IRVING, Texas --As Nick mentioned in his preseason schedule breakdown, the Cowboys are used to having a 10-day break between their annual preseason finale and their regular-season opener.
That won't be the case this year. Their fourth and final preseason game is slated for Aug. 29 (Wednesday) or Aug. 30 (Thursday), with the Sept. 5 NFL Kickoff Game at the Giants set for the following Wednesday. (The league pushed back the season opener by one day to avoid a conflict with President Obama's Sept. 6 speech at the Democratic National Convention.)
It would seem likely that if there's a choice between Aug. 29 and Aug. 30 for that last preseason game, the Cowboys would push to play it as early as possible so they get a week off before their showdown with the Giants.
Either way, it means an unusual start to the 2012 season.
"What you do prior to the game is try to get yourself on a normal schedule," head coach Jason Garrett said last week. "We'll start our previous week on Wednesday and we'll make sure we make the accommodations to do that so the players get into a normal rhythm leading up to a ballgame.
"Then afterwards, it does make it a little different. You do have more time until you play that following weekend (Week 2). We'll make the necessary adjustments."
