6:52 p.m. — The Baltimore Ravens 2009 Schedule:
Sept 13 Kansas City, 1
Sept 20 @San Diego, 4:15
Sept 27 Cleveland, 1
Oct 4 @ New England, 1
Oct 11 Cincinnati, 1
Oct 18 @ Minnesota, 1
Oct 26 BYE
Nov 1 Denver, 1
Nov 8 @ Cincinnati, 1
Nov 16 @ Cleveland, 8:30 ESPN
Nov 22 Indianapolis, 1
Nov 29 Pittsburgh, 8:20 NBC
Dec 7 @ Green Bay, 8:30 ESPN
Dec 13 Detroit, 1
Dec 20 Chicago, 1
Dec 27 @ Pittsburgh, 1
Jan 3 @ Oakland, 4:15
Flex schedule kicks in after Nov. 22nd
We will be releasing information regarding the New England bus trip by the end of the week. We will also do Green Bay and Pittsburgh. We will do pre-game parties in most cities. More details will be coming in the weeks ahead.
6:48 p.m. –Well, here’s the schedule & text:
From WNST.net: Sept: 13KC 20@sd 27CLE Oct. 4@ne 11CIN 18@min 26bye Nov. 1DEN 8@cin 16@cle 22IND 29PIT Dec. 7@gb 13DET 20CHI 27@pit Jan.3@oak www.buyatoyota.com
6:29 p.m. — Reports coming in that the Ravens have (logically — they’re business partners) given WBAL Radio the “leak” on a Sunday Night Football game in Baltimore against Pittsburgh on Nov. 29th. Unconfirmed. But I’m getting comments about it…and it makes perfect sense!
6:26 p.m. — The New England Patriots have leaked their primetime games via their official website.
In addition to the already announced season-opener against the Buffalo Bills on Monday Night Football, New England will play three other regular season prime time games.
Two of the games will be Sunday night NBC broadcasts, at Miami and at Indianapolis. The third will be another Monday-nighter on ESPN against the Saints in New Orleans.
6:19 p.m. — Ray Bachman is sending me texts wanting the schedule. My staff is piling on! Let the trash talk begin! Memo to the commenter below who said we didn’t have the schedule up until 20 minutes late last year: you clearly weren’t on the text service. That’s the first place anything EVER goes at WNST. Until, perhaps today, in this blog? Who knows? This is kinda fun, in a twisted kinda way. Kind of like New Year’s Day if you are as geeky about wanting the schedule like I am…
Really…we KNOW we’re getting it in 41 minutes either way…so it’s a like a game where you know the outcome, right?
6:07 p.m. — We’ve got a Bears’ leak in Chicago here…
The Ravens won’t be playing the Bears or the Steelers in Week 2 (Sept. 20). They’ll be playing each other.
5:48 p.m. — OK, so the leaks have started. Two New York sources have popped up “loose” schedules and the few maniacs like me who have fun with this in the media are scouring, surfing and texting. Honestly, I DO take it seriously, but it’s just like anything else: you can’t win EVERY time.
I have 75 minutes to get it. The odds are stacked against me this year because the league is REALLY serious about getting you to their website and the NFL Network at 7 p.m. EST sharp.
Here’s the link to the New York Giants “leak” in the Star Ledger…
Here’s the link to the New York Jets’ “mini-leak” on a fan blog…
Also, Pro Football Talk leaked the NFL’s “mandates” for the schedule and the scheduling process here...
The major highlights:
Only two clubs have a three-game road trip.
No team with a bye during Week Four or Week Five in 2008 will have a bye during Week Four or Week Five of the 2009 season.
The league now monitors the number of games that West Coast teams play at 1:00 p.m. EST, when traveling to other time zones.
The league tracks — and attempts to minimize — the number of road games following Monday night games played away from home.
For the third straight year, any team playing a Thursday game has a home game on the preceding Sunday.
No team will play more than two road games against a team coming off a bye week.