The schedule is out, so those of us with lots of free time on our hands can start looking ahead to when and where everyone plays (and doesn't play) in the 2016 season. There are a few things I look for every year, and here's the breakdown.

Early bye weeks. Early bye weeks can affect my selection of kickers and defenses. I don't like to carry two of these things, ever, so if I draft one with an early bye week, there's a good chance I'll be cutting them in Week 4. If one of their early matchups is poor, I'm even less likely to draft them. Green Bay and Philadelphia have Week 4 byes, but complicating matters is that their Week 1 matchups are exciting: Green Bay faces Blake Bortles in Jacksonville, Philadelphia hosts the Cleveland Browns and whatever unlucky quarterback they force into the lineup. I may avoid Mason Crosby, but I will have some interest in the Green Bay and Philly defenses in fantasy drafts.

Late bye weeks. Rosters and lineups change a lot over the course of a season due to injuries and benchings, so I don't get too caught up in what happens in December when I'm drafting players; that guy might be hurt by then anyway. But I do think about having players available to me in critical playoff-deciding weeks like Week 12 or 13. No byes in Week 12, which is nice. Two teams get byes in Week 13: Browns and Titans. I suspect no one will be building a fantasy roster around either of these teams, but it's worth noting that if you believe Marcus Mariota will be a breakout fantasy superstar, you won't have him available in Week 13. On the other hand, you will have him, health permitting, every other week until then, so maybe he's a guy you draft if you only want to carry one quarterback for most of the season. Draft Aaron Rodgers, in contrast, and you'll need to make sure you have somebody with a decent Week 4 matchup.

Fantasy playoffs. Like I said, I try not to make too many season-long decisions based on Weeks 14, 15 and 16. The way the league is going there's a good chance your running back or even receiver starters in Week 1 are hurt by then. That being said, the Raiders are at San Diego and host the Colts in Week 15 and 16, while the Cowboys play the Giants, Bucs and Lions, all of which could be pretty good matchups for their offense. The Saints and Bucs play each other TWICE in the fantasy playoffs, Week 14 and 16 -- exciting! On the flipside, the Bengals play the Steelers and Texans, neither of which figure to be points explosions. The Packers have three outdoor games Weeks 14-16, hosting Seattle and the Vikings and playing at Chicago. Not great situations for their offense.

Other random notes: New England may not have Tom Brady to open the season; yes, the whole Deflategate thing is still going on. If not, they'll play two of their first three games against very good defenses (Arizona and Houston) without him. ... Speaking of tough early schedules, the Dolphins play three of their first four on the road against the Seahawks, Patriots, and Bengals. Good grief! The fourth is home against Cleveland, but this is not a great way to get Ryan Tannehill off to a strong start in a make-or-break type of year for him. ... Strange schedule for Green Bay. Their first two are on the road (Jacksonville and Minnesota) and then they won't play another road game until Week 8 (at Atlanta, not a tough place to play). From Week 3 through 7 they have four home games and a bye week. ... Could Carson Wentz and Jared Goff square off in Week 1? It's not impossible. The Rams play the 49ers, and I think San Francisco is one of two teams (the other is Philadelphia) with a strong chance of trading up into the No. 2 spot with Cleveland to take a quarterback.