Cold Case

[TexanBob]

Call me a conspiracy theorist but have you noticed more and more the NFL schedules their night games late in the season and particularly in the playoffs in the coldest weather locales possible?

Ever since the Raider-Patriots game was played in snow and cold with a surrealistic (Raider fans would use other adjectives) finish, I think the NFL has wanted another one. Notice all the night games lately in Green Bay, including the one that Michael Vick ran wild in? And all the games in Foxboro.

Next week's night game is supposed to be in Denver - another snow and cold city (although I suppose they could have picked Chicago). But they don't pick Seattle or Indy for the prime time telecast, the two teams who had the best records and would arguably be the best prime time attractions.

Look, I love bad weather games as much as anyone but is it really fair to warm-weather teams and speed teams to have to play playoff games in bone-numbing conditions? Is that really the fairest way to decide which teams deserve to go to the Super Bowl? There's a reason they play the ultimate games in Southern California and the Florida coast - to create ideal field conditions. I think the NFL is trying to recapture the Raiders-Patriots classic and are scheduling icebox games to better their chances of having one.

[Bronx33]

I takes everybodies mind off the SB being played in sissy weather instead of the element like it was suppose to be.

[broncos love]

They go by what station has the game. Cbs has the late saturday game and the early sunday game. You can't put denver as the early game for sunday ; it has never happened as far as I know.

[TexanBob]

Maybe. I'm not arguing about taking the game away from the team that earned the playoff spot. I'm just questioning their choice of what team plays at night and whether it makes sense to expose more fans and players to possible frostbite for the sake of another Ice Bowl or Snow Bowl played at temps roughly 10 degrees less than it would have been played in the afternoon.

[watermock]

There were some odd scheduling quirks this year. Notably, Miami on the road in heat, KC in December in the cold.

What I don't understand is how they send us practically EVERY YEAR into KC in December. There are three other months in the season, and why is the late game always in December in KC? I swear this has happened at least 5 of 7 years. I don't have the stats, but that was a mean schedule...

I'm very proud of our team win lose or draw this year. You look back at that and it's astounding we went 13-3.

[watermock]

I have no clue why they have late season games in cold climate at night either.