2012 NFL Schedule Released: What’s Got You Pumped?

Did you get excited about Tuesday’s release of the 2012 NFL schedule?

Is it the triple threat of Thanksgiving? Does the 13-game Thursday night slate count in the positive or negative column in your ledger?

You may not have dialed up the television to watch, but don’t try and tell me that you didn’t pop onto the home team’s page to see how the schedule shook out. I know. You already had the list of match-ups at your disposal. However, the release of the full schedule and Bye weeks sent your mind racing to mid-summer fantasy drafts.

The NFL captivates the nationwide audience by default. The league could have mailed it in with 16 pedestrian match-ups and millions would have still be drawn to the tube like moths to the proverbial flame. They didn’t.

The Wednesday opener features the Giants and Cowboys.

The highly-anticipated return of Peyton Manning will occur in a prime time tilt at home against the Steelers.

Week 1 also brings a Packers-49ers tilt, Bengals-Ravens, Andrew Luck’s (presumably) debut in Chicago, RGII in post-bounty New Orleans and the beginning of the Tim Tebow watch in New York when the Jets host Buffalo.

Over the next several days, I’ll break out the week-by-week schedule highlights and start to put things into the fantasy perspective. Hey, it’s never too early …