Patriots 2010 Schedule Released; Quick Thoughts

The Patriots 2010 slate of games is now official.  Here is the schedule:

Sunday, Sept. 12 Cincinnati Bengals 1:00 p.m ET
Sunday, Sept. 19 @ New York Jets 4:15 p.m ET
Sunday, Sept. 26 Buffalo Bills 1:00 p.m. ET
Monday, Oct. 4 @ Miami Dolphins 8:30 p.m. ET
Sunday, Oct. 10 BYE
Sunday, Oct. 17 Baltimore Ravens 1:00 p.m. ET
Sunday, Oct. 24 @ San Diego Chargers 4:15 p.m. ET
Sunday, Oct. 31 Minnesota Vikings 4:15 p.m. ET
Sunday, Nov. 7 @ Cleveland Browns 1:00 p.m. ET
Sunday, Nov. 14 @ Pittsburgh Steelers 8:20 p.m. ET
Sunday, Nov. 21 Indianapolis Colts 4:15 p.m. ET
Thursday, Nov. 25 @ Detroit Lions 12:30 p.m. ET
Monday, Dec. 6 New York Jets 8:30 p.m. ET
Sunday, Dec. 12 @ Chicago Bears 1:00 p.m. ET
Sunday, Dec. 19 Green Bay Packers 8:20 p.m. ET
Sunday, Dec. 26 @ Buffalo Bills 1:00 p.m. ET
Sunday, Jan. 2 Miami Dolphins 1:00 p.m. ET

A few of my thoughts:

• Patriots open up at home against the Bengals, a clash of two playoff teams.  Can’t really remember the last time the Patriots didn’t open at home.
• The Patriots will face the Jets week 2 for the third straight year, as they travel to the Meadowlands as the Jets open their new stadium.
• The week 2 game against the Jets will kick off a round robin of AFC East games.  After week 4, the Patriots won’t play another division game until week 13.
• The Patriots have a very early bye week 5.  While it is generally better to get as late of a bye as possible, as Tedy Bruschi pointed out on ESPN last night, the early bye will give Wes Welker an extra week to recover, and may allow him to return one game earlier.
• Following the bye, the Patriots will have their toughest stretch of the season.  They will face the Ravens, Chargers, and Vikings in back to back to back games.  They will follow that up with a trip to Cleveland, before facing a 2 game home stand against the Steelers and the rival Colts.
• The Patriots will come off a short week after a tough game against the Colts and face the Detroit Lions in a Thanksgiving day match-up.  The last time the Patriots played on Thanksgiving in 2002, a game in which they won.  Not sure how I feel about this, but it’s always cool to see your favorite team on a holiday.
• After the Thanksgiving game, the Patriots will not have another warm game.  They wrap up their season with division games with a contest at Buffalo, and a home game against the Dolphins.