Friday Cheese Curds: Reactions to NFL’s schedule release are rolling in

Most of them see the schedule as a positive for the Packers.

The NFL’s annual schedule release has become a significant day for fans, teams, and the league over the past few years. Despite some former team employees trying to be Debbie Downers (and then immediately getting told off by a current NFL Network anchor), it’s still important for fans to plan out travel and arrangements for games.

The schedule also provides a look at what the league office expects to happen, at least in broad strokes. For an example, look at the New York Jets — now that Aaron Rodgers is in town, they have five prime time games in 2023 after having only one, a Thursday night game, last season.

That makes it notable that the Packers are also among the teams with the most prime time games in the NFL. However, Green Bay has far fewer games in the late afternoon window for national broadcasts than they did last season. In fact, Green Bay played at noon central time just five times in 2022, compared to five 3:25 kickoffs and six prime time games (plus their one game in London).

Instead, 2023 finds the Packers with just two late afternoon kicks — week one against the Chicago Bears and week 7 against the Denver Broncos, a game that must be played in that time slot due to geography. That means the team is currently set for 9 games in the early time slot (including Thanksgiving Day), a big jump from last season.

Let’s take a look at all of the early reactions to the schedule from around those covering the Packers and the NFL.

10 things to know about the Green Bay Packers’ 2023 schedule | Packers.com
This year, the Packers’ bye comes early in week six after the team had to wait until after Thanksgiving for their off week last year. They do have a mini-bye after Thanksgiving though, which could potentially give the team a slight boost heading into the season’s final stretch.

NFL schedule 2023 winners, losers: Jordan Love takes center stage; Colts shut out of prime time – The Athletic ($)
The Packers still got five prime time games plus the Thanksgiving Day game in Detroit, which is a sign that the NFL has faith in Love to at least be a relevant and notable storyline throughout the season.

Packers schedule in 2023 features Week 1 vs Bears, Thanksgiving game | Packersnews.com
Keep in mind that Monday Night Football games are now subject to flex scheduling. However, the good news for local Packers fans is that neither of the two games currently set for MNF are home games.

NFL schedule 2023 best matchups, winners, Super Bowl picks – ESPN
At least one analyst thinks the Packers could get off to a hot start, as they don’t face a team that made the playoffs last season until week 8.

What’s the most anticipated game on Packers’ 2023 schedule? | Packers Wire
It’s tough to pick anything other than the week one game at Soldier Field, but Thursday night against the Lions in week 4 is a pretty good option as well.

Security Researcher Finds Coldplay Lyrics in Kingston SSD Firmware | Tom’s Hardware
Kingston SSD firmware released in early 2020 contains lyrics to Coldplay’s 2002 hit “The Scientist.” Personally, if I were including lyrics in the code for computer components, I’d to with “Digital Man” by Rush.

Finally, if you need a laugh, take a look at the Tennessee Titans’ schedule release video. Every team tries to come up with a clever social media clip for the release each year, but the Titans’ is one of this year’s simplest — and almost certainly is the funniest.