One of the topics inevitably discussed when the new schedule arrives relates to the strength of a given team’s schedule based on the won-loss records of the team’s opponents in the prior season.
It’s meaningless, for various reasons.
First, we’d known for more than three months the opponents each team will play. With the “who” and the “where” locked in as soon as the regular season ends, the only question to be resolved by the official schedule is the “when.”
Second, a team’s record in one year has little connection to how good, or otherwise, it will be in the next.
Third, the schedule of one team in a given division is, for 14 out of 16 games, identical to the schedule of every other team from the division. The only difference comes from two games.
For more on these wrinkles or others relating to the “strength of schedule” discussion, here’s a slice of Wednesday’s PFT Live.