1st thoughts on the Cowboys 2010 Schedule

Now that I've had some time to digest the draft, I've been able to turn my thoughts to the Cowboys' schedule for the upcoming season. If they are to be the first team to play in the Super Bowl in their home stadium, they're certainly going to have to earn it because the NFL's schedule makers certainly didn't do them any favors.

Week 1: Sept. 12, @ Washington
-Congragulations Redskins fans! With a new coach and quarterback, you can now consider your team relevant again. Now that it looks like the Redskins have finally come out of the wilderness that was the Jim Zorn era, I guess the league felt it was only right that the Cowboys be the first team to visit Donovan McNabb and Mike Shannahan in their new digs. How many times will McNabb tell his new personal protector Trent Williams about DeMarcus Ware in the days leading up to the game?

Week 2: Sept. 19, vs. Chicago
-It's always nice to have your first home game against a team with a turnover-prone QB who will undoubtedly still be working out the bugs in a new offensive system under the direction of Mike Martz.

Week 3: Sept. 26, @ Houston
-This game just screams shootout with a crazy ending to it. The Texans will be laying in wait and ready to prove they are no longer the step children of the lone star state.

Week 4: BYE
-Does any NFL team really need a bye at this point of the season? Maybe it will be a blessing in disguise.

Week 5: Oct. 10, vs. Tennessee
-The Cowboys would be wise to come out ready to play this one. The Titans are consistently one of the most physical teams in the league and this version of Vince Young is light years better than the one they saw during a blowout in Nashville on '06.

Week 6: Oct. 17, @ Minnesota
-After being bounced from the playoffs by the Vikings last season, you know the Cowboys want this one really bad. We all know it will probably be one of the better games of the regular season. The only question is how many times we'll see the replay of Keith Brooking storming over to the Vikings' bench during last year's playoff game after the Vikes scored a needless touchdown in garbage time.

Week 7: Oct. 25, vs. New York Giants
-The Cowboys have a rivalry with everybody in their division. That said, there's a certain disdain the Cowboys and Giants share and it will be on display for everybody to see during this Monday night matchup. Simply put, they just don't like each other and it makes for great games. Where is a personal foul from Flozell Adams when you need him?

Week 8: Oct. 31, vs. Jacksonville
-At first glance, this should be an easy win for the Cowboys. Then you realize Jack Del Rio might be coaching for his job this year-as proven by his drafting of Tyson Alualu 9th overall- and he'll do everything he can to steal a win in the Jags first trip to Jerryland.

Week 9: Nov. 7, @ Green Bay
-The NFL loves putting these two together on a regular basis, don't they? How many times will we hear about Tony Romo and his childhood in Wisconsin leading up to the game?

Week 10: Nov. 14, @ New York Giants
-The Cowboys first trip to the new Meadowlands venue should be a festive one. Will Tony Romo sign his name on the lockeroom wall the way Eli Manning did last year after his first trip to Cowboys Stadium?

Week 11: Nov. 21, vs. Detroit
-Welcome home Matt Stafford and welcome back Ndamokung Suh. The last time Stafford played football here in the area, he was setting records at Highland Park and becoming one of the top high school recruits in the country. The last time Suh played in Cowboys Stadium, he channeled his inner Jerome Brown and literally came within one second of single handedly derailing the Texas Longhorns' national title hopes. As far as the game is concerned, the Cowboys will overcome an early haze to get a relatively easy win. The fun part, however, is going to be watching Calvin Johnson go at it with Mike Jenkins in a battle of two of the better young players in the league.

Here's where things start getting interesting!

Week 12: Nov. 25, vs. New Orleans
-Whoa! The NFL definitely made sure they loaded up for their feature game on turkey day. In one corner, you've got the Cowboys and their monstrosity of a stadium. In the other, it'll be Drew Brees, Sean Payton and the rest of the beloved Saints who will probably still have a certain glow to them due to last year's Super Bowl win. Will Darren Sharper be playing with a star on his helmet this time?

Week 13: Dec.5, @ Indianapolis
-The second game of what promises to be an unforgiving gauntlet to finish the season sees the Cowboys head to Indy against the unflappable Peyton Manning and the Colts. Wade Phillips' defenses historically game Manning trouble when he was in San Diego. With players like DeMarcus Ware, Jay Ratliff and Mike Jenkins at his disposal, there's no reason to think the Cowboys can't cause their fare share of problems for Manning and company.

Week 14: Dec. 12, vs. Philadelphia
-How much fire have Kevin Kolb and Andy Reid come under by this point in the season?

Week 15: Dec. 19, vs. Washington
-It's the last home game for the Cowboys and it's the first trip to Jerryworld for Donovan McNabb and Mike Shannahan's as part of the 'Skins/'Boys rivalry.

Week 16: Dec. 25, @ Arizona
-Is it really necessary for a team to have to play on Thanksgiving and Christmas? The Cowboys look like the better team on paper, but that was the case two years ago when they went to the desert and got beat in overtime on a blocked punt. Have the Cardinals clinched the NFC West by this point or is Larry Fitzgerald catching passes from Derek Anderson and getting ready for 2011?

Week 17: Jan. 2, @ Philadelphia
-This makes it three consecutive seasons these two will have finished the regular season against each other. Will the Cowboys be playing for another division title or scrapping just to get a playoff spot? Will Kevin Kolb be trying to finish off a nice season or is Michael Vick making Eagle fans forget that Donovan McNabb ever existed?