Ian Allan

I’ve had a chance to play around with the schedule numbers a little bit.

The following chart shows teams that project to play the easiest schedules during the first eight weeks of the 2008 season. This is based on how teams played last year, of course, so take it with a grain of salt. Maybe you consider the Dolphins, who went 1-15 last year, to be more of a 6-10 type team now. Or maybe you think the Ravens and Bears will be a lot better.

But the following numbers give a glimpse of what teams, perhaps, have the best chance of playing well during the first half of the upcoming season. Maybe their offensive guys will tend to get off to better starts because of scheduling.

Easiest schedules: Patriots, Raiders, Cardinals, Chargers. Hardest schedules: Rams and 49ers (how does that work out? Both were terrible last year), along with the Jaguars and Browns.

STRENGTH OF SCHEDULE, FIRST HALF OF 2008
Based on win-loss numbers from 2007; totals show combined numbers from the first eight weeks of the 2008 schedule:

W L Pct.
35 77 .313 New England
45 67 .402 Oakland
46 66 .411 Arizona
53 75 .414 San Diego
48 64 .429 Buffalo
58 70 .453 Carolina
51 61 .455 NY Jets
51 61 .455 Philadelphia
52 60 .464 Kansas City
52 60 .464 Seattle
60 68 .469 New Orleans
54 58 .482 Detriot
54 58 .482 NY Giants
55 57 .491 Atlanta
63 65 .492 Baltimore
56 56 .500 Chicago
56 56 .500 Tennessee
57 55 .509 Houston
66 62 .516 Washington
67 61 .523 Dallas
59 53 .527 Miami
59 53 .527 Pittsburgh
68 60 .531 Tampa Bay
62 50 .554 Cincinnati
62 50 .554 Denver
62 50 .554 Indianapolis
64 48 .571 Green Bay
64 48 .571 Minnesota
65 47 .580 Cleveland
65 47 .580 Jacksonville
76 52 .594 San Francisco
73 39 .652 St. Louis

—Ian Allan

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