Dan Graziano, senior NFL national reporter 10y

Big Blue Morning: More schedule thoughts

In case you missed it Wednesday night, when the New York Giants' 2014 schedule was announced, I posted this analysis and, just for kicks, this game-by-game prediction post. Feel free to read and tell me where you think I'm wrong.

After looking over things again, I had a few more specific thoughts about the Giants' schedule that weren't addressed in the immediate analysis Wednesday night:

  • The Giants only have one game against a team that has a bye the week before. It's their Week 12 home game against the Dallas Cowboys, who are on bye in Week 11.

  • When the Giants play at Dallas in Week 7, the Cowboys will be coming off a road trip to Seattle in Week 6.

  • Other than Week 12, the Giants have two games against teams that will be coming off extra rest. In Week 16, they travel to St. Louis to play the Rams, who will have had nine days off following their Thursday game in Week 15. And in Week 17, the Giants will host an Eagles team that will have had one extra day of rest after playing a Saturday game in Week 16.

  • On the flip side, the Giants have one game against a team that will be on short rest, but they will be, too. The Giants' home opener in Week 2 is on Sunday against the Arizona Cardinals, who will have played the late "Monday Night Football" game in Week 1. The Giants will have played the early "Monday Night Football" game in Week 1, so they will have the advantage of three extra hours of rest in addition to playing at home.

  • After they get home from the Sept. 8 "Monday Night Football" opener in Detroit, the Giants might not have to board a plane again until Oct. 18. From Weeks 2 through 6, they play three home games, and their only two road trips are to Philadelphia and Washington, which are easily reachable by bus or train.

  • Under a new rule this year, the NFL has the option to "flex" a maximum of two total games (league-wide) into Sunday night slots on NBC between Weeks 5 and 10. Presumably, they would only do this for a matchup that screamed for it. The Giants' Week 10 game in Seattle could potentially be a candidate if the Giants have a very good record in their first eight games (and if two other games haven't already been flexed to Sunday night in Weeks 5-9). But since the Giants are already playing Sunday night in Week 6, Monday Night in Week 9 and have a bye in Week 8, the only other possibilities for an extra midseason "flex" game are the Week 5 home game against Atlanta (unlikely) and the Week 7 game in Dallas. Don't discount the latter possibility, because they do love putting Giants-Cowboys in prime time when they can. But you would have to think the fact that the Week 12 Giants-Cowboys game in New Jersey is already slated for a Sunday night slot would discourage them from moving the Week 7 game there if they aren't pressured to make a change. Also, the Week 7 Sunday night game as of now is 49ers-Broncos, which seems unlikely to move unless Peyton Manning retires before then.

^ Back to Top ^