Bye weeks are awful. We've long established this. But the games will go on even without the Minnesota Vikings, so we could just as well set up a place for everyone to talk about them.
Here's what the schedule of games looks like for Week 9 in the National Football League.
CBS Early Games
New York Jets at Buffalo Bills (DirecTV Channel 704)
-Announcers: Jim Nantz, Phil Simms
Cleveland Browns at Houston Texans (DirecTV Channel 705)
-Announcers: Ian Eagle, Dan Fouts
Miami Dolphins at Kansas City Chiefs (DirecTV Channel 706)
-Announcers: Kevin Harlan, Solomon Wilcots
FOX Early Games
San Francisco 49ers at Washington Redskins (DirecTV Channel 709)
-Announcers: Kenny Albert, Darryl Johnston, Tony Siragusa
Tampa Bay Buccaneers at New Orleans Saints (DirecTV Channel 708)
-Announcers: Dick Stockton, John Lynch
Seattle Seahawks at Dallas Cowboys (DirecTV Channel 707)
-Announcers: Chris Myers, Tim Ryan
Atlanta Falcons at Indianapolis Colts (DirecTV Channel 710)
-Announcers: Ron Pitts, Jim Mora, Jr.
CBS Late Games
Denver Broncos at Oakland Raiders (DirecTV Channel 711)
-Announcers: Greg Gumbel, Dan Dierdorf
Cincinnati Bengals at Tennessee Titans (DirecTV Channel 712)
-Announcers: Marv Albert, Rich Gannon
FOX Late Games
Green Bay Packers at San Diego Chargers (DirecTV Channel 715)
-Announcers: Thom Brenneman, Brian Billick
New England Patriots at New York Giants (DirecTV Channel 714)
-Announcers: Joe Buck, Troy Aikman (surprised this crew isn't in San Diego to kiss Green Bay's butts)
St. Louis Rams at Arizona Cardinals (DirecTV Channel 713)
-Announcers: Sam Rosen, Chad Pennington
The Sunday night game this week should be a good one, featuring an AFC North battle between the Baltimore Ravens and the Pittsburgh Steelers from Heinz Field, while this week's Monday night match-up will feature the Chicago Bears traveling to the City of Brotherly Love to take on the resurgent Philadelphia Eagles.
Like I said, this is your place to talk about all of the Week 9 action and talk about how much bye weeks stink. On a related note, in the official Daily Norseman Fantasy Football League, I needed a defense to replace my regular D, which is on a bye week (the Detroit Lions), and the rest of the league's members were so kind as to leave the Raiders' defense out there for the taking. Starting a defense that's going up against a Tim Tebow-led offense? That's like having an extra starter in the lineup. So, thanks for that, guys!
Kickoff is about 20 minutes away, so grab your snacks, get your remote (or flip it to the Red Zone Channel like I plan on doing), and get comfortable for an exciting afternoon of NFL football.