Posted on 07/25/2019 10:55:31 AM PDT by GuavaCheesePuff
The Patriots always have one of the easiest schedules in football, look at their division.
The reason for the low SOS calculation is their winning percentage - not their division.
Since 2001, they’ve won over 75% of their out of conference games (equivalent to going 12-4 against the rest of the league). They’ve won 64.5% of their regular season games against teams that made the playoffs that year, as the only team over .500. Only the Steelers, Packers, and Colts are over .390. They’re over 70% since 2010.
So, yeah. The reason they have an easy (pre-season) SOS, is because unlike the rest of the league, they don’t ever have to play the Patriots.
“In order to have success in this league, you have to do well in your division,” Bill Belichick
One of the only times the Patriots did not win their division, they lost on the tie breaker at 9-7. The worst division title records, in the history of football, are around 8-8 (7-7-1, ect). 9-7 and the Patriots still almost won their division.
I honestly mean no disrespect, but to think that they do not benefit from being in arguably the worst division in football, is pure fantasy. Heck the confidence booster alone, beating up on teams like the Jets and Bills twice a year, is priceless.
Most teams in the NFL would give their right arm to have 6 of their 16 games against the Bills, Jets, and Dolphins.
My point is that it doesn’t really matter what division they are in, aside from perhaps 2012, not being in the NFC West.
Sure. Getting to the playoffs typically means winning your division. Since 2001, only 7 of the 216 teams who did not win at least half their division games made the playoffs even as a Wild Card, and the overwhelming number of teams making the playoffs went at least 4-2 in their division.
In any other division, they’d have typically gone at least 4-2 and several they average 5-1, averaging 4-1-1 within the division. Only one year since 2001, have the Patriots gone less than 3-1 against the NFC. They’re 17-3 in the Packers division, including against the Packers.
In 2002, the Patriots went 5-5 against the rest of the league, and missed the playoffs.
In 2008, they went 7-3 against the rest of the league and missed the playoffs.
In 2005 they went 5-5 and made the playoffs - their singularly poorest year making the playoffs.
They’ve been 8-2 or better outside their division 11 of the 15 years they made the playoffs, despite generally playing the #1 schedule.
NE is 11 of the 61 teams that have won at least 8 games outside of their division since 2001. Only NE and IND have done it more than 3 times.
Your nfc west comment really sums it up. When you play in tough divisions like the nfc west, your club is in much rougher shape come playoff time than if you are in the afc east.
Michael Jordan used to say its not about giving 100% all the time, it is about keeping within ten and having gas in the tank for that final push.
And yes, I am in the nfc west
#noaxetogrind haha
By the way I do see the Patriots organization as a great organization, ran by great individuals, with many players having a team attitude instead of the “how much will you pay me” attitude. (Brady taking far less than he could get for the express purpose of allowing the organization to get more quality players).
That being said, I will go to my grave saying playing in that division is beneficial :-)
Don't forget the "Red Flops" in that same time period. Except for 3 surprising years and a couple heartbreaking ones, they largely sucked until we were both pushing 50.
Your nfc west comment really sums it up. When you play in tough divisions like the nfc west, your club is in much rougher shape come playoff time than if you are in the afc east.
I specified 2012, because that was the only year of interdivisional play since the current division alignment that the NFC West were an issue - and even then the losses were close and the Patriots were by no means overmatched (That 49ers game was epic, with images of the Falcons Superbowl. Down 31-3 in middle of the 3rd quarter, and tied it up, only to lose at the end). Other than that year, the Patriots only lost one total game against the Division since realignment, and even including that year the AFC East is 40-24 against the NFC West.
The AFC East has been very solid defense-wise for most of the past couple of decades (The last two years are the worst of that entire period). 10 of the past 17 years, the SECOND best defense in the division in points allowed is still in the top 10 - even with playing the Patriots offense twice a season.
As a division, there are only 5 times since the re-alignment that the NFC West had more wins than the AFC East, and cumulatively, there is a point differential difference of over 2500 points (over 15 points per non-division game), +1000 scored and -1550 given up.
The NFC West has had a couple of dominant years (2013 was stacked), but they’ve also had 3 years where they sent a 3-7 non-division record to the playoffs, and every 7-3 team has made the playoffs vs 4/7. On the other hand, the division has also had 6 seasons they’ve failed to win 16 non-division games between them. Even in the worst years, the AFCE hasn’t yet fallen below that bar.
To illustrate your earlier point about winning the division though, the NFCWest did have two 8-2 teams lose out to a 7-3 and a 5-5 team.
but they’ve (NFCWest) also had 3 years where they sent a 3-7 non-division record to the playoffs,
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