two Thanksgiving games in 1960 and 1961 when the Jets were known as the Titans. 

The NFL's 32 teams will each play 16 games over 17 weeks.  Byes are scheduled for Weeks 4 through 10.

The 2010 playoffs will include four division winners and two wild cards from each conference.  The playoffs begin with Wild Card Weekend on Saturday and Sunday, January 8-9.  The two division winners with the best records in each conference will earn first-round byes. 

Wild Card Weekend winners join the top two division champions in each conference in the Divisional Playoffs on Saturday and Sunday, January 15-16.  The AFC and NFC Championship Games will be played on Sunday, January 23.  The winners meet two weeks later on Sunday, February 6 in North Texas in Super Bowl XLV.

Preceding the Super Bowl for the second year in a row, the Pro Bowl will be played on Sunday, January 30 at Aloha Stadium in Hawaii. 

FOX will carry NFC games, the NFC playoffs, the NFC Championship Game, the Pro Bowl and Super Bowl XLV.  CBS will present the AFC, the AFC playoffs and the AFC Championship Game.  The 64 AFC-NFC interconference games (excluding primetime) are carried by CBS when the AFC team is the visitor and by FOX when the NFC team is on the road.  All postseason games are televised nationally.

In addition to its Sunday night package, NBC will televise a Wild Card playoff doubleheader on Saturday, January 8. 

By NFL policy, ESPN and NFL Network games also will be carried on free, over-the-air television in the city of the visiting team and in the city where the game is played if it is sold out 72 hours in advance of kickoff. 

The NFL is the only sports league that carries all regular-season and postseason games on free, over-the-air television.

Westwood One Radio will broadcast all NFL primetime games, the three Thanksgiving Day games and the entire NFL playoffs.