NFL Helps Buccaneers Avoid Cold Weather

Martin Fennelly of the Tampa Tribune points out something very interesting about the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' 2008 schedule -- there are no real cold weather games.

You can see the full schedule here. Notice that road trips to Chicago and Denver come early in the autumn, well before the snow usually falls in those cities. There's a trip to Kansas City in early November as well, but it usually doesn't get that cold there so early.

Then after their Nov. 9 bye, the Bucs play four of their last seven at home and two of those last seven in domes. The only outdoor game is the Monday night tilt in Charlotte against the Carolina Panthers, and North Carolina is known for its generally mild early winters. That's why so many Steelers fans leave Pittsburgh and move here.

That's quite a break for a team that traditionally does so poorly in cold weather. Until 2002, the Bucs had never won a game when the starting temperature at kickoff was below 40 degrees, and over all, they've only won two such games in their history. It looks like they won't have to worry about that this year. That has to make Jon Gruden a little less angry this week. Maybe.