Prepare For More Media Overkill on Cards Early Start Time
By Scott Allen
Jun. 28, 2013; Colorado Springs, CO, USA: Vehicles containing race officials, crew members and media drive up the mountain prior to sunrise and practice for the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
I’m sure every NFL pre-game show will touch upon it at least once Sunday morning. The media loves to talk about how west coast teams struggle playing the early games away from home, especially the Arizona Cardinals. While the time isn’t optimal for the Cards or for some fans, it is what it is. Every team is professional and prepares for a game the same whether game time is 10am or 1pm.
In week one they talked about it at length in the Seattle Seahawks-Carolina Panthers game. The announcers mentioned how they felt the Hawks were struggling maybe because of the travel to the east coast. No, they were struggling because the Panthers have a decent defense. It was also week one. Oh and by the way, the Hawks still managed to pull out the win 12-7.
Last week it was brought up with the San Diego Chargers when they went to play the Philadelphia Eagles. Oh and of course, the Chargers won the game 33-30. I’m not saying it doesn’t have some effect, however it gets overblown. Yes, the west coast teams don’t always win those early games but it’s not always about the time change. Some of those west coast teams just really aren’t that great sometimes.
To me, over the last few seasons, it seems the opposite effect takes place. Teams from back east or the midwest coming to the west coast for the later games seem to struggle. We’ve already seen Green Bay, Jacksonville, and Detroit fail to win games on the west coast. I’m just saying it’s not always the whole story. I know you’ll hear chat about it Sunday morning. It just gets old and never goes away despite the results.