The Patriots 2010 Schedule.....Sadistically Unfair?

[DaBruinz]

2007 may have been the "F YOU" to the NFL....But 2010 is the NFL "F YOU" to the Patriots....

Yes, because when they made the schedule of who we play back in 2002, they knew that the 2007 Pats would say "F YOU" to the league and that the league would say it to the Pats in 2010.

Let's face reality here. The Pats have played 3 games in the span of 12 days before. They did it the last time they faced the Lions. The Pats have played back to back away games on the west coast twice in the same season. It happens.

Thinking that the league, some how, put an "F YOU" on the Pats when there are 32 stadiums that all have concert / other event schedules that are set up years in advance is just ridiculous. It's not like the stadiums are just sitting idle. And reality is that the other events probably account for significantly more revenue than 8 - 10 footballs a year.

By the way, OP, those teams that have back to back home games. How many of them also have back to back away games?

 

[PatsFanSince74]

By the way, if you asked Bob Kraft if he would like the Thanksgiving Day game, he would say yes.
I think the amount of back to back home and road games is insignificant.

Yeah. I remember when the Pats were playing a West Coast division on the rotating schedule...the back to back road games on the coast were actually a benefit, as BB just camped the team out in California rather than return to Boston.

I think there are plenty of things for Pats fans to feel dissed about...this definitely isn't one of them!

 

[PatsFanSince74]

Yes, because when they made the schedule of who we play back in 2002, they knew that the 2007 Pats would say "F YOU" to the league and that the league would say it to the Pats in 2010.

Let's face reality here. The Pats have played 3 games in the span of 12 days before. They did it the last time they faced the Lions. The Pats have played back to back away games on the west coast twice in the same season. It happens.

Thinking that the league, some how, put an "F YOU" on the Pats when there are 32 stadiums that all have concert / other event schedules that are set up years in advance is just ridiculous. It's not like the stadiums are just sitting idle. And reality is that the other events probably account for significantly more revenue than 8 - 10 footballs a year.

By the way, OP, those teams that have back to back home games. How many of them also have back to back away games?

Agreed. This is way beyond silly. The arithmetic says that if you have back to back home games, you get back to back road games.

I've often wondered how much code the NFL's scheduling logistics model contains. When I was in B-school, we had to construct logistics models for relatively simple sets of variables and it drove me crazy.

If we even think of all the things around which the league is trying to plan, our brains start to hurt.

256 games, 17 weeks, eight divisions, multi-use stadiums...throw in bye weeks, scheduling certain teams for sunday and monday night games in sweeps weeks, making up to some teams for screwing them the year before, being sure the colts play the pats in november, that dallas and detroit play on Thanksgiving and on and on and on...one could go insane just thinking about it, let alone come up with a schedule that is more or less fair for every team.

 

[RhodyPatriot]

It hasn't been the actual scheduling of games so much as who they've played. Steelers....Colts.....then the Lions on a Thursday. Ouch!!
Remember a couple of years ago when the Pats played back to back games on the West Coast and BB just kept them out there for the week?
Most team have glitchy schedules.
Except the Colts. It's amazing how accomodating their schedule is every year.

 

[Palm Beach Pats Fan]

You play who you play, when the tell you to play. There's no control over that, it is what it is. We suck it up and win. Let's not whine like Colts about it

 

[FloridaPatsFan]

Yes, because when they made the schedule of who we play back in 2002, they knew that the 2007 Pats would say "F YOU" to the league and that the league would say it to the Pats in 2010.

Let's face reality here. The Pats have played 3 games in the span of 12 days before. They did it the last time they faced the Lions. The Pats have played back to back away games on the west coast twice in the same season. It happens.

Thinking that the league, some how, put an "F YOU" on the Pats when there are 32 stadiums that all have concert / other event schedules that are set up years in advance is just ridiculous. It's not like the stadiums are just sitting idle. And reality is that the other events probably account for significantly more revenue than 8 - 10 footballs a year.

By the way, OP, those teams that have back to back home games. How many of them also have back to back away games?

Granted...there are a lot of factors involved when scheduling games in the NFL. Sometimes you can't get around the difficulties and subsenquently, there are quirks....

However...I cannot explain or rationalize why the NFL would schedule EVERY team in the NFL to have consecutive home games....EXCEPT the New England Patriots....and neither can anyone else on this website.

Perhaps it is an anomoly and will not happen for another 10 or 20 years.

I did submit this question to Mike Reiss and hopefully, it will be answered. I did search multiple websites on thoughts/comments about the schedule this year and the one common thought on the Patriots schedule has been it is unordinary/head-scratcher kind of schedule....and unanimously, a difficult one

But hey, we're the New England Patriots....Loved by Networks because our nationally televised games annually draw the highest ratings.....and yet, despised by so many because of our continued success....I can live with that....I only ask that we be treated like any other team in the NFL...No better, no worse.

 

[Deus Irae]

Granted...there are a lot of factors involved when scheduling games in the NFL. Sometimes you can't get around the difficulties and subsenquently, there are quirks....

However...I cannot explain or rationalize why the NFL would schedule EVERY team in the NFL to have consecutive home games....EXCEPT the New England Patriots....and neither can anyone else on this website.

Perhaps it is an anomoly and will not happen for another 10 or 20 years.

I did submit this question to Mike Reiss and hopefully, it will be answered. I did search multiple websites on thoughts/comments about the schedule this year and the one common thought on the Patriots schedule has been it is unordinary/head-scratcher kind of schedule....and unanimously, a difficult one

But hey, we're the New England Patriots....Loved by Networks because our nationally televised games annually draw the highest ratings.....and yet, despised by so many because of our continued success....I can live with that....I only ask that we be treated like any other team in the NFL...No better, no worse.

Dude.... as far as home/away goes, they've got the best schedule in the NFL this year. That you've somehow tried to make it seem just the opposite is bizarre.

 

[Palm Beach Pats Fan]

We get to open and close at home, closing with a warm weather team out in the cold, we got a home game after the bye week and after a Monday nighter, removing the one day shortfall that normally arises from playing on Monday night, we have back-to-back road games just once.

Every schedule can be nitpicked to death. Ours isn't bad, isn't unfair, and no way should we whine like a little Colt about the injustice of it all.

 

[FloridaPatsFan]

Dude.... as far as home/away goes, they've got the best schedule in the NFL this year. That you've somehow tried to make it seem just the opposite is bizarre.

Deus,

Both the Globe and Herald have said that the schedule this year was unusual in that we do not have 2 home games in a row. I have come accross multiple websites that have commented that at the very least, our schedule is unordinary and above all, difficult. There is not a single opinion, local or national that said we have the "best schedule in the NFL".

 

[SVN]

i think the timing of back to back road and home games matters more. the jets for e.g have played back to back home and road games almost evenly but that means they are going to have back to back chi and pitt in december. i think alternate road/home is preferable here.

 

[Palm Beach Pats Fan]

Statistically out of the ordinary, unusual, and abnormal are all adjectives that are NOT synonymous with unfair. If you open and close at home (which I think is a GOOD thing) then it is a mathematical necessity that you have AT LEAST ONE INSTANCE OF AT LEAST TWO STRAIGHT ROAD GAMES.

To have no more than that is, in my opinion, good fortune. The drawback to that good fortune is a lack of two straight home games.

 

[Deus Irae]

Deus,

Both the Globe and Herald have said that the schedule this year was unusual in that we do not have 2 home games in a row. I have come accross multiple websites that have commented that at the very least, our schedule is unordinary and above all, difficult. There is not a single opinion, local or national that said we have the "best schedule in the NFL".

1.) Unusual does not automatically equal bad.

2.) You're trying to group the whole schedule under one umbrella, while railing against the home/away aspect separately. It just doesn't work that way.

Every other week is a great schedule.

 

[neuronet]

Hey, the playoffs will feel like a vacation if we get home field advantage!

 

[PatsFanSince74]

1.) Unusual does not automatically equal bad.

2.) You're trying to group the whole schedule under one umbrella, while railing against the home/away aspect separately. It just doesn't work that way.

Every other week is a great schedule.

Deus: I suggest that you heed the bottom line of your own sig and just leave it at that...

 

[Palm Beach Pats Fan]

In terms of whom we play and where we play, we have had the 8th toughest schedule in the league so far, according to the Sagarin computer rankings.

USATODAY.com

By that analysis the Browns, Dolphins, Bills, Vikings, Steelers, Bengals, and Redskins have more reason to complain about a tough schedule than us.

I find his computer ratings interesting. It explains, for instance, the better-than expected records of the Bears, Bucs, and Chiefs who have faced the 28th, 31st, and 29th toughest schedules so far, respectively

 

[ATippett56]

You play who you play, when the tell you to play. There's no control over that, it is what it is. We suck it up and win. Let's not whine like Colts about it

I'd rather start the season at home and end the season at home considering the New England Patriots road record last year.

 

[borg]

1.) Unusual does not automatically equal bad.

2.) You're trying to group the whole schedule under one umbrella, while railing against the home/away aspect separately. It just doesn't work that way.

Every other week is a great schedule.

Wonder when this "schedule angst" will subside and a uniform color controversey will explode.....effin Goodell and his weaselly minions

 

[VJCPatriot]

They made the Patriots play 3 games in a span of 12 days....knowing full well that the average NFL player can barely recover from 1 game for a week without filling his body with painkillers. Oh, and those 3 games? Pittsburgh and Indy back to back.....Wow.

Now we get the Jets at home Monday, Chicago bears on short rest Sunday and turn around and play the Packers a week later.

2007 may have been the "F YOU" to the NFL....But 2010 is the NFL "F YOU" to the Patriots....

And the amazing thing is that the Pats are 9-2 despite all that.
Steelers/Colts/Lions. Two tough teams back to back and short rest/prep for the Lions.

Then the Pats have Jets/Bears/Packers. Each of these teams are at least 7-3 or better. If the Pats win two out of those 3 games it's just going to be a testament to how tough and resilient they are. The big one though is the Jets. I won't be worried if we split the out of conference games against two tough teams.

 

[Wolfpack]

Everybody starts their season on the same weekend and everyone finishes their season on the same weekend. Everyone plays 8 home games and everyone plays 8 road games - except I guess SF and Denver who got the short end of the straw by going over to London. One lost a home game and the other travelled far farther than they would have had to otherwise. If anyone should be complaining, it's them. (I consider the Bills game is Toronto to be close enough that I would call that a legit home for them.)

The paranoia in this group never ceases to amaze me.

 

[VJCPatriot]

Everybody starts their season on the same weekend and everyone finishes their season on the same weekend. Everyone plays 8 home games and everyone plays 8 road games - except I guess SF and Denver who got the short end of the straw by going over to London. One lost a home game and the other travelled far farther than they would have had to otherwise. If anyone should be complaining, it's them. (I consider the Bills game is Toronto to be close enough that I would call that a legit home for them.)

But everyone doesn't face the same teams nor the same quality of teams. If you have a team in a weak division that means you get to puff up your wins against weaklings 6 times per year. And that's before the rest of your schedule is taken into account. Is it tougher to play Pittsburgh and Indy back to back or to play the 49ers and the Cards back to back?

There is something to what the OP is saying about the timing of the schedule. The Pats are going into one of the toughest stretches in the schedule of any team in the NFL -- Steelers/Colts/Lions/Jets/Bears/Packers. About the only 'easy out' there would be the Lions but they play a lot better than their record indicates and playing with short prep on the road on a Thanksgiving Thursday is always tougher.