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Watching the Patriots/Rams today, something struck me


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I HATE the way the nfl constructs its schedule.

 

 

i honestly think its a big part of why the bills havent made the playoffs in 12 years - coincidently, the league realigned 11 years ago.

 

you know, (6) games against your division, (4) against the NFC, (4) against one division in your conference, and (2) within your conference based on the previous years standings.

 

Just watching the Patriots pick apart the Rams... its absolutely ridiculous that in a league with 32 teams, 6 divisions, and only 16 games, were playing basically the same schedule as them, save for 2 games. The schedule just feels so... bland, and unfair.

 

The patriots have to play ONE less road game, and get to play the rams, on a neutral field. but yet, they represented our conference in the super bowl last year.

 

I think a big big reason that the patriots have owned the division since the league switched to this new scheduling procedure, is year over year, there is no way to catch the patriots if theyre playing the same games as us. right? does that make sense? i mean, they get to draft too. they get to sign free agents too. they get to hire new coordinators too. the ONLY way to weaken them is to make their schedule harder then the teams in their division.

 

its just crazy. a "hard" schedule for us, is a "hard" schedule for them. an "easy" schedule for us is an "easy" schedule for them.

 

My solution: try to stay with me.

 

instead of every afc east team playing every nfc west team, you play the teams in the opposing conference that finished in the same place as you the previous year. (4 games)

 

instead of every afc east team playing every afc south team, if you finish first or second, you play all the first and second place teams in your conference. if you finish 3rd or 4th, you play all the 3rd and fourth place teams in your conference. (6 games)

 

still a home and away against your division.

 

our schedule this year would be (with home/away games made up, but just for fun, lets pretend)

ne

@ ne

nyj

@nyj

mia

@mia

cle

@ cin

jax

@ ind

oak

@kc

was

@ min

tb

@stl

 

new england, on the other hand, would be looking at

buf

@ buf

nyj

@nyj

mia

@mia

nyg

@gb

no

@sf

bal

@ pit

hous

@ ten

den

@ sd

 

 

 

doesnt that seem more fair? more balanced? arent you instantly filled with hope that we could win the division, looking at that schedule, compared to theirs? doesnt a decade and a half of doom and gloom get replaced with optimism? do you think that maybe the fact that we play the same schedule as these !@#$s every year has anything to do with the fact that not just us, but our entire division hasnt been able to make up any ground on them for the past 12 years as well? sure, we get a wild card every now and then from our division, but thats about it...

Edited by JohnnyGold
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Well, then you would have people complaining that a team makes the playoffs because they played weaker teams, while a team that missed out had to play harder teams. It would look like a Junior Varsity team making the Varsity playoffs. You make a good argument, and have the research to show for it, but I don't think it would happen.

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What a bunch of whining.

everyone in the same division should have as close to the same schedule. That's how you tell who is best in the division.

 

The Bills haven't made the playoffs in the last 13 years because in all their rebuilding they never bothered to use their frst pick in the the first round on the most important position in professional sports.

 

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Let me guess. Obama voter

 

ha, far from it my friend.

 

its not exactly like the patriots have done much of consequence since 04... yeah, theyve played in the super bowl twice, and went 16-0... but were looking at it from the perspective of a team in the afc east.. we fear them, because they win our division, but its not like they are some OVERWHELMING force in professional football that wins the super bowl year in and year out.

 

my only point to that last paragraph.. the patriots are "good" but theyre not "unparalled in afc east history, dominate the division for a decade" good. in the pre-2001-realignment NFL, they would be like... the minnesota vikings with warren moon. a good/very good team who posted good records with easy schedules, but could never get it done in the playoffs. kind of what they are now, except for the fact that they get the same schedule as their competition year in and year out, so they never fall out of place in the division.

 

with regards to a bunch of lightweights making the playoffs, i would speculate that it would have the exact opposite effect.

 

you would expect the bottom half of the league to beat up on each other, with maybe one or 2 average teams rising up from the fray to snatch wild cards... in the truest sense of the word, they would be "wild cards" because no one would know what to expect of them in the playoffs. at the top of the conferences, the teams would generally beat up on each other, with 1 or 2 rising to the top and getting those homefield advantage/bye slots.

 

not to mention, you would STILL play 6 division games, so if the pats were head and shoulders above the rest of the east, they could/should go 6-0 in the division, and build an insurmountable lead right then and there.

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I will say I think the schedule makers did us no favors in this stretch.

 

4 games in a row where the opposing team has extra days to prepare( granted next week we do as well)

 

3 home games, 6 away to start the season

 

Plus, they make us play NFL teams every week, we need to have at least a couple 1AA teams to make things equal!

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I will say I think the schedule makers did us no favors in this stretch.

 

4 games in a row where the opposing team has extra days to prepare( granted next week we do as well)

 

3 home games, 6 away to start the season

 

Plus, they make us play NFL teams every week, we need to have at least a couple 1AA teams to make things equal!

If Buffalo was decent, it would be a dangerous 1st half of the season and an easy road to the playoff last part of the season. Too bad we suck.

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If you can't line up and beat the teams on your schedule you don't deserve anything in this league. And vice-versa. The Patriots have nothing to apologize for as all they can do is beat the team lined up against them. Perhaps we should start doing the same far more often than not.

 

GO BILLS!!!

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Let me guess. Obama voter

 

Hmm. I voted/will vote for Obama, yet I disagree with the post. There is a way to catch the Pats and it has nothing to do with the schedule. Namely get a real QB and beat them/ beat more of your opponents. If more quality QB's resided in the AFC East, the Pats would still be a force, but would not have sole ownership of the division. But why must politics be brought into a football post ? Voting for Obama does not mean you would agree with this post or that the schedule is unfair. It just means you don't trust religious idiots to try to control. your personal decisions. If the Repubs were running an atheist, I'd vote for him.

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If you can't line up and beat the teams on your schedule you don't deserve anything in this league. And vice-versa. The Patriots have nothing to apologize for as all they can do is beat the team lined up against them. Perhaps we should start doing the same far more often than not.

 

GO BILLS!!!

I don't think anyone could spell it out better than what you just did. The Bills own their record and their reputation. Only they can change this. The schedule change as the OP suggests is unreasonable.
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I don't think anyone could spell it out better than what you just did. The Bills own their record and their reputation. Only they can change this. The schedule change as the OP suggests is unreasonable.

 

I mean really, we could be a lot better off if the nfl wasn't so fair.

 

All I'm asking for is an easier schedule than the good teams.

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If you can't line up and beat the teams on your schedule you don't deserve anything in this league. And vice-versa. The Patriots have nothing to apologize for as all they can do is beat the team lined up against them. Perhaps we should start doing the same far more often than not.

 

GO BILLS!!!

Amen!

 

To win the Super Bowl, you have to WIN GAMES. Especially the games against tougher opponents.

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I don't blame the schedule for the Bills' suckitude. That's on a lousy organization including an inept head coach. However, NE does get a break by being the visitor in a neutral site game. At least it was the Rams, who NE would probably beat anyhow, but nonetheless, it is unfair.

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Absolutely ridiculous idea. We have to play only a slightly easier schedule that the other teams in our division?? Boo !@#$ing hoo.

 

The reason the Bills haven't made the playoffs in forever has nothing to do with schedule; it has to do with having a 3d rate owner, 3d rate FO, 3d rate coaching staff and mostly 3d rate talent.

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