The full NFL schedule was released Thursday night.
Here's what I said I thought would happen.
This year's Seahawks schedule is a little harder to predict than the last few. The Seahawks are coming off a 9-7 season, missed the playoffs, and are in the midst of retooling their roster and coaching staff. Gone are superstars Richard Sherman, Michael Bennett, and Jimmy Graham. Soon to follow could be Kam Chancellor and Cliff Avril with neck injuries. And there is still the outside chance Earl Thomas will be traded.
Here's how I did.
1. Seahawks will open at home on Monday night
It took some deductive reasoning to come up with this. CenturyLink Field will be wide open on Sunday, Sept. 9 because the Sounders are not playing that weekend. But right next door, the Mariners are hosting the Yankees -- a team that tends to draw even more fans than your average opponent. And that game starts at 1:10 p.m., the same time the Seahawks would be playing a Sunday home game. Traffic would be a nightmare if both games happened at the same time, and parking would be worse because of tailgating. There's no way that's going to happen.
Since the NFL traditionally holds a Monday night doubleheader, with the second game on the West Coast, it's not a stretch to have the Seahawks open the season under the lights.
Yes, they could open on the road too, but this prediction is more fun.
Result: Wrong. They are opening on Sunday on the road in Denver, but they do have a Monday night game in Week 2 at Chicago.
2. The Seahawks' first opponent will be the 49ers
Richard Sherman (assuming he's recovered from his Achilles injury) returns to Seattle to face the team that let him go. He'll also be facing the 12s, many of whom simply cannot forgive him for signing with rival San Francisco. That's a made-for-primetime event.
Wrong again: They don't play the 49ers until Week 13. But, it is a Sunday night game (made for primetime), so I will give myself a half-point for this.
3. Seattle gets five primetime games*
Presuming the opening Monday night prediction is correct, there's a good chance Seattle could get two Monday nighters, two Sunday nighters, and a Thursday night game. But if the Seahawks struggle this year as some predict, then they could get flexed out of those Sunday night games.
*If the opening Monday night prediction is wrong, this drops to four primetime games (One Monday, two Sunday, and one Thursday).
Mostly right: Although I was wrong about the opening Monday night, I was ultimately right about five primetime games. They have Sunday night games against the 49ers and Chiefs, Monday night games against the Bears and Vikings, and a Thursday night game against the Packers. I'll give myself a point.
4. Playing on Thanksgiving?
The Seahawks face the Detroit Lions on the road this season so that increases the chance. The Lions and Cowboys are the two traditional Thanksgiving afternoon game hosts.
The only other chance would be the night game. That could be any two teams, but there are a lot more intriguing matchups than a Seahawks team that is in retooling mode. Given all that, let's go out on that limb and say Seahawks-Lions!
Wrong: Let's face it. This is always a longshot, anyway.
5. How many 10 a.m. games?
There was a push by several West Coast teams to limit the number of 10 a.m. kickoffs they have to endure. We'll have to see how that all worked out when the schedule arrives.
We already know the Seahawks and Raiders will play in London on Oct. 14 at 10 a.m. There are three other games that could end up at 10 a.m. for the Seahawks -- at Chicago, at Detroit, and at Carolina.
Because of the Russell Wilson-Cam Newton interest, there's a good chance that will be saved for a later kickoff. So let's say three -- Chicago, Detroit, and Oakland.
Wrong: Just two -- vs. Oakland and at Carolina.
