00:00I was really, really interested because we had heard the rumors that the Rams and 49ers were going to begin
00:08in Australia, which is wild.
00:15I don't think anybody can, you know, disagree with that.
00:22And, you know, for anybody that doesn't know, you might as well be, you know, a day ahead playing in
00:29Australia.
00:30So this is almost like a Friday game.
00:33It's all really odd, Joe.
00:36But what I was very interested in was the follow-up game for L.A. and San Francisco.
00:44And I would argue that the league has attempted to give each of these teams a soft landing following that
00:54trip to Melbourne.
00:56The Rams get a Monday night game against the Giants.
01:00That is not even disrespecting the Giants.
01:02It's getting a Monday night game to me is the nicety of it all, Joe, right?
01:07Extra time to rest and re-acclimate your bodies, you know, in your stadium.
01:13The Niners play the Miami Dolphins, who are projected to be one of, if not the worst teams in the
01:19league.
01:20It actually doesn't hurt that they're at home, not just against Miami, but against Arizona and Denver their next three
01:27weeks, Joe.
01:28So, look, I do think some of the NFL schedule stuff is completely outrageous.
01:32I feel as if the league is aware the Melbourne game is nuts, and they've attempted to make life a
01:39bit easier on L.A. and San Francisco, having to play that game in week number one.
01:44Yeah, I mean, that's the thing.
01:46I mean, you're talking about, you're not talking about six or seven hours.
01:49You're talking about a day ahead, potentially, in Australia and the wear and tear and the logistics from just flying
01:56back home.
01:56And then, obviously, having to deal with the re-acclimation, and we talk about these NFL players and athletes being
02:03creatures of habit, right?
02:05So, they did the right thing.
02:07They did the right thing by scheduling L.A. for a Monday night game against the New York Giants at
02:13home.
02:13They don't have to travel, and we saw, potentially, how that could wear down a team.
02:18We talked about how teams that didn't take a bye week for years when they played the international games, for
02:24the most part, didn't step up on the following Sunday.
02:27They struggled, right?
02:28Same thing with this type of situation and scenario.
02:31When you're talking about a team in L.A. that, let's just say, they lose the game to the San
02:37Francisco 49ers.
02:38Now, if they had a more difficult game in week number two, they have the ability or the potential to
02:44start 0-2, which would put them potentially at a crossroads and their season done before it even starts.
02:52So, again, I think the NFL did the right thing.
02:55And if you're going to ask these teams to travel specifically 24 hours in advance by playing in Australia because
03:03you want to grow the reach and you want to grow the fan engagement, well, then you have to give
03:08the players and the coaches and the staff ample time to recover for week number two and beyond.
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