In a move that was long overdue, in my opinion, the NFL has added some flexibility to its Sunday night lineup. Instead of adhering to a strict schedule that risks sticking a pair of dogs in a late-season, prime-time contest on national television, the league is taking measures to ensure only the best match-ups make the NBC broadcast.

The new flex scheduling will begin in week 10 of the 2006 season, and run throughout the rest of the season, with the exception of week 16 because of the holiday weekend. The move not only ensures the broadcast of games involved in the playoff run, it also makes it possible for teams that come out of nowhere to play in the spotlight. In the past, teams expected to be bottom feeders were shut out of these games because the guys that make up the schedule don't know which team(s) will make the leap. Now they don't have to.

The 2006 NFL schedule will list start times for all Sunday games during the “flex” weeks as 1:00 PM ET, except for games played in the Mountain or Pacific Time zones, which will be listed at 4:05 PM ET or 4:15 PM ET. The league will announce the games that are being moved to prime time at least 12 days in advance, and only Sunday games will be effected. CBS and Fox will be able to protect five games during the seven weeks of flexible scheduling, but not more than one game per week.

This new system means we won't see a Detroit vs. Green Bay-type of contest like we saw in week 14 last year, when both teams were clearly out of the playoff race. It's a great move that should be considered for expansion to Monday Night Football as well.