Hey NFL fans...can someone shed some light on the "flex schedule"? Like what is, what it's about, where did

The NFL this season will implement for the first time in its history a primetime "flexible scheduling" element on Sundays in Weeks 10-15 and in Week 17.

Flexible scheduling will ensure quality matchups on Sunday night in those weeks and give surprise teams a chance to play their way onto primetime.

The 2006 NFL schedule will list start times for all Sunday games during the "flex" weeks as 1:00 p.m. ET, except for games played in the Mountain or Pacific Time zones, which will be listed at 4:05 p.m. ET or 4:15 p.m. ET.

The NBC Sunday night time slot for "flex" weeks will list teams as "TBD."

Only Sunday afternoon games are eligible to be moved. Flexible scheduling will not be applied to games airing on Thursday, Saturday or Monday nights.

Just as the six major college football conferences have done for many years, the NFL now will have additional flexibility to move the start times of games on Sundays, using a 12-day notice format.

For example, a game scheduled for Sunday, November 26 could move from a 1:00 p.m. ET kickoff to an 8:15 p.m. start, but the change would be made and announced no later than Tuesday, November 14.

The NFL has commonly moved games between 1:00 p.m. ET and 4:15 p.m. ET (eight times last season) on Sunday afternoons. The new practice allows the NFL to employ flexible scheduling to include one of its primetime package of games – on Sunday evenings.

Sunday afternoon games, as in the past, can still be moved between 1:00 and 4:05 or 4:15 p.m. ET.

In Week 17, in order to ensure a Sunday night game with playoff implications, the decision to move the start time may be made on six days notice.

CBS and FOX will each be able to protect a total of five games in the seven weeks of flexible scheduling, but not more than one game in any week.

During the 2005 regular season, the NFL conducted a study with mock flexible scheduling. An eight-person task force consisting of team executives, one from each division, was consulted on a weekly basis. In addition, television network partners and the NFL's broadcasting department participated weekly in the process.

NFL Flexible Scheduling 101:

Begins Sunday, November 12, 2006 (Week 10)

In effect Weeks 10-15 and Week 17.

Not in effect Week 16 due to holiday weekend.

Only Sunday afternoon games in Weeks 10-15 and 17 are subject to being moved into the Sunday night window.

The majority of games on Sundays will be listed at 1:00 p.m. ET during flex weeks except for games played in Pacific or Mountain Time zones which will be listed at 4:05 or 4:15 p.m. ET.

No impact on Thursday, Saturday or Monday night games.

The NFL will decide (after consultation with CBS, FOX, NBC) and announce on 12 days notice the game being moved to 8:15 p.m. ET and may also announce games moving to 4:15 p.m. ET.

Week 17 start time changes could be decided on 6 days notice to ensure a game with playoff implications.

The NBC Sunday night time slot in "flex" weeks will list teams as "TBD."

Fans and ticket holders must be aware that NFL games in flex weeks are subject to change 12 days in advance (6 days in Week 17) and should plan accordingly.

NFL schedules all games.

CBS and FOX each get to protect a total of 5 games in the 7 weeks of flexible scheduling, but not more than one game in any week.

Teams will be informed as soon as they are no longer under consideration or eligible for a move to Sunday night.

Its something the league came up with to boost television viewing. Before the season starts they come up with a schedule, but its almost impossible to know what teams will be doing record wise half way throught the year, so some of the games scheduled for broadcast would not be very interesting matchups. But with the new flex schedule they look at the teams playing each week and determine on a per week basis which games would be the best matchups and thus give them the biggest viewing

Numerous translators of the Christian Greek Scriptures (New Testament) therefore translate Peter’s words at Acts 5:30 to read: “The God of our forefathers raised up Jesus, whom you slew, hanging him upon a stake [or, “tree,” according to the King James Version, New International Version, The Jerusalem Bible, and Revised Standard Version].” You might also wish to check how your Bible translates xy′lon at: Acts 10:39; 13:29; Galatians 3:13; and 1 Peter 2:24. The book The Non-Christian Cross adds: “There is not a single sentence in any of the numerous writings forming the New Testament, which, in the original Greek, bears even indirect evidence to the effect that the stauros used in the case of Jesus was other than an ordinary stauros [pole or stake]; much less to the effect that it consisted, not of one piece of timber, but of two pieces nailed together in the form of a cross.” Christ could well have been impaled on a form of crux (stau·ros′) known as the crux simplex. That was how such a stake was illustrated by the Roman Catholic scholar Justus Lipsius of the 16th century.

Well as was said it allows them to move a different game into Primetime so make a better match-up. Now it is somewhat involved but that is the basic idea. See as you can imagine CBS and Fox didn't want to LOSE their Marquee games just to give NBC(Sunday night) or ESPN(Monday Night) a better game. Now teh games have to be moved by Friday I believe. The Bears vs Giants game I believe was actually moved. See I know this because I look at whose playing in the paper in a little contest they do and that was listed with the 1 o'clock games. At least I think that was the one. So it got moved because the intrest in the game. Now only like 6 games a year can be moved as a concession to CBS and Fox who pay big money to broadcast the AFC and NFC respectiftly.

It gives the nfl the choice to pick the better matchup for the primetime game on sunday. That way they don't end up showing two teams that have not lived up the potential they were suppose to have when the schedule was set.

Well, the explanation I heard was a rather involved part of the collective bargaining agreement with players and the networks involved in broadcasting the games.

In essence, the networks negotiated the opportunity to look at what may present a more interesting match up for prime time viewers. More viewers, more money for all the entities involved.

at the being of the year you don't know which games will be compelling in week 12, injuries, missed expectations...

so now they can pick the games of the second half of the schedule in the middle of the year so that we don't end up seeing to bad teams play in primetime because they were thought to be good teams 3 months ago, like Pittsburgh, no one wants to watch that, but we thought they would be good