Time:00:00 - 03:00 GMT
Date:03-09-2010
Stedium:Metrodome
On the same October 31 that the Broncos and 49ers will play in London, the Saints will host the Pittsburgh Steelers on NBC's Sunday Night Football, which will go against a scheduled Game Four of the 2010 World Series on Fox, a practice the league has traditionally avoided. The matchup will pit the last two winners of the Super Bowl - The Saints in Super Bowl XLIV, the Steelers in XLIII. Eighteen regular-season games will air on NBC during the 2010 season[22].
[edit] Thanksgiving and Christmas
The Thanksgiving games will take place on Thursday, November 25, 2010, with the Detroit Lions hosting the New England Patriots, at 12:30 p.m. EST on CBS. Fox holds the rights to the 4:15 p.m. EST game, which will feature the Dallas Cowboys hosting the New Orleans Saints. The prime-time NFL Network game, featuring the New York Jets hosting the Cincinnati Bengals, [23] will kick off at 8:20 p.m. Both the Saints and Bengals will make their first appearance in a Thanksgiving game; in the case of the Bengals, it will also mark the first appearance of an AFC North team on Thanksgiving since 1998, when the Pittsburgh Steelers of what was known as the AFC Central played the Lions in the now-infamous Jerome Bettis coin toss controversy.
Additionally, since Christmas Day falls on a Saturday in 2010, the NFL has scheduled a Christmas game between the Cowboys and the Arizona Cardinals in Glendale, Arizona on December 25 on NFL Network.
Week 17: Division games only
The entire Week 17 schedule, to be played on January 2, 2011, will consist of only divisional contests to increase competition after several cases over the last few seasons of players on playoff bound teams resting their regular starters and playing their reserves.
Postseason
The 2011 NFL Playoffs will begin January 8, 2011 with wild card weekend. Following that, and after divisional playoffs the next week, the NFC Championship Game will be played at 3:00 p.m. on January 23, followed by the AFC Championship Game at 6:30 p.m.
After a backlash from players and critics about the previous season's Pro Bowl being played at Sun Life Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida in the contiguous United States, the date of the 2011 Pro Bowl will be on January 30, 2011, the week before the Super Bowl. Unlike the 2010 Pro Bowl, the game will be played at Aloha Stadium in Halawa, Honolulu, Hawaiʻi.[24] As a NFL spokesman stated that "Plans for future Pro Bowls are not final"[25]. Indianapolis Colts President Bill Polian has stated his objections to the format, and is in favor of returning the game to after the Super Bowl as in previous years.[26]
The annual AFC-NFC all-star game had previously been played in Hawaii for 30 consecutive seasons from 1980 to 2009.[27] However, the NFL and State of Hawaiʻi officials only agreed to a two-year deal to hold the Pro Bowl at Aloha Stadium in 2011 and 2012.[27] This gives the option of playing the Pro Bowl in Hawaiʻi on a rotational basis with the mainland, so it both maintains the traditional ties of holding it on the islands and providing accessibility to fans when played in the contiguous 48 states.[27]
Super Bowl XLV, to be held at Cowboys Stadium in North Texas, will be held February 6, 2011 to close out the season.
[edit] Regular season standings
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Labor issues
NFL owners voted in 2008 to opt out of the their collective bargaining agreement (CBA) with the National Football League Players Association (NFLPA) as of the end of the 2010 season. (The vote was 23 in favor, 9 against; the extension measure needed 24 to pass, which would have set the CBA to expire after the 2012 season). Since a new CBA was reached with the NFLPA, 2010 is an uncapped season,[28] meaning that there is no salary cap or salary floor between which teams must operate.[29] Also, the uncapped season limited unrestricted free agency only to players with at least six years of experience, as opposed to four under a capped season.[29] The final eight teams alive in the 2009–10 NFL playoffs (Arizona, Dallas, Minnesota and New Orleans in the NFC; and Baltimore, Indianapolis, the New York Jets and San Diego in the AFC) were restricted in the free agents they would be able to sign.[29]
In addition, owner Jerry Jones, whose Dallas Cowboys team is the wealthiest franchise in the NFL, hinted that he would push for the elimination or severe reduction of revenue sharing for the uncapped season.[30] The creation of a separate salary cap for rookie players is also expected to be part of negotiations for a new CBA.[31]
The 2011 NFL season will have a work stoppage if there is no new CBA.[32]
[edit] Rule changes
The following rule changes were passed at the league's annual owners meeting in March:
- The overtime procedure for postseason games has changed. Instead of a straight sudden death, the game will not immediately end if the team that wins the coin toss only scores a field goal on its first possession (they can still win the game if they score a touchdown).[33] Instead, the other team gets a possession. If the coin toss loser then scores a touchdown, it is declared the winner. If the score is tied after both teams had a possession, then it goes back to sudden death. These changes were passed in response to recent statistics that show that since 1994, teams that win the coin toss have won overtime 59.8 percent of the time, and won 34.4 percent of the time on the first possession.[33] This included the 2009 NFC Championship Game between the Minnesota Vikings and the New Orleans Saints where the Saints won the overtime coin toss and scored a field goal on their first possession to win the game. In May, the league decided against applying these overtime rule changes to regular season games as well.[34]
- The definition of a "defenseless receiver" (where a receiver cannot be hit in the head or neck area by an opponent who launches himself and makes contact with his helmet, shoulder, or forearm) will now apply to every defenseless player.[35]
- A play will now immediately be whistled dead once a ball carrier's helmet is knocked off.[35]
- The position of the umpire has been moved from behind the defensive linebackers (except in the last two minutes of each half) to the offensive backfield opposite the throwing arm of the quarterback in order to reduce the numerous times that the official has been run over during plays.[36]
- During field goal and extra point attempts, defenders cannot line up directly across from the long snapper.[36]
- Dead ball 15-yard personal fouls that are committed on the final play of either the second or fourth quarters will be assessed on the second half or overtime kickoff, respectively. Previously, such penalties during those situations were not enforced.[36]
- Punt returners who make a fair catch signal but then muff the ball are now entitled with the opportunity to catch the ball before it hits the ground without interference. If there is interference during such a scenario, the receiving team would be awarded the ball at the spot of the foul, but no penalty yardage would be assessed.[36]
- The 2009 temporary modification[37] to the rules regarding balls in play that strike an object such as a video board or a guy wire has been made permanent.[36] Prior to 2009, only the down was replayed. The 2009 modification added resetting the game clock to the time when the original play was snapped.[37] This amendment was originally passed in response to a punt hitting the center-hung video display boards of Cowboys Stadium during a 2009 pre-season game.[37]
- The replay system will now also be allowed to cover whether there was some sort of interference with the ball during a play.[36]
- If the clock is stopped in the final minute of either half for a replay review, but would not have stopped without the review, there will be a 10-second runoff (similar to when the offensive team commits a penalty inside of one minute in order to preserve time). As with any other 10-second runoff, teams are permitted to take a timeout instead
