Strength of Schedule effect, and our 2006 Schedule

[gtexan02]

So I read an interesting post on ESPN today about schdule strength. Here is an interesting snip,

Originally Posted by ESPN

How important is an easy schedule? Only two teams -- the Patriots (.508 opposing winning percentage) and Redskins (.516) -- made the playoffs last year facing opponents with a combined winning record. Since 1997, the only team facing a winning schedule that had a better seed than fourth was the 2002 Raiders team that lost to the Bucs in the Super Bowl.

Here is a look at our schedule. Looking at last years stats is useless since so many teams made changes, so instead I used this years ESPN power rankings. (Yes, I know its still too early to tell and all that)


PHILADELPHIA EAGLES (15)
@ Indianapolis Colts (4)
WASHINGTON REDSKINS (14)
MIAMI DOLPHINS (9)
@ Dallas Cowboys (8)
JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS (11)
@ Tennessee Titans (26)
@ New York Giants (10)
@ Jacksonville Jaguars (11)
BUFFALO BILLS (30)
@ New York Jets (31)
@ Oakland Raiders (25)
TENNESSEE TITANS (26)
@ New England Patriots (7)
INDIANAPOLIS COLTS (4)
CLEVELAND BROWNS (27)

We play 6 games against top 10 rated teams.
We play 4 games against middle rated teams.
We play 6 games against bottom 10 rated teams.
Our average opponent "ranking" is 16

So interestingly enough, our schedule seems somewhat "balanced."
Here are some other observations:
-Our first 4 games are all against potential playoff teams (averaging ranking in top 10)
-After our bye week we have 6 of our 8 games on the road.
-If you consider the top 12 to be playoff teams, we have 8 games against these.

Basically, we look to have a pretty tough schedule. We have some very tough games to start the season, a long road trip, and tough competition. I hope people will take this into consideration when looking at our record this season.

[gtexan02]

No one has any comments? Just wondering how everyone thinks our schedule will affect our results, now that we know more about the teams we are playing

[Lucky]

That's a very good analysis of the schedule. For the most part, the schedule is pretty much the same as every other team in the league is facing. The road games during the middle of the season are tough, but there are some winnable games there. I think it's important for the Texans to come away with a couple of home wins early to gain confidence.

P.S. If you want to get people to read your thread, it's best to put the words "David" and/or "Carr" in the title.

[Bobo]

Originally Posted by gtexan02

Basically, we look to have a pretty tough schedule. We have some very tough games to start the season, a long road trip, and tough competition. I hope people will take this into consideration when looking at our record this season.

The Texans had just as difficult a schedule, if not more difficult, last year. Did anybody take that into consideration? Ask Capers and his coaching staff about that.