NEW YORK (AP)-The New York Giants visit the Washington Redskins and New York Jets will host the Dallas Cowboys Sept. 11, marking the 10th anniversary of the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.
With the NFL and its players locked out mired in negotiations over a new collective agreement, announced Tuesday the league's 2011-12 schedule, provided that the season starts on time.
The regular season begins on Thursday, September 8 at night, when the Super Bowl champion Green Bay Packers host the New Orleans Saints at Lambeau Field.
The first Sunday of several high-profile games, including Atlanta and Houston Indianapolis Chicago. But a lot of national attention on Washington and New York, two cities 11 September 2001 terrorist attacks.
"This stadium will be full of emotion, not just the people of the region, but throughout the country," said Jets coach, Rex Ryan, who is confronted with his brother, Cowboys defensive coordinator Rob Ryan. "That is the 10 th anniversary of 9 / 11, where the focus should be, not me playing against my brother."
The Redskins and Giants kick off at 04:15 local time (2115 GMT), with the Jets and the Cowboys at 20:20
"For almost 10 years, we felt obliged to use the platform to ensure that none of us will ever forget the tragedy and suffering and the courage and heroism of September 11," Giants spokesman Pat Hanlon said. "The responsibility is even greater."
Pittsburgh is the third largest city in the NFL most affected by the terrorist attacks on Flight 93 crashed after 80 miles near Shanksville, Pa. The Steelers visit the Baltimore Ravens Sept. 11.
New England went to Miami and Oakland visits Denver for the opening night Monday.
The last Sunday of the regular season falls on New Year's Day, when all 16 games are scheduled between the division rivals, the strengthening of the possible ramifications in the playoffs.
The regular season includes 17 weeks of the opening round of playoffs is scheduled for January 7-8 and the Super Bowl on Feb. 5 in Indianapolis.
NFL has expressed a desire to stretch the season to 18 games, one of the nodes in the contentious battle between owners and players on a new collective agreement.
The two sides resumed mediation ordered by the court on Tuesday in Minneapolis, the decision of a federal judge is expected soon on a request to immediately stop the blockade.
Both parties have spent 16 days immersed in the mediation talks in Washington without reaching an agreement, leading a class action antitrust lawsuits filed by players against the NFL and the decision of the League of work first time since 1987 . They recently spent about 20 hours over three days of meetings in Minneapolis, with more talks scheduled for Wednesday.
In a statement announcing the schedule of upcoming NFL season was not all eventualities if negotiations on a new collective agreement last fall.
"I'm confident we'll have a season," said Rex Ryan on Tuesday night. "We will be ready to play. Whenever they say, 'OK, we're going back to work, "we will be ready to play."
Other highlights of the schedule, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers host the Chicago Bears at Wembley Stadium on October 23, one of two games outside the United States and the fifth consecutive year, the NFL played a regular season game in London.
Bucs defeated the New England Patriots at Wembley Stadium in 2009, when the bears are marked 25th anniversary of their preseason game against the Cowboys in London.
Buffalo Bills playing in Canada is the fourth consecutive season when they host the Redskins at the Rogers Centre in Toronto in October 1930. Invoices must be treated with Rogers Communications, 2012, and will play five games in the regular season of Canada's largest city.
Thanksgiving Day games have the Packers in Detroit, Dallas and Miami to San Francisco at Baltimore, when the 49ers face the new coach Jim Harbaugh and the Ravens coach John Harbaugh is the first meeting between brother coaches in NFL history.
Packers play the Bears in the game only on Christmas Day. There are 13 games scheduled for Dec. 24, including the Giants against the Jets.
NFL will again use the "flexible scheduling" for weeks 10-15 and the final week of the regular season, so the league to move the start times for certain games.
AP Sports Writer Dennis Waszak Jr. in New York, Tom Canavan in East Rutherford, New Jersey, and Jon Krawczynski in Minneapolis contributed to this report.
