Vikings Have NFL's Second-Easiest Schedule
I'll be around Tuesday night for some immediate reaction to the Vikings' 2009 schedule, as the NFL Network is set to announce the league's schedule in primetime. It's unquestionably a lame attempt to generate interest in a mundane event, but regardless, it's still fun to take a wildly premature look at the 2009 season when the Vikings' schedule is unveiled.
The Viking Age points us to a sneak preview of the team's schedule, as NFL.com has the rankings of each team's strength of schedule in 2009 -- and the Vikings, as it turns out, have the second-weakest strength of schedule in the league.
The Vikes will face only five playoff teams and only seven teams that finished last season with a winning record. So for those disappointed with the lack of offseason activity they've seen from the team, the weak schedule might be a bit of a consolation prize.
You know what, though? It's hard for me to take that perspective. A common theme of the stuff I've written since last season came to a conclusion has been that this team is "on the verge" of being a viable Super Bowl contender, but is a quarterback and some offensive line help away from being a true factor come playoff time. Though I wish I could be optimistic about the schedule, it plays into the theme of the Vikings missing a golden opportunity to contend by refusing to make a couple key moves that could put the team over the top.
Of course, I'm probably already reading too much into what this means for the Vikings. The standings get shuffled so frequently on a year-to-year basis that strength of schedule certainly isn't a reliable indicator of just how difficult the season will be. It's also no coincidence that the Vikings, Packers and Bears have the league's three weakest schedules, since they play the wretched Lions a combined six times. Take the Lions out of the equation, and the record of the Vikings' 2009 opponents goes from 107-148-1 to 107-116-1.
The Viking Age points us to a sneak preview of the team's schedule, as NFL.com has the rankings of each team's strength of schedule in 2009 -- and the Vikings, as it turns out, have the second-weakest strength of schedule in the league.
The Vikes will face only five playoff teams and only seven teams that finished last season with a winning record. So for those disappointed with the lack of offseason activity they've seen from the team, the weak schedule might be a bit of a consolation prize.
You know what, though? It's hard for me to take that perspective. A common theme of the stuff I've written since last season came to a conclusion has been that this team is "on the verge" of being a viable Super Bowl contender, but is a quarterback and some offensive line help away from being a true factor come playoff time. Though I wish I could be optimistic about the schedule, it plays into the theme of the Vikings missing a golden opportunity to contend by refusing to make a couple key moves that could put the team over the top.
Of course, I'm probably already reading too much into what this means for the Vikings. The standings get shuffled so frequently on a year-to-year basis that strength of schedule certainly isn't a reliable indicator of just how difficult the season will be. It's also no coincidence that the Vikings, Packers and Bears have the league's three weakest schedules, since they play the wretched Lions a combined six times. Take the Lions out of the equation, and the record of the Vikings' 2009 opponents goes from 107-148-1 to 107-116-1.
