MikesVikes Posted July 19, 2008 Share Posted July 19, 2008 (edited) The NFL Schedule matches teams against teams within it's division (twice) and teams from two different divisions. That accounts for 14 of the 16 NFL games that teams will play. The win/loss records of teams in the 8 divisions vary greatly from last season. There were no teams in the AFC South or NFC East with Losing records for example. The Win/Loss record shown is the record of the teams from the two divsions that they are matched up with. NFC West 26-38 AFC West 26-38 NFC South 27-37 AFC East 28-36 AFC North 32-32 NFC North 35-29 NFC East 40-24 AFC South 42-22 Because of the way the matchups between the divisions played out this year, some teams will play one of the more difficult schedules in history while others will play the easiest ever in history. Pittsburgh and Indianapolis are two teams that will have the two toughest schedules in the last 15 years. Other teams that play in their two divisions aren't too far behind on the list. New England and other AFC East teams play against the two weakest divisions from last year, NFC West and AFC West both with 26-38 records. The AFC East teams had a 28-36 record and 16 of those 28 wins belong to one team. So the luck of the draw gives New England the easiest shedule in the last 15 years by two games! Here is a comparison of the divisional match-ups based on last season. AFC North 82-46 (Play both the strongest divisions) NFC North 69-59 NFC West 68-60 AFC South 67-61 NFC South 61-67 NFC East 58-70 AFC West 55-73 AFC East 52-76 (Play both the weakest divisions) Your strength of schedule is something to consider more this year than ever before, imo. Edited July 19, 2008 by MikesVikes Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Talker Posted July 20, 2008 Share Posted July 20, 2008 Good info. An article in this year's FFI makes a lot of these same points. SOS will be a factor when I'm drafting this year, probably more so than usual. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BeeR Posted July 20, 2008 Share Posted July 20, 2008 Am I the only one who pretty much ignores this, since we don't know how good most of these teams will really be anyway...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Talker Posted July 20, 2008 Share Posted July 20, 2008 Am I the only one who pretty much ignores this, since we don't know how good most of these teams will really be anyway...... Read the FFI article. I was thinking the same way as you (as I always have), but they provide statistical analysis that convinced me there is something to this, at least for this season. It's not like they're saying "avoid all players who play on teams with tough schedules!" or anything like that. But their research (which goes back many seasons) does demonstrate that teams playing softer schedules average more offensive production (especially after a certain point), while teams that play harder schedules average somewhat less production (especially after a certain point). And this year, with schedules stacked the way they are, as MV has demonstrated above, SOS may be a factor in FF production more than it ever has before. I expect this is going to affect my drafts. If I have 3-4 players ranked closely together where I don't really have a preference but I need to make a choice, and one of the them plays for the Bills or Pats while the others play for the Steelers or Vikings, I know who I'm going to pick. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikesVikes Posted July 20, 2008 Author Share Posted July 20, 2008 (edited) Am I the only one who pretty much ignores this, since we don't know how good most of these teams will really be anyway...... Good question. I also saw the article at FFIndex and thought it was good to share. The analysis is all mine created by myself however. After reading the article I thought it would be interesting to see the results. But in the article, this very question was asked. If a team is "projects" to play an easy schedule do they actually play one since teams improve or fall back each year? Based on a study of every season since 1993, teams that have projected to play easy schedules have in fact played one in most cases. That's a 15 season, 461 team study that did follow the pattern. So the answer is it actually was an easier schedule in most cases. Edited July 20, 2008 by MikesVikes Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Menudo Posted July 20, 2008 Share Posted July 20, 2008 Pittsburgh and Indianapolis are two teams that will have the two toughest schedules in the last 15 years. Other teams that play in their two divisions aren't too far behind on the list. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jackass Posted July 20, 2008 Share Posted July 20, 2008 Nice post. This is good info Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaxfactor Posted July 21, 2008 Share Posted July 21, 2008 Pittsburgh and Indianapolis are two teams that will have the two toughest schedules in the last 15 years. Other teams that play in their two divisions aren't too far behind on the list. What the hell are you dancing for? I think it sucks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Menudo Posted July 21, 2008 Share Posted July 21, 2008 (edited) What the hell are you dancing for? I think it sucks. I do too. I was trying to be funny. I've actually written on here many times that I think this is going to be a disappointing 8-8 or 9-7 season for the Steelers. Their draft this year will pay dividends in future years, but, their offensive line looks to be extremely weak. That combined with this ridiculously tough schedule could have the Steelers in for a long season. I think they are a very talented team, but, they appear to be weak in the one area where you simply can't survive. Hopefully the offensive line will surprise me. Edited July 21, 2008 by Menudo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Capt. Stanky Posted July 21, 2008 Share Posted July 21, 2008 (edited) I agree that their could be let down for the Steelers this year, but Cle, Balt & Cin will be playing relatively the same schedule. I personally think 9-7 wins the AFC North this year. I expect Cle to fall back down to earth a little this year too, while Balt. bounces back with a better year. I still don't know what to think about my Bengals. I'm trying not to read into the pre-camp Kool-Aid hype, but hopefully we will be improved as well. I do too. I was trying to be funny. I've actually written on here many times that I think this is going to be a disappointing 8-8 or 9-7 season for the Steelers. Their draft this year will pay dividends in future years, but, their offensive line looks to be extremely weak. That combined with this ridiculously tough schedule could have the Steelers in for a long season. I think they are a very talented team, but, they appear to be weak in the one area where you simply can't survive. Hopefully the offensive line will surprise me. Edited July 21, 2008 by Capt. Stanky Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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