2008 Schedule: tough away, easier home

[neuronet]

Good teams marked with an asterisk, very good with two. Of course, things will likely be very different next year. The Dolphins might pick up some steam, for instance.

How do they decide to give us Indy away two years in a row? Is it a coin flip? It seems pretty unfair.

Home games
Bills
Broncos
Cardinals
Chiefs
Dolphins
Jets
Rams
Steelers(*)

Road games
Bills
Chargers(**)
Colts(**)
Dolphins
49ers
Jets
Raiders
Seahawks(*)

 

[patriotspride]

can somebody tell me why the pats are playing the colts on the road again.

 

[ctpatsfan77]

Good teams marked with an asterisk, very good with two. Of course, things will likely be very different next year. The Dolphins might pick up some steam, for instance.

How do they decide to give us Indy away two years in a row? Is it a coin flip? It seems pretty unfair.

Because that's the way the system is set up. Here are the Pats' games against similar seeds since 2002:

2002 PIT, @TEN (AFC North, @AFC South)
2003 CLE, @DEN (AFC North, @AFC West)
2004 IND, @KC (AFC South, @AFC West)
2005 IND, @PIT (AFC South, @AFC North)
2006 DEN, @CIN (AFC West, @AFC North)
2007 SD, @IND (AFC West, @AFC South)
2008 PIT, @IND (AFC North, @AFC South)

And guess what: if Indy wins the division next year, the Pats play @IND in 2009, too.

 

[Watson's IQ]

can somebody tell me why the pats are playing the colts on the road again.

That is how the schedule works. I hate to break it to you, but we will also be playing Indy on the road in 2009.

We played the AFC South winner at home in 2004 and 2005, and Indy at home in 2006, and this is the tradeoff for that.

No matter how the OP wants to slice it, we have one of the easiest schedules of all time next year. The combined winning percentage this year was .387. That's unprecedented.

 

[Watson's IQ]

And guess what: if Indy wins the division next year, the Pats play @IND in 2009, too.

You're right and wrong. 2009 we play the AFC South, so we will be playing @ Indy in 2009 no matter how the two teams do this year.

 

[Sivy]

I dont under stand how the chargers deserve **. They're not that good.

 

[everlong]

I'm glad the Cardinals are coming here.

 

[Watson's IQ]

I dont under stand how the chargers deserve **. They're not that good.

I guess it's all relative. They're undeniably the second best team on our schedule, which I'm pretty sure was his point.

 

[ctpatsfan77]

You're right and wrong. 2009 we play the AFC South, so we will be playing @ Indy in 2009 no matter how the two teams do this year.

You're right. My bad. :bricks:

 

[PaulThePat]

I can't see us finishing any worse than 13-3

 

[Tunescribe]

The combined winning percentage this year was .387. That's unprecedented.

Might've been helped along by the fact we swept our own division.

 

[stevedogc]

I think becasue of the easy schedule and division the Pats have a really good opportunity to play some of their younger, inexperienced players and get them some good mileage without hurting the team to much. Guys like Merriweather, Jackson, Lua, Washington (if resigned) and whatever drafts picks we have from this off season. Let them take their lumps and learn the positions during the season in hopes that they become more solid as the playoffs role around.

 

[Watson's IQ]

Might've been helped along by the fact we swept our own division.

Yeah, well we can explain it however we want. Of the seven worst teams in the league last year record-wise, we play 6 of them, and only the Jets and Dolphins were in our own division (and we get to play them twice)

 

[Bertil]

The Patriots have historically played the hand they were dealt better than any team I've ever seen. That will be sorely tested next year after 7 months of hyperfocus resulted in 2 weeks of aimless distraction.

For a few years Colts fans whined asbout having to come to Foxborough every year. Now it's the Patriots' turn to travel.

Let's hope that the spygate crap has waned, the rabid media hordes have begged off and BB & Co. can get back on track. If not, I fear the days of the BB era are numbered. This year may go a long way to determine how well the previous 8 are perceived.

 

[Watson's IQ]

The Patriots have historically played the hand they were dealt better than any team I've ever seen. That will be sorely tested next year after 7 months of hyperfocus resulted in 2 weeks of aimless distraction.

For a few years Colts fans whined asbout having to come to Foxborough every year. Now it's the Patriots' turn to travel.

Let's hope that the spygate crap has waned, the rabid media hordes have begged off and BB & Co. can get back on track. If not, I fear the days of the BB era are numbered. This year may go a long way to determine how well the previous 8 are perceived.

Sorely tested? Were you not paying attention when we were discussing how next year's schedule is one of the easiest schedules an NFL team has EVER faced?

 

[Rocky Mountain Stampede]

We deserve at least a half of an asterisk.

 

[eom]

the teams might not look so scary, but there are 4 west coast away games, and I saw some thread claiming an edmonton game?
that's a lot of travel, and add in all the sunday and monday night games and that has got to take a toll.

 

[ctpatsfan77]

the teams might not look so scary, but there are 4 west coast away games, and I saw some thread claiming an edmonton game?
that's a lot of travel, and add in all the sunday and monday night games and that has got to take a toll.

My guess is some of those away games will *be* night games (which might actually help the Pats, who knows?).

 

[neuronet]

I dont under stand how the chargers deserve **. They're not that good.

I disagree. They are a young team, not losing any major players, already with good depth, that has just gotten into a rhythm with the new coach. I think they are the team to watch for next year. They beat the Colts twice, Tomlinsen might be healthy (and whiney), and we have to play them at home (luckily the SD crowd is lame, but when NE comes to town it tends to bring out the noise).

At any rate, the two-asterisk teams will clearly be the toughest games for us.

 

[neuronet]

the teams might not look so scary, but there are 4 west coast away games, and I saw some thread claiming an edmonton game?

Here's the Edmonton thread:
http://www.patsfans.com/new-england-patriots/messageboard/showthread.php?t=62273

I really hope that doesn't happen. It was a weird thread, though, as the article isn't even available for free, so until I get confirmation I'll assume they won't force us to Canada for one of our home games. Man, that would suck.