The NFL announced the 2010 regular season schedule tonight, and the St. Louis Rams get a much easier start to the season than they did last year. Hopefully, things go a little better this time around. There are no prime time games, which comes as no surprise. Here's the schedule.
Week 1 - Arizona Cardinals
Week 2 - at Oakland
Week 3 - Washington
Week 4 - Seattle
Week 5 - at Detroit
Week 6 - San Diego
Week 7 - at Tampa Bay
Week 8 - Carolina
Week 9 - BYE
Week 10 - at San Francisco
Week 11 - Atlanta
Week 12 - at Denver
Week 13 - at Arizona
Week 14 - at New Orleans
Week 15 - Kansas City
Week 16 - San Francisco
Week 17 - at Seattle
Thoughts on the schedule below the jump
There's not really a long stretch of tough games, at least it looks that way at this point in time. Fortunes can change rather quickly. There's nothing like that brutal stretch last season when the Rams opened the first two weeks on different sides of the country with a week in Seattle followed by a week in Washington.
Last season the Rams played five playoff teams, including Arizona and both Super Bowl teams. This year the Rams have the Cardinals, San Diego and New Orleans as the only teams that made the playoffs last season.
Weeks 12-14 will be a tough stretch based on the travel alone, especially finishing up those three games against the Super Bowl champs who have to be considered the odds on favorites to repeat as NFC champs.
Don't be too hasty to judge this as an easier schedule. There are several .500 teams or worse from last season who figure to be much closer to competing this year. San Francisco is a prime example. A Detroit rematch at this point doesn't favor the Rams either.
The Rams will be seeing Adam Carriker again rather soon.
The key to the season will be starting strong. Games against the Seahawks, Redskins and Raiders should be a good match up for the Rams, and the Cardinals won't be the same without Warner. Steven Jackson had 100+ yard games against the Redskins and the Cardinals last season.
Other thoughts?