2013 "OMG the Jets have a stretch where they play the Falcons, Steelers, Saints, Bengals, Patriots and Saints 2-7."
I used to pay a lot of attention to the strength of schedule stuff, but since stopped following the Steelers SB win a few years back when they had the most difficult schedule according to that thing.
This is the first I have heard about this, so apologies if I'm late to the party, but... http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap20...x-scheduling-can-now-start-as-early-as-week-5 ...they now plan on flexing games as early as week 5??
Starting fast is a big momentum builder and teams for the most part have a higher win percentage in home games. I don't remember the exact percentages, but I recently read that teams that start 2-0 have a 60 plus % chance of making the playoffs, 1-1 teams have a 40 plus % chance and teams that start 0-2 are under 15%.
generally because those teams are either good, mediocre, or bad. not because the schedule induced their playoff chances.
I'm kind of in the same mindset as this... Just as teams can go worst to first in a year the same can be said about "strength of schedule." Yeah, strength of schedule based upon the previous year's record is essentially useless...nowadays anyway. About the ONLY teams you can count on being guaranteed formidable this upcoming year are Denver, San Francisco, Seattle and possibly New England. Everyone else has real holes and ONLY Denver and New England get a pass to the discussion merely due to the fact of their hall of fame QB's. Even that shouldn't preclude them from the discussion but it will for now...
I agree about starting strong. But the Jets have not exactly been a dominant home team over the years. Last season was an atypically strong home campaign. Regardless, I'd rather open on the road vs the Jags, say, than @home vs Denver. That is, I'd rather play the weaker opponent, whether it's @home or away.
