Do the NFL's six westernmost teams face a disadvantage? It appears they do.
First things first: The six teams with "body-clock issues" include the San Diego Chargers, San Francisco 49ers, Oakland Raiders and Seattle Seahawks in the Pacific time zone; and the the Arizona Cardinals and Denver Broncos in the Mountain time zone.
Our friends at ColdHardFootballFacts.com have done the hard work, crunched the digits and drummed up some interesting results:
• In 2011, western teams went 15-12 (.556) in road games starting at 10 a.m. PST. Not too shabby, but helped immensely by the 49ers racking up a 5-0 record in those games.
• From 2007 to 2010, western teams were 34-72 (.321) in 10 a.m. PST road starts and 33-53 (.384) in late-starting away games. Ouch.
• During this stretch, eastern teams dominated this western six-pack with a 44-15 (.746) record against Pacific squads and a 24-11 (.686) mark against Mountain teams. That's 68-26 (.723) overall.
Scott Kacsmar at ColdHardFootballFacts.com has obviously burnt the midnight oil on this study (check it out here). It's a great read, and one that might keep you Raiders fans up at night.
Nod to **ESPN.com*.*
