Are you a complete moron? 14 of the 16 games are scheduled in advance. Do you think NFL teams make their own schedule like college teams, I am all about bashing the Patriots, but at least get a clue before you run your mouth. 7 out of 10 man, thats all I have to say.
.387 is based on the teams' combined record from last season, which really has no bearing, whatsoever, on how tough the schedule is this season. Teams get better and teams get worse, but rarely stay the same. The whole idea of "strength of schedule" based on last year's records is ridiculous.
On the other hand, why is it that the Bears are the only team in the entire league that has to play three consecutive road games during the season?
My guess is that MOST, if not all of you, who are saying that the schedule is what it is and you play the games and see the results (which I agree with) will say, at least once this coming season, something like - yea but you play in the weak NFC - or - you may be tied with us right now but who have you played? I see it every year and I just hope you all remember saying what you have said here (this thread) and stay consistent. During the season, if you start bellowing those familiar "crappy AFC West" sayings then you will officially be a hypocrite.
The schedule for the Patriots does look easy at this point in time but who knows. And we have all established that the teams don't pick their own schedules. Personally, I have to see some football being played before I determine who I think is a good team this year. Last years performance will play a part in my level of surprise as to how a team is playing but I am shocked by nothing in the modern NFL.
Also, do not discount the effects of travel and late games on a team, especially when they come in consecutive games. Every little bit plays a part.
Ok, so, don't include this guy (original poster) in the Colts fan nation. Any true Colts fan/NFL fan knows the league makes the schedule. Besides that, I'm a Colts fan and I can't stand the Yankees. Furthermore, the Patriots have a 1 game winning streak in the series and that was a regular season game. The Colts got the last BIG win in the series, so you can chill out on the "two wins over your Colts" talk. You've got nothing to be jibber jabbering about except being a Super Bowl loser.
C'mon slow kid, the league sets the schedule. It's based on a rotational basis mixed with how you finished the year before. So what if they have an easy schedule, it'll balance out in later years....
Do you realize what this thread is all about? This is a Pat haters preemptive strike. If the Patriots have a bad year all of the haters will come out of the woodwork and say that "the dynasty has fallen." On the other hand, if the Patriots threaten to go undefeated again (which any reasonable person would admit is a distinct possibility) then they( they meaning Indy fans, Cowboy fans, conspiracy theorists, and football fans who aren't paying attention, etc.) can crow about how easy the Patriots schedule is.
Look the Saints are my team, but I root for the Patriots as long as they are not playing New Orleans. I am so tired of mind numbing criticism leveled at New England. All of the fans who start threads trying to poke holes in the Patriot franchise would secretly love to have a team of that caliber. Sorry Indy fans, your team is good but it is not on New Englands level. Brady is better than Manning. My Saints are not on their level. Brady is better than Brees. Can we move past class envy and have intelligent football conversation?
Yeah the Pats division is so easy until the Bills, Jets, and Dolphins can get better which god only knows when that will be. They will always have 6 wins off the bat basically every season. I'm so glad that my GMEN shut those guys up in the biggest show out there in sports.
Hey TrueSportsman73......what's this crap that the Steelers aren't going to be good anyway......the Steelers are consistently good, and don't forget we have 5 Superbowls to the Pats 3...the Steelers aren't just good, they're fanf*ckingtastic and when your Pats come to Heinz field this year, we will kick their asses!
Bill Belechek is a cheater and so is the whole Patriot team, they play dirty, they cheat and then their fans run their mouths...the whole lot of you should be ashamed of yourselves......
I hate the Patriots.......I'm glad you lost in the Superbowl this year.......I am a Pats hater and proud of it!
I dont hate the Patriots as a team. If I was totally ignornat to the sports media world and fan reactions and just sat around and watched football with no commentary, I, like most of you would apprectiate the Patriots. But however there alot of jerk off fans of Boston/NE sports. Want an example here check this thread out http://www.sportsline.com/mcc/messages/chrono/7800528/0/1. And dont act like this is the exception because its not. To the idiot who said that Indy wasnt on NE's level is exactly that an Idiot. Watching the Colts play the Patriots is almost like a mirror match. I dont care about any previous scores or stats you want to throw at me because your preaching to the choir. I know all the stats and game results because I seen the games. If those teams played a hundred times the results would be 50-50.
I have to tell you man, I'm a proud Pats fan... and less of a Steelers hater... do you know why? Because regardless of how much you love your team, you only hate us because we are the greatest team of this decade... tell me when since the fall of Bradshaw and the Steel Curtain have the Steelers been the undisputed best for any more than a fleeting year or whatever?
The Patriots have 3 SBs in recent years... that is a fact... they have the record for most regular season wins in a row (a record that is still counting) and most overall games won in a row (21 across our back to back Superbowls)...
The Steelers have never been dominating since the 70s... its over man... forget it until you build a machine again...
I know what you're saying there about it being similar to watch them go against one-another... and I agree that they're spectacularly well matched... particularly over so many years... but I think that is a direct result of some excellent coaching...
Initially, Brady started out as that QB who wasn't quite as good as Manning and it was NEs Defense that shut Manning down time after time... Brady could easily step up against the Indy Defense, since it was quite honestly horrible... it has begun to twist into Brady having the edge on Manning (in my opinion), but the Indy Defense has had the ability to step up and shut down the shoddy receiving corps at Brady's disposal, and the NE getting older and less able to deal with the Colts Juggernaut Offense... Now I think its almost a flat out switch with Brady being better than Manning, but the NE Defense being to old and undermanned to hold Manning to fewer points than Brady...
The point I'm basically trying to make is that its not the equality of the teams that is impressive, its the ability for both to mould and change, yet keep as shockingly equal as they do...
No- the NFL does not handpick the other two games. Th remaining two games are played against the 2 other divisions with the team that finished in the same place. This is why the Pats play the Colts every year and are playing Pittsburgh this year.
Believe it or not to all you haters, the Pats actually get penalized by being good.
And as far as the ridiculous idea that their schedule is EASY. Do you think the fact that they play the Dolphins twice (factoring in 2 wins and 30 losses to the ratio) and that they were undefeated last year (so zero losses to any team they play again this next year) equates into the equation that provides the opponents wining % a little bit? Nope, wouldn't want to use logic on that.
I'm going to agree with Deahh on this. Seriously, you guys hate the Patriots. We got that (could care less, but we got that). Crying about easy schedules does little to help out.. People kept saying the Patriots had the easiest schedule in the league last year, but out of the final teams left standing in the Playoffs last season, the Pats played and beat all of them with the exception of the Packers during the regular season. I swear people are just looking everywhere to cry about conspiracies about the NFL and Patriots
