The NFL’s complete TV schedule for the first two weeks of the 2011 NFL playoffs is now out, and the Atlanta Falcons are scheduled to play their first game on Saturday, Jan. 16 in Fox’s night game.
The Falcons will host either the (get ready) St. Louis Rams, Seattle Seahawks, New Orleans Saints, or Green Bay Packers. Any NFC team besides the No. 2 seed Chicago Bears or No. 3 seed Philadelphia Eagles have a chance to make it to Atlanta, and the Rams and Seahawks are playing tonight to decide the No. 4 seed.
A night game is preferable, as Atlantans are more likely to show up nice and early during a late game. It’ll also give the home crowd a chance to get good and to’e up ahead of time, making for a rowdy-ass Dome-field advantage.
If the Packers can upset the Eagles they’ll get the Falcons no matter what, and they’ll have to do it on a short week too, having played late Sunday in the wild card round. Not only would that remove the Michael Vick time bomb from the equation, it would also give the Birds a team that’s been playing for its life for weeks now.
Of course, we’d prefer the Seahawks over anybody else, but that’s not going to happen.