Vindicate
2nd Team Getting Their First Start
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So I was watching the Howe piece that was talking about the Patriots' schedule thus far, which has been rather cake. Looking at a metric which considers winning % of opponents, we have the second easiest schedule.
This metric, while valid, also doesn't explain a lot of unobserved confounders, such as the noticeable decline in quality of competition in the NFL. So I'm posing two questions here -
1 - What contributed to this decline in quality? I mean, we all know about Goodell's transgressions and how his recent antics may have affected public opinion, but this is an issue that has been becoming more and more true each year. Why are QB's being groomed in college a completely different way than a pro-style offense works? That seems to be a big trend as well.
2 - Considering this decline in quality, do you think the strength of schedule metric is becoming more and more moot? In theory, it makes sense that a team with a pretty good record against a strong schedule might be more battle tested than a excellent record against weak competition. But when the league is lagging behind in terms of performance, I would assume that would not outright invalidate SOS, but it becomes a weaker measuring stick.
I, myself, have no issue saying that, while the Patriots may have had a weak schedule, they are still favorable by a large margin. What matters most is our offense clicking and we've gone against some stingy defenses and haven't been really held back all that much. Our defense is starting to fire on all cylinders (thanks to the schedule prolly lol). I have a hard time finding a team as complete, save for MAYBE Dallas.
This metric, while valid, also doesn't explain a lot of unobserved confounders, such as the noticeable decline in quality of competition in the NFL. So I'm posing two questions here -
1 - What contributed to this decline in quality? I mean, we all know about Goodell's transgressions and how his recent antics may have affected public opinion, but this is an issue that has been becoming more and more true each year. Why are QB's being groomed in college a completely different way than a pro-style offense works? That seems to be a big trend as well.
2 - Considering this decline in quality, do you think the strength of schedule metric is becoming more and more moot? In theory, it makes sense that a team with a pretty good record against a strong schedule might be more battle tested than a excellent record against weak competition. But when the league is lagging behind in terms of performance, I would assume that would not outright invalidate SOS, but it becomes a weaker measuring stick.
I, myself, have no issue saying that, while the Patriots may have had a weak schedule, they are still favorable by a large margin. What matters most is our offense clicking and we've gone against some stingy defenses and haven't been really held back all that much. Our defense is starting to fire on all cylinders (thanks to the schedule prolly lol). I have a hard time finding a team as complete, save for MAYBE Dallas.