Line of Scrimmage: '08 NFL Schedule - Hits and Highlights

The 2008 NFL schedule arrived on Tuesday, confirming much that we already knew. Every team in the league already had its opponents and home and road sites (with the exception of the games in London and Toronto) determined before the calendar had flipped to 2008, the result of the league's neat, symmetrical little scheduling formula.

We also knew the date and time of what is arguably the most anticipated game of this year's slate, namely the obligatory "Brett Favre night" tilt between the Packers and Vikings at Lambeau Field on Monday, September 8th. All of the "kickoff weekend" primetime matchups were revealed a couple of weeks ago, though the NFL probably didn't count on Favre's subsequent comments relating to a possible return to the league. Perhaps, if Aaron Rodgers gets hurt against the Vikings, we'll see Favre strip off his suit and tie and pull on the No. 4 jersey a la Clark Kent.

Now THAT would upstage John McCain's acceptance of the Republican nomination for president. (Arlen Specter would probably demand an investigation the next day.)

Anyway, below are some of the things we did find out Tuesday, presented notebook-style for your easy perusal. Who appears on primetime the most? Who has the toughest September? The lightest home stretch? When will a handful of revenge-minded players and coaches be facing their former teams? Well, read on...

WHAT'S ON IN PRIME TIME...

There will be 42 primetime NFL games in 2008, which breaks down to 16 in the Sunday night slot (NBC's bye week coincides with the World Series in late October), 17 for Monday night on ESPN (including two in Week 1), eight Thursday night games (seven on NFL Network plus the Kickoff Weekend matchup between the Giants and Redskins on NBC), and a Saturday night special between the Cowboys and Ravens in Week 16.

Eight teams will appear in primetime on five occasions, tied for the most in the league: the Bears, Browns, Chargers, Colts, Cowboys, Eagles, Patriots, and Steelers. Of those, the Bears, Chargers, Colts, and Patriots are each scheduled to appear in the premier Sunday night slot three times.

Like last year, Sunday night games scheduled for Weeks 11-16 are subject to change based on the quality of the would-be combatants (as determined by the league and NBC) by the time the second half of the season rolls around. Unlike last season, when the Jets and Chiefs were originally slated to play the league's final regular season game, there is not a tentative matchup on the board for Week 17. In 2007, three of the seven originally-scheduled Sunday night contests were changed, including those in each of the final two weeks.

Continued at My Sportsbook...