lazarusinthesanatorium

To ALL:

Something's been buggin' me: Visiting different Forums, and/or Reading various Troll's Posts I read talk by Fans of Other Teams saying such things as, "Of COURSE the Patriots will win, Just LOOK at their Schedule," and even more ignorant bumblings like, "The NFL WANTS the Patriots to Win, Why ELSE would They give Them the EASIEST Strength of Schedule in the Entire NFL?"


First and Now, Here are some Patriot Historical Facts:

In 2007, the Pats had the 3rd Hardest Schedule, playing Teams who had a .535 Winning % (they were .004%, or 1 Total Loss by ALL Opponents OFF of having the Hardest Schedule): Now, HOW DID THE PATRIOTS FARE: 16-0

In 2006, the Patriots had the 26th Hardest Strength of Schedule (the 7th Easiest): THE PATRIOTS FINISH 12-4

In 2005, The Pats have the 3rd Hardest Strength of Schedule, playing Teams with a .539 Winning % (Just 2 More Total Losses by ALL Their Opponents off the Hardest Schedule): THE PATRIOTS FINISH 10-6

In 2004 the Patriots have the 5th Hardest Strength of Schedule: THE PATRIOTS FINISH 14-2

In 2003 The Patriots have the 8th Hardest Strength of Schedule: THE PATRIOTS FINISH 14-2 again

In 2002 The Patriots have the 13th HARDEST Strength of Schedule: THE PATRIOTS FINISH 9-7


NOW, WHAT DO I SEE HERE?

MYTH 1: The Patriots are the NFL darlings... WRONG. Over and Over, Time and Again, the Pats are continually placed not just in the top half of Strength of Schedules, but usually placed and put within the top third.

MYTH 2: The Teams that have won the Superbowl, have had the Easier Schedules, and/or Teams that have the Most Difficult Schedules NEVER Win the Superbowl... WRONG. From 2008-2002, The Teams that Won-It-All have had Strength of Schedules anywhere between the 22nd to the 8th Hardest, and from the 25th to the 5th Hardest. Strangely enough what I DO See, is a VERY random mixing up of Patriot Strength of Schedule(s); Whereas some Teams tend to stick around the same S.O.S. "area", the NFL throws the Pats ALL over the board. It may be IMO, but it appears that when they have the third hardest and go 16-0, the NFL says, "Let's mix it up a bit, and give them the easiest." From '02-04 They kept getting progressively harder S.O.S., and when they KEPT winning, then they started to vary wildly (almost like, "Well We tried the Hardest Schedule thing and That didn't work, so...").

which leads us to...

MYTH 3: Teams that have the EASIEST Schedule Not only Make the Playoffs, but Have a Better chance at Winning the Superbowl... WRONG. In fact, since 2002, Out of ALL the Teams that have had the EASIEST Schedule that year, Only ONCE did ONE of those Teams even MAKE the Playoffs (let alone, get to the Superbowl)...hmmm, We Tried getting progressively harder...THAT DIDN'T WORK. We Tried varying the Strength of Schedule radically...THAT DIDN'T WORK. LET'S See What Giving Them The Easiest Strength of Schedule brings... hmmm, CALCULATED?

Thoughts ANYONE?

pats1

The NFL has no bearing on the strength of schedule numbers. The Patriots' schedule in 2008 was determined in 2002.

Next...

TheComeback

SECONDED, just in case you MISSED it.

NJPatsfan26

Very nice analysis. I would agree with you.

We should get Mythbusters to investigate this!!

JSn

Why say "dumb thread"? Is it a requirement to be an a$shole on this forum?
I know it's not in the quote, but I saw it there before you changed it.

I think it's an interesting analysis, even if it doesn't prove the theory placed by the subject line.

Some of you guys SERIOUSLY need an enema.

MrBigglesWorth

of course it was in 2002. if it was done in 2008 the bias would be so obvious.

__________________
"There are two categories of superbowl participants that nobody remembers:

The team that lost the game and the team that only won one." Dwight White- Steelers

Section103

The argument against the 'NFL WANTS the Pats to win' conspiracy theorists is incredibly simple...
The schedule from now until the foreseeable future is already set aside from 2 games per year. That's it...

If further explanation is needed, this is it...

Each division is assigned a division from their conference and the other conference as opponents. Each year the assigned divisions rotate so that no team can go more than 3 seasons without playing each other. Each team within a division plays each other twice. That leaves two games. These game are against the two teams in the other divisions of their conference that finished in the same place within their own division. i.e. 1s play 1s and 2s play 2s.

Look at the Jets, Dolphins and Bills. They all have IDENTICAL opponents as the Pats aside from two. Anyone complaining about THEIR strength of schedule?

Sicilian

I think we need a sticky detailing common mistakes made by posters and give automatic 3-day bans to anyone who fails to note them.

Top of that list: The schedule is made using a formula combining last years position and a division rotation.

Any other additions?

DynastyDriven

PS the 2009 schedule is already out

http://www.patriots.com/search/index...d=2862&pcid=43


2009
Home Away
MIA MIA
BUF BUF
NYJ NYJ
JAX HOU
TEN IND
ATL NO
CAR TB
AFC North AFC West

TheComeback

I said it was dumb thread because it is a dumb thread. At least do some research about how the NFL schedules its games before you come out and start making wild accusations about them. Is that too much to ask?