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Thursday, April 14, 2005

The New Schedule Is Out, The New Schedule Is Out!

It is always tough to predict the difficulty of an NFL schedule ahead of time, but at first glance, it looks like the Patriots will have a challenging yet navigable road to a three-peat. While we knew the opponents and the sites months ago, it wasn’t until yesterday that the official NFL schedule was released. Upon review, there is no reason to sound any alarms, but the Pats have a seemingly difficult road ahead, especially early on. Opening up at home against Oakland is nothing to get excited about, but I sure wish this cupcake came later and could used as a respite to break up a tough stretch. After Oakland departs, the Pats have a very tough stretch that includes games at Carolina, at Pittsburgh, at home with San Diego and then at Atlanta. This stretch features two teams in last year’s final four, a powerhouse in the making, and a Panther team that was as hot as anyone during the second half of last season. That game at Pittsburgh looks particularly precarious given how last year ended for the Steelers. With that said, I would be surprised if the Pats are better then 3-2 at this point. Optimists can hope for four wins, but three seems more likelyto this cat. From there, the team heads to Denver, which was a cemetery for the Pats up until the 2003 Miracle on Monday night. But the Broncos are on a slippery slope to nowhere so I am banking on that as a win and the Pats going into a well-placed bye-week with a 4-2 record. Coming out of the bye, the Pats have Buffalo and Indy at home. I would have preferred the Colts game a bit later in the year, just to tilt the scales a bit more, but does it really matter when Belichek plays either of these guys, especially at the Razor? That is a rhetorical question. So I am looking for a 6-2 record in the first half and that looks pretty doable.

In the second half, things look a bit smoother, although there are five division games on tap, including two against the Jets within five weeks of each other. Playing at Kansas City is never easy, but the scheduling gods are keeping the Pats in the Northeast for every game after Thanksgiving and that always bodes well for a strong finish. That penultimate game at the Meadowlands looks like a tough spot and playing at Buffalo in December is never easy, but I don’t see why the Pats cannot go 7-1 in the back half. As such, I am looking for something along the lines of 13-3, with 12-4 more likely than 14-2.

A thirteen win season with a victory over Indy should get the boys a first round bye and that is critical. Getting both Indy and San Diego at home is nice as far as tie-breakers go, although that road game at Pittsburgh offsets some of the good fortune. Other positives include avoiding Jacksonville and Cleveland. I feel the Jags are an up and comer, while I didn’t want to get hit with all that Romeo squares off his against his old team garbage. Also, there are no road games to the Pacific Time Zone. Last year, KC was our longest fight and this year it is Denver. It could have been a whole lot more taxing having to make trips to Oakland and SD. Lastly, going to Miami in November instead of September is a nice changeup since it spares the Pats from that late summer humidity.

It should be noted that while penning this piece, I felt like a talk show host that has nothing else to discuss. All talk of the season ahead is a bit premature until we see the draft and get a look into pre-season. A few injuries here and a few injuries there, and this entire slate of predictions falls by the wayside. Hell, if Bruschi sits out, as I expect, and a couple of guys get banged up, wins at Denver and at home against Buffalo and San Diego are far from certain. About the only thing I can be certain about is that come hell or highwater, the Pats will beat Peyton on November 7th. You can bank on that!

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