2011 NFL schedule could be cut to eight games

The NFL is getting closer to the reality that there will not be a football season later this year.

Contingency plans were revealed this morning that the NFL has plans to cut the upcoming season in half, and play only eight games set to begin in late November, pending a settlement in October!

If the owners and players agree to a new CBA in October, the league will allow a brief free agency period and short training camp before opening the truncated 2011 season at the end of November .

It was hoped that the worst case scenario would be that the first three weeks would be wiped out in September, thus allowing the league to re-schedule those three games for late January.

Every team in week three of the regular season, set for Sept 25, was intentionally scheduled with a same bye week as their opponent for week three. That game would be made up on the bye week of the two teams; (i.e. the Jets and Raiders are scheduled to play each other in week three, both teams would have a bye week on Halloween, and if the game on Sept. 25 was canceled because of the lockout, it would have been moved to Halloween weekend).

Jets regular season schedule as it stands today:
DALLAS
JACKSONVILLE
@ Oakland
@ Baltimore
@ New England
MIAMI
SAN DIEGO
Bye Week
@ Buffalo
NEW ENGLAND
@ Denver
BUFFALO
@ Washington
KANSAS CITY
@ Philadelphia
NEW YORK
@ Miami

Jets schedule if September only is wiped out:
@ Baltimore
@ New England
MIAMI
SAN DIEGO
@ Oakland*
@ Buffalo
NEW ENGLAND
@ Denver
BUFFALO
@ Washington
KANSAS CITY
@ Philadelphia
NEW YORK
@ Miami
DALLAS*
JACKSONVILLE*

*- moved from week's 1, 2, 3 of the original schedule.

Possible Jets schedule if only 8 games are played: *** (Not official)
NEW ENGLAND
@ Denver
BUFFALO
@ Washington
KANSAS CITY
@ Philadelphia
NEW YORK
@ Miami

There is a chance that no games in the first half of the year will be played.

Both the owners and players are miles apart from any compromise, so it looks more and more likely that the dispute will head into the fall.

This lockout has become so ridiculous that the NFL is better off canceling the entire season. Without a full off-season, rookies have not been able to meet with their coaches and players and get little chance to learn their playbooks. All veteran and rookie players will be out of shape if the NFL returns in late November, that even a blitzkrieg training camp won't do much to alleviate the problem of hamstring pulls and various injuries.

If the players and owners can't come to an agreement by late July, just cancel the season and save the players from injuring themselves badly in a short season that will have virtually little meaning.