2010 Season Opener

by LV Steelers Fan on Feb 7, 2010 10:51 PM EST

The confetti is still fluttering down in Miami and New Orleans, but the offseason has now begun. Andthat means it's time to look ahead to next season(good news for 31 teams in the league). As anyone who follows the NFL even casually knows, the defending NFL champion gets to host a primetime regular seaon opener on the Thursday before kickoff Sunday. Here are the eight teams that the Saints will host next season, the only ones who they can face in the opener:

The NFL and NBC obviously want great ratings for the season opener, meaning that they will almost certainly pick a high quality opponent for New Orleans. Since the tradition of the primetime opener began back in 2004, the only matchup that didn't look great was Oakland at New England in 2005. The Pats won, 30-20. 2004 featured IND @ NE, always a great game. 2006 had MIA @ PIT, which was heavily hyped since the Fins were a trendy SB pick that season. 2007 was NO @ IND, a matchup of two explosive offenses. 2008's game was WAS @ NYG, a game that featured a darkhorse championship candidate in the Redskins. And, of course, 2009 saw TEN @ PIT, a huge game for obvious reasons.

Now, let's go through the eight possible candidates for a shot at the Saints on September 9th. Tampa is a team that could contend for the division title in a few years, but they are still very bad at the moment. Carolina looked decent with Matt Moore late in 2009, but they are a risky choice all the same. Atlanta had a disappointing season in 2009, and their defense is very mediocre. Even so, they could be good enough to put a scare into New Orleans. Seattle is in total turmoil, and has very little talent and no national following. The same could be said of the sickeningly bad Rams. Minnesota probably should have beaten New Orleans in the NFCCG, but if Favre chooses to retire the Vikes will be heavy underdogs in the Superdome. Cleveland is, well, Cleveland. No one wants to have the clowns forced on them in primetime.

That leaves the Steelers. They have the best QB and largest fan base of any of the eight teams. Their defense, with Troy back, is the second best in the group. And a matchup of the last two Super Bowl champs is a ratings grabber made in heaven. The bottom line is that Steelers-Saints is the most likely matchup for the first game of the 2010 season. And Steelers fans should be excited about that.

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It will be a great game no matter when it is or during what part of the season it is

Players who should be in the Hall of Fame: Pat TIllman, Dwight White, Donnie Shell, L.C. Greenwood, Ray Guy, Steve Tasker, Greg Llyod, Andy Russel, Cris Carter, Kevin Greene and Jerry Kramer
"the earth moves when Sean Payton walks...Because his balls are just that huge." Anarchon after Super Bowl XLIV
Canal Street Chronicles resident Steelers Fan

by WVPiratesfan on Feb 7, 2010 10:58 PM EST reply actions

interesting observation with this one

i think it will be steelers, vikings, falcons, or panthers as possible options.

by t1mmy10 on Feb 7, 2010 11:05 PM EST reply actions

I agree

IMO, there is a 95% chance that their opponent will be one of those four teams.

Here is how it breaks down percentagewise:
Browns: 1%
Seasquawks: 1%
Rams: 1%
Buccaneers: 2%
Panthers: 15%
Falcons:20%
Vikings: 25%
Steelers: 35%

Glory is fleeting, but obscurity is forever.
Napoleon Bonaparte

Stampede Blue's Resident Steelers Fan

Oneil Cousins is the Steelers' best Offensive Lineman
Frank Walker is their best CB.

by LV Steelers Fan on Feb 7, 2010 11:15 PM EST up reply actions

Steelers/Saints in HOF game

Saw it on the HOF site yesterday.

When the tailgate drops, the BS stops. Shut up and play!

by 1BlkGldFan on Feb 7, 2010 11:06 PM EST reply actions

Again? We played them in the 2007 HOF game...

If that’s true, then I just wasted half an hour of my life writing this. LOL! X-O

Glory is fleeting, but obscurity is forever.
Napoleon Bonaparte

Stampede Blue's Resident Steelers Fan

Oneil Cousins is the Steelers' best Offensive Lineman
Frank Walker is their best CB.

by LV Steelers Fan on Feb 7, 2010 11:11 PM EST up reply actions

I went back to the HOF site to double check

and I can’t find where I saw Steelers/Saints were announced! Maybe I saw a previous year? Sorry for the mini-stroke but I swear I saw it.. lol

When the tailgate drops, the BS stops. Shut up and play!

by 1BlkGldFan on Feb 7, 2010 11:31 PM EST up reply actions

I want to go but at the same time if the regualr season game is at Hienz Field I really want to go

by WVPiratesfan on Feb 7, 2010 11:19 PM EST up reply actions

It's in NO

2006 was at Heinz.

Glory is fleeting, but obscurity is forever.
Napoleon Bonaparte

Stampede Blue's Resident Steelers Fan

Oneil Cousins is the Steelers' best Offensive Lineman
Frank Walker is their best CB.

by LV Steelers Fan on Feb 7, 2010 11:26 PM EST up reply actions

so we have the Bucs and Atlanta from the NFC south this year

by WVPiratesfan on Feb 7, 2010 11:41 PM EST up reply actions

No, we host Atlanta and Carolina

We play @ NO and @ TB

Glory is fleeting, but obscurity is forever.
Napoleon Bonaparte

Stampede Blue's Resident Steelers Fan

Oneil Cousins is the Steelers' best Offensive Lineman
Frank Walker is their best CB.

by LV Steelers Fan on Feb 8, 2010 12:07 AM EST up reply actions

now we got it straight

the other non-conference home games are Patriots Jets and the Raiders(but shouldn’t that be in Oakland since they played at Hienz this year)

by WVPiratesfan on Feb 8, 2010 1:33 PM EST up reply actions

no cuz we played them this year because we were up against the AFC West division. next year we’re playing them because we both finished 3rd in our divisions. im not exactly sure what determines who is at home, but we probably wont play them in oakland until we play the whole AFC West again

by steel.curtain.number2 on Feb 8, 2010 2:23 PM EST up reply actions

I understand now

by WVPiratesfan on Feb 8, 2010 3:00 PM EST up reply actions

Seems obvious to me

that MIN is who will be picked. They faced off to see who would go to the SB. Lotta easy hype with or without Favre. I’d even say ATL would get picked before the Steelers.

by 13thieves on Feb 8, 2010 11:22 AM EST reply actions

Yeah, exactly

If Favre is playing, 100% chance

If not, 75% (decided by RAOD system)

by Twell on Feb 8, 2010 1:08 PM EST up reply actions

yea if favre stays

it will be minny. if he doesnt id say maybe falcons. they’ve only done AFC vs NFC matchups once with NO and IND, i think they’ll do another division game because the falcons will be blackhorse superbowl picks next year with matt ryan coming in to his own

by steel.curtain.number2 on Feb 8, 2010 2:26 PM EST up reply actions

I dunno i think it's a lock that the Steelers will play the opener.

Last two super bowl champs, national following, should be a competitive game. I think it’s a done deal.

by theatrain on Feb 8, 2010 2:37 PM EST reply actions

I don't know

who wouldn’t want to see a rematch of the NFC title game against the vikings? That seems the most logical answer to me.

"It was an attrition football game and you know we like that."

by showtime on Feb 8, 2010 6:18 PM EST up reply actions

This is the kind of thing we geek out over at the506.com

The general consensus is that you want an appealing match, but not a blockbuster, since the “opening kickoff” game will get good ratings anyway. So you save the absolute most appealing possibilities for later in the year. Also note the networks’ preferences. In particular, CBS might lobby the league to keep PIT-NO on a Sunday afternoon, since it’ll be their only chance this year to show the Saints in a non-Browns situation. With or without Favre, the league may or may not also want to let Fox have MIN-NO. So those games are certainly possibilities, but not mortal locks. My predictions are:
Most likely) ATL-NO
2) MIN-NO
3) PIT-NO
4) CAR-NO

One other thing to note is that although I haven’t checked myself, apparently the Pirates’ schedule comes into play since the two stadiums are so close together. So I’ve heard (second-hand) that the Steelers can’t host a Sunday game in Week 2 or Week 3. Even though MNF is okay, I think this increases the chances that they’ll open the year at home.

I don’t believe in living in fear of trends, but for those who do, I don’t think that the defending SB champion has ever lost an “opening kickoff” game.

by TheSpatulaMessiah on Feb 8, 2010 4:59 PM EST reply actions

True

An Atlanta-NO matchup would garner good hype and ratings without depriving the league of a blockbuster. The Vikings without Favre probably wouldn’t be a good match for the Saints, so if he retires you can probably put this matchup to bed as far as the opener is concerned.

Glory is fleeting, but obscurity is forever.
Napoleon Bonaparte

Stampede Blue's Resident Steelers Fan

Oneil Cousins is the Steelers' best Offensive Lineman
Frank Walker is their best CB.

by LV Steelers Fan on Feb 8, 2010 7:16 PM EST up reply actions

Living in Dallas

I can tell you that this Who Dat COUNTY business is getting a bit out of control. They haven’t won enough to be called a Nation. Why I don’t want to open the season there because the SB winner never seems to win, it would be great to re-claim ownership of Black & Gold and represent a true NATION.

Alright, okay, I don't dance, no way I just take my Terrible Towel out and wave it around in the air!!!!

by Steel R on Feb 9, 2010 12:21 AM EST reply actions