Art Rooney, II On The Schedule April 15
Art Rooney II: Well let me just start by saying that the league released our schedule today and it certainly looks to be one of the more exciting and challenging schedules that we have ever had. Certainly the number of premier teams that are visiting Heinz Field this year will make it an interesting year for our fans and we are looking forward to the challenge.
You have five national telecasts this year. That means that the networks believe you are going to be good this year.
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I think so. I think that most of the playoff teams get a lot of the primetime games. Then when we are playing so many of them, it is almost automatic that you get that many primetime games. It will be a challenge.
Is it possible that the schedule might not be as tough because teams change so much from year-to-year?
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Well you are right that you have to be careful how much you read into it in advance because every year is different and every year teams go up and down. Even though it is ranked as one of the toughest schedules, you never know. Certainly going in it is one of the tougher groups of teams that I have seen in a long time, particularly in terms of the home schedule.
Do you recall seeing an out-of-the-division schedule that was this deep?
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No, I really have to say that it is a group of teams that are formidable teams; it will be a true test. I think that the message for everybody in this building is they better be working very hard to get ready for this season.
While the coaches would probably prefer the 1 PM starts as an organization you probably enjoying getting all of the primetime slots?
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If you have a winning team and you are competitive then you are going to be playing in the primetime games. That goes with the territory and we will take it.
