NFL Schedule Losers
by: Nellys Sportsline
Most NFL talk has focused on the draft and any signings and trades that have happened or will happen in the coming months. A few weeks ago a much more important thing happened that will impact each team in 2009 at a far greater level than any draft pick or player move. The 2009 schedule is released each spring amidst little fanfare but a bad schedule can quickly turn a playoff caliber team into a sub-.500 squad and a favorable schedule can turn a losing team into a division champion. Here is a look at some of the teams that could see tough results in 2009-10 based on the schedule.
Kansas City Chiefs: It was a tough 2008 season for Kansas City football as the Chiefs finished 2-14. A coaching change and a serious transformation have ensued to bring some optimism to the direction of the franchise. Last season teams like Atlanta, Baltimore, and Miami made dramatic turnarounds with new coaches and quarterbacks so there is some reason to believe the Chiefs could fit that role. After all new GM Scott Pioli led the Patriots as one of the most consistently successful franchises in the league and Coach Todd Haley was an impressive offensive mind in Arizona’s rise last season. QB Matt Cassel proved he can play in this league last season so there is a lot of hope that Kansas City could be a team that makes a quick transition back to playoff contention.
Unfortunately year one could be a rough for the Chiefs. The AFC West was one of the weaker divisions in football last season as 8-8 was good enough to win the title and the Chiefs should draw an easier path with a 4th place schedule but it will be a very tough first half of the year. The AFC West draws the AFC North and the NFC East for eight games and the Chiefs will open the season in Baltimore. The two other AFC 4th place teams drawn by the Chiefs are the Jaguars and Bills, two teams that should be improved and hardly fit the bill as a typical last place opponent. In a bizarre schedule set-up the Chiefs will face the four NFC East teams in consecutive weeks in week 3 through 6, an incredibly brutal early season stretch for a team in transition. The Chiefs could play better late in the year as the final five games fall into the winnable category but by then it will be too late and Kansas City could be traumatized from a brutal first half against physical defenses while trying to learn a new system and make many personnel adjustments.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers: The Bucs looked like a playoff team most of last season but a late season collapse kept Tampa Bay home at 9-7 and cost Super Bowl winning Coach John Gruden his job. New Tampa Bay Coach Raheem Morris and new Offensive Coordinator Jeff Jagodzinski will have their hands full creating a new attitude and new schemes for the team and they will do so with a fuzzy QB situation. Byron Leftwich, Luke McCown, and Brian Griese are on the roster and the Bucs made a somewhat questionable first round draft pick of Kansas State QB Josh Freeman to add more drama to the mix. Bringing in troubled TE Kellen Winslow might look good on paper but the once great Bucs defense was the reason for the big decline late in the year in 2008 and many of same issues still are apparent at this point. Tampa Bay will also make the defensive changes without legendary coordinator Monte Kiffin who has been replaced by the well traveled Jim Bates.
The schedule will not do Tampa Bay any favors this season as a team in a transition will be faced with a daunting early season schedule. The NFC South was a very tough division last year and the three other teams all look like playoff contenders this year with the Bucs a significant step behind. Tampa Bay only plays three teams that had losing records in 2008 all season long and all three could actually be decent teams this year as Buffalo, Green Bay, and Seattle all have a lot of good things in place. Tampa Bay will play the four NFC East powers in the first five weeks of the season when they are in transition and late in the year Tampa Bay will face a stretch of five games that features four road games. The Bucs will only face two teams that also made a coaching change and both of those games will occur late in the year. Tampa Bay will also be at a disadvantage in the QB position in virtually every match-up regardless of who ends up being the starter.
Baltimore Ravens: New Coach John Harbaugh and rookie QB Joe Flacco delivered a fantastic turnaround for the Ravens last season as Baltimore went from 5-11 in 2007 to 11-5. The Ravens actually made it all the way to the AFC Championship where they lost a tough game to division rival and eventual Super Bowl champion Pittsburgh. It was a truly impressive season but if any team is set up for a sophomore slump it is the Ravens. Baltimore won a lot of close games last year and if age on the defense was a concern last year that issue could be magnified this season. The offense was deemed successful because they won games but Baltimore was a horrible passing team statistically and often scored in favorable situations set-up by a big turnover edge that is unlikely to repeat itself.
The AFC North draws the AFC West and the NFC North which is a very favorable draw as there lacks standout teams in both groups. Although Baltimore could still end up with a decent record they draw a much tougher path than their division counterparts. The Ravens have to play the 2008 division champion from those divisions (San Diego and Minnesota) on the road and they also have to face Green Bay on the road in December as well as facing their divisional road game with Pittsburgh late in the year making for potentially tough conditions. As a result of being a 2nd place team, the Ravens draw New England and Indianapolis as the other AFC 2nd place teams, meaning that Baltimore will have to play two of the premier teams in the league and will post 2nd year QB Flacco against two of the best QBs in the NFL. No other team from the AFC North has to face either of those teams giving Baltimore a huge scheduling disadvantage. The Ravens close the season at Oakland which does not look threatening at first but when they must play across the country in a second straight road game a week after what will be a physical match-up with Pittsburgh, it looks like a tough way to end the year.