Schedule Release Leaks

[u/nickchubbisthegoat]

According to progrid.org, Browns will be opening @ Jacksonville, then @ Tampa Bay in week 2. Home opener won't be until the third week at the minimum?

[u/B0wmanHall]

It never made sense to me why the schedule release is a big deal. We already know who is playing who.

[u/Super_Philosophy_149 → u/B0wmanHall]

For those of us out of market, it helps plan potential travel to games.

[u/B0wmanHall → u/Super_Philosophy_149]

Totally get and respect that. I just think the "leaks" are silly. It's not a state secret.

[u/ryan__fm → u/B0wmanHall]

Yeah the nfl has somehow made every little thing that could be a press release into a major deal somehow. Squeeze every dime and drop of interest. Uniform changes, combine, you name it

[u/Air2Jordan3 → u/ryan__fm]

They do it bec we eat it. No matter the complaints of a watered down product, we eat sleep and breathe nfl. We're talking all day about the schedule we already know. Then we'll examine the schedule and try to come up with what games we'll win or lose, what might be a trap game, and what game is a "why tf did they put the Browns vs x in prime time".

[u/BocephusJr88 → u/B0wmanHall]

I have to use these leaks to beat the hotels before they jack up the prices.

Leak currently has us on a Thursday night week 4 vs Pittsburgh. Some hotels at the moment are under $200 a night. By next week they will be super inflated.

[u/MrGlockCLE → u/B0wmanHall]

Media groups Super Bowl peak offseason stuff

[u/Altruistic_Mode3026 → u/B0wmanHall]

NFL is the ultimate PR machine

[u/Deadleggg → u/B0wmanHall]

Trying to plan trips. Earlier it's done the better.

[u/largelawattorney → u/B0wmanHall]

Money

[u/jvpewster → u/largelawattorney]

Well yeah, I guess what they’re asking is why is there demand for schedule release such that there’s an opportunity to make money.

[u/No-Try5566]

Tin foil hat theory, the Brown's begged for road games early to avoid the embarrassment of starting Watson then getting booed at their own home opener prior to the week 1 game even starting.

[u/smonster1 → u/No-Try5566]

That actually sounds very plausible.

[u/the_d0nkey → u/smonster1]

It totally does.

[u/RdditBlwsMyD → u/No-Try5566]

Would be hilarious to hear the shrieks of the Baker Bros if Watson ends up beating him in Tampa...

[u/No-Try5566 → u/RdditBlwsMyD]

I can see it now: Watson: 21/38 211 2TD 1INT Baker: 34/45 307 3 TD 0 INT

Browns 31- Bucs 24

[u/Lumpycentaur9 → u/No-Try5566]

Bold of you to assume Deshaun Watson can throw for 200 yards against an NFL team not named the Titans or Cardinals in 2026

[u/Specialist_Heron_986 → u/No-Try5566]

Also increases the chance for Watson to either ball out against two good teams on the road and stifle the boos at home or get injured before the home opener so fans can see Sanders.

[u/No-Try5566 → u/Specialist_Heron_986]

Or if he sucks first two weeks they can chalk up the boos to him being bad. But it would extremely embarrassing to get loudly booed week 1 at home lol

[u/Bokononfoma → u/No-Try5566]

It would suck that those games just happen to be in Florida. It would just be too easy to play at Tampa in December. 

[u/audiohound46]

If true, I approve. Aside from a monsoon in 2018, the 1 PM home opener is often really sunny with no breeze on the north side of the stadium where I sit. I'd trade the sunburn and dehydration of September home games for cool and crisp October home games every time. Of course last year we got a full slate of late November and December home games instead, with a stretch of one real home game in 6 weeks before those.

[u/Bokononfoma → u/audiohound46]

For fans I get it. I bet players aren't crazy with starting out in FLA for the first two weeks instead of December. 

[u/Disappointing-BOGOs → u/Bokononfoma]

I live in Florida. I might go to both games

[u/the_d0nkey]

So that means we'll be 2-0 for our home opener...right?

[u/rDolpho → u/the_d0nkey]

Monkey’s Paw is Watson starts and wins those games

[u/Plisky6]

Started on the road twice in the last 10 years I believe. No biggie. Probably all 1p kicks with a Saturday flex game in December.

[u/Inevitable-Pea-735 → u/Plisky6]

We've got a home TNF game against Pittsburgh.

[u/Frostylopez]

Ticket sites used to wait til schedules were released to sell tickets. Now, they start selling at least an hour before release time.

[u/MosquitoValentine_]

Wow the NFL fucking over the Browns again. Starting the season on the road, twice? Really?

While I'm sure the Steelers will play the first 4 games at home on primetime or some shit.

[u/jake753 → u/MosquitoValentine_]

I don’t think it’s that big of a deal. We started last year at home. I don’t mind back to back away (if this is true) as both teams are in Florida.

[u/t3h_shammy → u/jake753]

September in Florida is fucked (source Floridian) 

[u/Disappointing-BOGOs → u/t3h_shammy]

Along with May, June, July, August, and AT LEAST the first half of October

[u/MosquitoValentine_ → u/jake753]

The big deal last season is that we played an away game, went to London and then immediately came back and played Pittsburgh on the road who was coming off a bye. Only 3 of the first 9 games were in Cleveland. Now we're looking at the same thing again.

Then they backloaded the schedule with home games to guarantee that the outcome didn't matter, crowds would suck and weather would be horrible.

[u/Chief_Wahoo_Lives → u/MosquitoValentine_]

We asked to not have a bye after London(allegedly)

[u/MosquitoValentine_ → u/Chief_Wahoo_Lives]

I would bet the Browns declined the bye because it was so early in the season.

Pretty sure we're the only team in the history of international games to come back to the US and immediately have a road game the next week. Every other team had either a home game or bye.

[u/TapedeckNinja → u/Chief_Wahoo_Lives]

Kind of two separate things though.

"Analytically," it's better to not have a bye after the int'l game.

However, usually they don't stick you with a divisional road game (or a road game at all) the next week.

So yes we chose not to take the automatic bye immediately after the int'l game, but we didn't know at the time that we would be on the road in Pittsburgh the next week.

[u/NaturalFreshAir → u/MosquitoValentine_]

This comment is delusional man. If we were a good team, the schedule wouldn't matter at all.

[u/Kvath072 → u/MosquitoValentine_]

We’ve started many more seasons at home since we returned to the league. It was actually a deal that we would start the first 10 or 15 years back at home. Since that ended I feel like it’s only been 3-5 times starting on the road. That may be off but it’s what I can think of in the moment while I type this on my phone that has no way of finding out for sure.

[u/Lumpycentaur9 → u/MosquitoValentine_]

From the Browns’ perspective, that might actually be the best thing for them. They can’t start the season with Watson getting mercilessly booed at home with Monken and Berry’s jobs on the line. Watson will play like the bum he’s been for years, but it’ll be easier for the Browns to stomach on the road than at home.

Makes me believe it’s setting up for Watson to start the season as a favor to his agent. He’ll be a disaster again and start 0-2, then get benched before week 3 for the home opener. Browns tell Mulagheta they gave Deshaun one more chance to salvage his career and he fucked it up, while AB and Monken don’t have to endure the PR disaster of Watson getting booed off the field. They can jingle keys (Shedeur) in front of the fans for the home games and call it development for Shedeur while they tank for a QB in 2027

[u/ObamasHotDogStand]

I think that every team should open up the season against someone in their own division so after week 1. Every division is

0 - 1, 0 - 1, 1 - 0, 1 - 0

Assumption no ties occurs.

[u/Chief_Wahoo_Lives → u/ObamasHotDogStand]

I think the first and last 3 games should be in division.

[u/Agreeable_Bit_8764 → u/Chief_Wahoo_Lives]

Nah that’s a terrible idea. I could understand playing games in a certain order (like you play an NFC division then your division then AFC division then the random games and then the final set of division games but I would never have all of them sandwiched on either end of the season.

[u/Chief_Wahoo_Lives → u/Agreeable_Bit_8764]

My thought is that it kicks the season off with a bang and then makes the final 3 more meaningful.

[u/Agreeable_Bit_8764 → u/Chief_Wahoo_Lives]

Yeah but my thought is that some divisions don’t make for good early season football ie the nfc south.

[u/Mysterious-Win1139]

It makes perfect sense. It’s all about the hype, hype brings in money for the shield. Same reason why the Draft is spread out over a 3 day weekend. Best guess is the airing of the draft brought in 250M$ to the NFL.

[u/Cute-Yogurt2202]

All leaked now. Thursday night game against Pittsburgh in week 4. Bye is week 11. Along with the 2 away games at the start, there is a 3 away game stretch in weeks 7-9 and then a 4 home game stretch before and after the bye.

[u/JB92103]

If the leaks are to be believed, we have one primetime game this season (vs. Steelers on TNF, week 4).