For all the snarky comments that were made in the leadup to the schedule release, I do enjoy seeing what this year’s campaign looks like. Here are my random thoughts..
- Great bye week in Week 10. Believe that’s as late as it can possibly be and that’s always how you want it.
- After the opener in Miami, the Pats are out of division for the next four games until they travel to the Bills. That’s a good stretch out of the division to work the early-season kinks out.
- And the back-to-back Week 2 and 3 games against the Vikings and Raiders should help the Pats avoid their usual stinker loss in the early part of the season. Assuming they take care of business in Miami.
- Good stretch around the bye of tough games – Bears/Broncos/BYE/Colts/Lions/Packers/Chargers is no cake walk.
- Pats get their short week between @ Bills then Thursday night hosting the Jets. Good to face a team they know on the short week to help with preparation.
- They then have a 10 break before hosting the Bears and Broncos, then they get their bye. I like how that sets up.
- But coming out of the bye it’s a tough stretch – @Colts, vs Lions, @ Packers, @ Chargers, then closing the season out with three-straight divisional games.
- Kind of odd playing at the Jets in Week 16. Been a while since we’ve gone down there so late.
- Overall, the schedule feels easier in the start and then gets progressively tougher. The mid-October to mid-December stretch is tough, but with the three-straight division games to close the season out, the Pats should hold their own fate in their hands as far as the division goes.
- Five total national games and the Broncos game is not one. That’s surprising.
- This is definitely a challenging schedule and if the Pats and it almost assures the Pats won’t have the division sewn up early like they often have in recent years.
Frenz and I will discuss all this and more draft stuff tomorrow morning at 11am EST on an all new podcast.
