Strength of Schedule

[xmarkd400x]

Take a look at all the playoff teams NE has beat this year:

Division Leaders: NE has beaten EVERY AFC division leader this year.

• Cowboys
• Colts
• Steelers
• Chargers

Wild Card/On the bubble teams:

• Browns
• Buffalo (Would probably be in the playoffs if they didnt play the Pats twice)

Also, the Patriots are an impressive 7-0 vs. quality teams with an average victory of 23.5 (per CHFF)

 

[upstater1]

Take a look at all the playoff teams NE has beat this year:

Division Leaders: NE has beaten EVERY AFC division leader this year.

• Cowboys
• Colts
• Indianapolis
• San Diego

Wild Card/On the bubble teams:

• Browns
• Buffalo (Would probably be in the playoffs if they didnt play the Pats twice)

Also, the Patriots are an impressive 7-0 vs. quality teams with an average victory of 23.5 (per CHFF)

This year's has been the toughest schedule I can remember in ages. We've played every good team except the Packers. I can't see how anyone is ridiculing the Patriots' schedule.

 

[pwes]

Take a look at all the playoff teams NE has beat this year:

Division Leaders: NE has beaten EVERY AFC division leader this year.

• Cowboys
• Colts
• Indianapolis
• San Diego

Wild Card/On the bubble teams:

• Browns
• Buffalo (Would probably be in the playoffs if they didnt play the Pats twice)

Also, the Patriots are an impressive 7-0 vs. quality teams with an average victory of 23.5 (per CHFF)

The Colts and Indianapolis are the same team and the Cowboys are not in the afc. You might want to fix that.

 

[hambone1818]

And it's funny how people point to their 'weak' schedule as a reason why they've been able to go undefeated up to this point. Yeah, two of the worst teams in football are in their division. But they've gone through most of the best teams in football. Take the Patriots out of the top 10 of any power rankings, and they'll have played 5 or 6 of the top 10 teams in the league (Colts, Cowboys, Steelers, Chargers, and one or both of the Browns and Giants). Add in the fact that the top two teams on that list were away games, and throw in two games against a team (Buffalo) that's 7-4 in games not played against the Juggernaut, and you have a damn hard schedule.

 

[makewayhomer]

This year's has been the toughest schedule I can remember in ages. We've played every good team except the Packers. I can't see how anyone is ridiculing the Patriots' schedule.

the Pats schedule in 2004 was just about as hard

 

[oldskool138]

The Colts and Indianapolis are the same team and the Cowboys are not in the afc. You might want to fix that.

Yeah, I think markd400 might be still a little hungover from yesterday...not that there's anything wrong with a little Monday morning headache after a Pats win.

I had to laugh when he listed the Colts and Indy as two separate teams.

 

[xmarkd400x]

The Colts and Indianapolis are the same team and the Cowboys are not in the afc. You might want to fix that.

I listed Indy and not the Steelers. I fixed it.

 

[patchick]

It's baffling, isn't it?

- Out of 31 other teams in the league, only 12 (39%) have a winning record.

- Out of 13 games played by the Patriots, 7 (54%) have been against those winning teams.

- That includes the two clearly strongest teams, Indy and Dallas.

So where does all the "who have they played" bit come from? The ONLY way that the Patriots schedule could be considered soft is that they don't have to play themselves!!

 

[pwes]

It's baffling, isn't it?

- Out of 31 other teams in the league, only 12 (39%) have a winning record.

- Out of 13 games played by the Patriots, 7 (54%) have been against those winning teams.

- That includes the two clearly strongest teams, Indy and Dallas.

So where does all the "who have they played" bit come from? The ONLY way that the Patriots schedule could be considered soft is that they don't have to play themselves!!

I think it was early in the season when people were saying that. After they beat the Colts, people kind of shut up about it.

 

[patchick]

I think it was early in the season when people were saying that. After they beat the Colts, people kind of shut up about it.

You would think so, but no! It's been a steady little drumbeat all season long. I posted after reading a blog on the topic from THIS MORNING:
http://www.fannation.com/blogs/post/87755

 

[ctpatsfan77]

Part of the problem is that division opponents count twice, and the rest of the division is an execrable 10-29.

If I have time tonight, I'll rerun the SOS numbers and see how much they change if they only count each opponent once.

 

[Pat the Pats Fan]

I had to laugh when he listed the Colts and Indy as two separate teams.

That's Polian's next secret strategy to win. In the playoffs, the Pats will have to play the Colts and then Indy. Maybe 3rd time will be the charm for Polian......