Picking the Rams' Schedule

In case you haven't heard, the St. Louis Rams are giving away $100,000 to anyone who correctly predicts their schedule for the 2014 season.  Deadline for submission is 4:59:59 PM on Monday, April 21, full details available here.

Since I am a kind an benevolent TTFFL Overlord, I have decided not only to pass along this path to riches for all league members, but also to provide my analysis of what the Rams' schedule might be, so as to provide possible guidelines for anyone else who might want to participate in the contest.  Here are things we know absolutely for certain:

1. The Rams will host games against the following opponents: The Cardinals, 49ers, Seahawks, Cowboys, Giants, Vikings, Broncos and Raiders.
2. The Rams play away games against the following opponents: The Cardinals, 49ers, Seahawks, Eagles, Redskins, Buccaneers, Chiefs and Chargers.
3. The Rams will NOT play the Raiders in week 4, because the Raiders play the Dolphins in London that week.
4. Similarly, the Rams will NOT play the Cowboys in week 10, because the Cowboys play the Jaguars in London that week.
5. The Rams will NOT play the Cowboys in week 13 (Thanksgiving week), because the Cowboys are scheduled to host a Thanksgiving Day game, and we know that the Rams will play the Cowboys at home (item 1).
6. Whenever the Rams play at the 49ers new Levis stadium, that game will be on a Sunday.

Those are all the facts I've been able to uncover about the Rams' schedule.  What follows are some educated guesses about what is likely to happen.

1. As the defending Super Bowl champions, the Seattle Seahawks will play the first game of the season in prime time on Thursday, September 4.  This game will be a marquee matchup against a high-profile opponent --- and so it almost certainly will NOT be the Rams (FWIW, I predict it will be the Packers).
2. I expect the Raiders and Cowboys to both have their bye week following their London game, which means the Rams will NOT play the Raiders in week 5, and will NOT play the Cowboys in week 11.
3. Weeks 9, 10, 11 and 12 of the NFL season occur during fall 'sweeps week' for the Nielsens, and as such, the NFL will want to schedule as many high-profile games as possible during those four weeks.  Since no game featuring the Rams qualifies as a marquee matchup, I expect the Rams will have their bye during one of these weeks.
4. For the same reason, I expect that the high-profile teams on the Rams schedule will all play during weeks 9 - 12, and none of them will play the Rams during those weeks.  This means the Rams will NOT play the Seahawks, 49ers or Broncos during those weeks.
5. Finally, the NFL has gotten in the habit of scheduling all divisional games in week 17, since that tends to lead to a lot of good late-season matchups with playoff implications.  Since the 49ers and Seahawks are likely to be contending for the NFC West crown, that means the Rams will play the Cardinals in week 17.
6. Oh yes, one last thing.  In the name of fairness, the NFL typically does not schedule Thursday or Monday night games in week 17 (don't want the playoff teams to start off on a short or long week), which means the Rams' week 17 matchup against the Cardinals will occur on a Sunday.
7. And one other, really last, final thing (which probably goes without saying, but . . .).  Although the NFL has been known to schedule two games against the same opponent two weeks apart (e.g. the Rams play the 49ers in week 4 AND 6), they have never, ever, to my knowledge, scheduled two teams to play each other twice in consecutive weeks.

So . . . there 's some hard research, along with some educated guesses, which one can use to fill out a reasonable entry into the Rams scheduling sweepstakes.  It might also provide fodder for ridicule and/or boasting depending on how many of my educated guesses hit the mark, but despite the league's name, I've learned that really not a lot of trash talk goes on.