PatsBlog: A Patriots Blog

A few quick thoughts and runthrough:

1. Overall, a pretty soft schedule.  If you go by strength of schedule (opponents 2007 record), the Patriots have the easiest schedule in the league at a .387 strength of schedule.
2. Patriots get an easy start and should be able to break the consecutive wins during the regular season streak.  They open with the Chiefs, followed by the Jets, then the Dolphins, and then the 49ers.  If the Pats won all four, they would have twenty-two straight.  Overall, following the devastation of the Super Bowl, I think it’s great that the season begins with a soft four games.
3. The scheduling of the bye week didn’t exactly turn out well for the Patriots.  Week four is the earliest possible time for a bye, and that’s when the Pats got it.  Everyone wants a week 9 bye, but anything around the middle of the season is generally preferred.  Plus, with an aging team, a later bye is preferred.
4. The Patriots first big test will be in week 6 AT the Chargers.  This will be no easy contest, but if the Patriots do win, they should be able to roll through a Monday Night home contest against the Broncos and another home contest against the Rams.
5. Week 9 2007 = SB 41.5… Week 9 2008 = SB 42.5.  That’s right, for the second straight year, the Patriots will be traveling to Indianapolis to face the Colts at the midpoint in the season.  Clearly, this will be the toughest regular season game of the year.  If the Patriots win, they may be poised to make another run at undefeated.
6. Following the Colts game, the Patriots should be able to roll through the middle of November with games versus the Bills and Jets and a game in Miami.  Three divisional games that should translate into wins.  The Jets game is a Thursday night game, which means the Patriots will only have three days to prepare following the Bills game.
7. The Patriots will once again face the Patriots near the tail end of the season.  If the Pats are 11-0, it will essentially be a rematch of last year’s game (which resulted in a 34-13 victory for the Patriots).
8. Following that game is another tough one, as the Patriots will face off against Seattle.  This could very well be the toughest game of the season, or at least the grittiest one.  The elements will be tough, and the Patriots will be traveling.
9. Week 15 will the reunion of Randy Moss and Oakland.  Obviously, media outlets are making a big deal of it.  I’m not.  I’m more interested in a week 17 matchup in Buffalo that could mean… well you know…
10. Although the Patriots’ schedule doesn’t seem too hard on the outside, the big x-factor will be the travel.  During the season, the Patriots will make four trips out west, and it wil be interesting to see how the players handle the trips.