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Patriots play last 2 games at HOME 4 Years in a Row (1 Viewer)

Meaning they had harder games earlier in the season.  What is the point here?
I have to agree with the OP. Seems like there should be term limits on scoring your last two games at home. I get it's all relative, but the schedule makers should be cognizant of things like this. 

 
Gives the Patriots an advantage to be at home at the end of the year heading into the playoffs.  Pretty easy to figure out the point.

 
Gives the Patriots an advantage to be at home at the end of the year heading into the playoffs.  Pretty easy to figure out the point.
How is it an advantage?  They're often resting their players week 17 anyways and almost always have had a bye first week of the playoffs.

This means they have a tougher road to get to the end of the season.  I see no massive advantage here and nothing out of the ordinary.

 
They have 3 road games in a row leading up to that point.  Pretty sure most teams would RATHER have:

Away-Away-Home-Away-Home instead of Away-Away-Away-Home-Home.... do you agree? 

It's unfortunate the schedule makers screwed them by giving them the disadvantageous scenario. 

 
Do people realize that teams (for now) get an equal number of home games and the current scheduling template went into effect in 2002 (at least until we get to a 17 game schedule)? The second the season ended last year, all 32 teams knew who they were playing and which were home games and which were away games. What difference does it make when the games are played? People could have more of a complaint if the same team got to play the same opponent every year at with bad weather potentially later in the season, but even that is a bit of a minor complaint.

In this case, sure, the Patriots end with two home games again. But they have 6 road games over an 8 week stretch before that. So sure, I will agree it is an advantage to be home for the last 2 weeks provided people will equally agree that going on the road 6 times in 8 weeks is a disadvantage. It all comes out in the wash.

 
Dec 6th Los Angeles Chargers

Dec 10th Los Angeles Rams

a short week spent in Southern California, 2 games in the new SOFI Stadium.

 
Casting Couch said:
Dec 6th Los Angeles Chargers

Dec 10th Los Angeles Rams

a short week spent in Southern California, 2 games in the new SOFI Stadium.
conspiracy theorist would say it's not fair they don't have to make that additional flight all the way across the country and play in a totally different time zone later on/earlier on in the year.....another little bone thrown NE way....

 
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and I know "it all evens out".....but I will say there is something that makes it feel like playing your last two games at home feels especially good.....maybe it's because we often feel the last two weeks is when there is some jockeying for playoff position and those games may be a little more magnified if things are close....so knowing you have two home games and the advantage that brings in your back pocket....is.....comforting....is that a good word...

 
and I know "it all evens out".....but I will say there is something that makes it feel like playing your last two games at home feels especially good.....maybe it's because we often feel the last two weeks is when there is some jockeying for playoff position and those games may be a little more magnified if things are close....so knowing you have two home games and the advantage that brings in your back pocket....is.....comforting....is that a good word...
Again, if a team's schedule was that much harder BEFORE those two weeks, how much of an advantage is it? For example, if a team after 14 games with a more evenly distributed schedule went 9-5 and needed to win 1 remaining game to make the playoffs with a home game and a road game left, IMO that's better than being 8-6 and having to win 2 home games in the last 2 weeks.

And this year in particular, I suspect home games may make absolutely no difference if games are played in empty stadiums.

 
Again, if a team's schedule was that much harder BEFORE those two weeks, how much of an advantage is it? For example, if a team after 14 games with a more evenly distributed schedule went 9-5 and needed to win 1 remaining game to make the playoffs with a home game and a road game left, IMO that's better than being 8-6 and having to win 2 home games in the last 2 weeks.

And this year in particular, I suspect home games may make absolutely no difference if games are played in empty stadiums.
as I said....I get it ...it all evens out.....and call it/spin it however you want....often the playoffs come down to those last couple of games (even tho week one games mean just as much, blah blah blah)....but there is no arguing.....having the last two at home when they could really mean something is a lot better than not having them at home.....nobody is saying they may not have had a "harder" stretch somewhere earlier.....simply that it is really nice to have the last two at home if you are in a spot where they really matter at that point in the season.....they wouldn't "flex" games late in the year if they all meant the same....

I'm sure it's just happen stance that NE is the only team this has happened too 4 years in a row.......ever ...?...I don't know I didn't look it up.....if this was DET....it would be the same ....right..?..right..it would.....but it just adds fuel to the conspiracy theorist ....of which I am actually not one.....but some of theses things that happen to NE do seem a little strange when you add them up......like I don't know if anybody else plays both at LAC and at LAR.....but I would hope they maybe would get the same "hookup" that NE got.....(but if they didn't the excuse will be we want to limit travel for everybody when we can and there is only so much you can do with the schedule, blah blah blah).....and it is just happen stance (again) that NE is the one getting the proverbial bone here....

 
The NFL flexes weeks 11-17...if that is the criteria for important games the Pats are on the road for 4 of those weeks and 3 are at home...three straight during that period are on the road.

 
The NFL flexes weeks 11-17...if that is the criteria for important games the Pats are on the road for 4 of those weeks and 3 are at home...three straight during that period are on the road.
why don't they flex weeks 1-10.....

 
why don't they flex weeks 1-10.....
I believe the reason they do it because games that looked good before the season starts may not be good ones by the time you get to week 11...this allows TV to screw around and get the best possible games on TV...it's all about the $...a quick search yields this:

The NFL introduced “flexible scheduling” in 2006 to make sure the best late-season matchups reach the largest audiences. This “flexing” involves moving a game from its scheduled Sunday afternoon slot on CBS or Fox to primetime and NBC's “Sunday Night Football.”

 
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I believe the reason they do it because games that looked good before the season starts may not be good ones by the time you get to week 11...this allows TV to screw around and get the best possible games on TV...it's all about the $...a quick search yields this:

The NFL introduced “flexible scheduling” in 2006 to make sure the best late-season matchups reach the largest audiences. This “flexing” involves moving a game from its scheduled Sunday afternoon slot on CBS or Fox to primetime and NBC's “Sunday Night Football.”
and often involves games in the last two weeks that have playoff implications.......and in those games.....(drum roll please).....its nice to have HFA....

so the perception is that the NFL is taking care of NE should they be in that situation.....

 
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and often involves games in the last two weeks that have playoff implications.......and in those games.....(drum roll please).....its nice to have HFA....
The good news is the NFL did them a favor by having 6 of the previous 8 games on the road so they will be battle-tested for that two game gift.

 
conspiracy theorist would say it's not fair they don't have to make that additional flight all the way across the country and play in a totally different time zone later on/earlier on in the year.....another little bone thrown NE way....
It's almost like the nfl commissioner and the owner of the pats are friends.

 
The good news is the NFL did them a favor by having 6 of the previous 8 games on the road so they will be battle-tested for that two game gift.
nobody is saying they don't have a tougher stretch somewhere earlier in the season.....just smells a little funny to get 2 home games at home to end the season 4 years in a row.....it's just luck of the draw and happen stance...

 
Casting Couch said:
Dec 6th Los Angeles Chargers

Dec 10th Los Angeles Rams

a short week spent in Southern California, 2 games in the new SOFI Stadium.
So you think during a pandemic, in order to make things more "fair" we should force more travel upon them. 

I don't think those 2 LA games were scheduled like that for any other reason than to eliminate unnecessary travel.

 
as I said....I get it ...it all evens out.....and call it/spin it however you want....often the playoffs come down to those last couple of games (even tho week one games mean just as much, blah blah blah)....but there is no arguing.....having the last two at home when they could really mean something is a lot better than not having them at home.....nobody is saying they may not have had a "harder" stretch somewhere earlier.....simply that it is really nice to have the last two at home if you are in a spot where they really matter at that point in the season.....they wouldn't "flex" games late in the year if they all meant the same....

I'm sure it's just happen stance that NE is the only team this has happened too 4 years in a row.......ever ...?...I don't know I didn't look it up.....if this was DET....it would be the same ....right..?..right..it would.....but it just adds fuel to the conspiracy theorist ....of which I am actually not one.....but some of theses things that happen to NE do seem a little strange when you add them up......like I don't know if anybody else plays both at LAC and at LAR.....but I would hope they maybe would get the same "hookup" that NE got.....(but if they didn't the excuse will be we want to limit travel for everybody when we can and there is only so much you can do with the schedule, blah blah blah).....and it is just happen stance (again) that NE is the one getting the proverbial bone here....
Yes the Jets have 3 west coast games and they also doubled two of them up to avoid travel.  They have done this anywhere they can this year (most years) to avoid travel times.

As for the home thing, I don't see how it's 'nice' to have the last two games at home given their brutal brutal 6 of 8 on the road leading up to that.

Let me ask you this, which of the following do you think BB, the patriots, and patriot fans would rather for the last 10 weeks?  A A A H H    or   A A H H A?  The A A A H H that it is now is likely DISADVANTAGEOUS for them... maybe this thread should be about how they're getting screwed this year by the schedule makers?

 

 
and often involves games in the last two weeks that have playoff implications.......and in those games.....(drum roll please).....its nice to have HFA....

so the perception is that the NFL is taking care of NE should they be in that situation.....
All games have equal playoff implications.  If you lose your third road game in a row (something very very difficult to have to play), then it doesn't matter if you win one of those last two home games.
 

nobody is saying they don't have a tougher stretch somewhere earlier in the season.....just smells a little funny to get 2 home games at home to end the season 4 years in a row.....it's just luck of the draw and happen stance...
The schedule has many games that are almost 'locked in'.  The Bills have gone to Boston in week 16 for the last 5 years.  You could easily flip weeks 15 and 17 for the Pats this year (@Miami, vs NYJ) and I'm sure that would make the Patriots very happy if you did so.  Agree?

 
right

3 road games is brutal. and then to come home with what I'll call travel fatigue to probably have 2 must win games if playoffs are in the picture... that's tough. Yes, 2 games at home during crunch time... I'd love 2 home games at that time of year, but everyone is forgetting that they have 3 road games prior. It's not like its AHAHH. In that case yeah wtf. AAAHH is brutal
Only 4 teams this year were dealt the very unfortunate hand of having 3 road games in a row.  Patriots were one of them.

I'm sure they would LOVE to swap those week 15 and 17 games.  Making this asinine argument moot.

 
The schedule has many games that are almost 'locked in'.  
Seems like Baltimore has had to play week 17 in Cincy the last 81 years in a row.

The Ravens also have a quirky three game stretch where they play at Pittsburgh Thanksgiving night, the following Thursday night at home vs Dallas, then at Cleveland on a Monday Nighter the following week. They go a month between Sunday games.

 
Seems like Baltimore has had to play week 17 in Cincy the last 81 years in a row.

The Ravens also have a quirky three game stretch where they play at Pittsburgh Thanksgiving night, the following Thursday night at home vs Dallas, then at Cleveland on a Monday Nighter the following week. They go a month between Sunday games.
I would think the varying times and days mess up coaches and players as much as anything.  Even though the Lions have what is rated as a tough schedule, they are almost all 1pm Sunday games, with no night games.

 
I would think the varying times and days mess up coaches and players as much as anything.  Even though the Lions have what is rated as a tough schedule, they are almost all 1pm Sunday games, with no night games.
I guess there's a few ways to look at it. 

From a purely selfish standpoint, I'd rather have the Ravens play at 1 p.m. every Sunday because that fits my schedule the best. I go to work at 3 a.m., so night games before a work day are out for me.

HOWEVAH, if your team is playing Sunday night/Monday night they're most likely pretty good (or they are Dallas).

For coaches and players, I'm sure you're right. These dudes are regimented to - I think - an unhealthy degree.

Baltimore had a London game a few years ago and got annihilated (vs Jacksonville, maybe?). Harbaugh said afterwards that they basically weren't ready to play because they didn't take the scheduling difference seriously enough. I don't know whether that admission is horrible coming from a veteran, SB winning coach....or if it's a breath of fresh air that he had the gonads to admit it.

 
Seems like a lame complaint to me.

*unbiased observer 
Remember, we as a sporting audience spent 3(or was it 13? it certainly felt like it) YEARS talking about one slightly under inflated football in a blowout football game.

The Patriots are so far in the heads of the fan bases of 31 other teams that there will be a seismic shift when all those heads explode as the Patriots go from winning 12-14 games every year with Brady to winning 10-12 games every year without him. Just by trading back in the draft, making good clock management decisions at the end of halves, winning the TO battle year after year, winning on special teams.... they will be better than 2/3rds of the league every year. But some people will point to sun spots, astrological signs, and scheduling anomalies as the reasons they must be winning.

I don't even like the Patriots, but you have to respect their process. Or buy a lot of tin foil.

 
Fat lot of good it did them last year. They lost to the Dolphins at home to lose the bye 🤣

 
who cares. They are ham & eggers now at best, will miss the playoffs and may even pick #1 next year. 

 
who cares. They are ham & eggers now at best, will miss the playoffs and may even pick #1 next year. 
You don't actually believe this is a possibility do you?  Brady was an average QB at best last year and you think he was responsible for 8 or their 12 wins?  (when most were double digit wins)

 
You don't actually believe this is a possibility do you?  Brady was an average QB at best last year and you think he was responsible for 8 or their 12 wins?  (when most were double digit wins)
No way they pick #1. If I had to guess,  something close to a .500 record.

 
Remember, we as a sporting audience spent 3(or was it 13? it certainly felt like it) YEARS talking about one slightly under inflated football in a blowout football game.

The Patriots are so far in the heads of the fan bases of 31 other teams that there will be a seismic shift when all those heads explode as the Patriots go from winning 12-14 games every year with Brady to winning 10-12 games every year without him. Just by trading back in the draft, making good clock management decisions at the end of halves, winning the TO battle year after year, winning on special teams.... they will be better than 2/3rds of the league every year. But some people will point to sun spots, astrological signs, and scheduling anomalies as the reasons they must be winning.

I don't even like the Patriots, but you have to respect their process. Or buy a lot of tin foil.
Let me make the Patriots 2021 schedule.  .500 at best.

 
You don't actually believe this is a possibility do you?  Brady was an average QB at best last year and you think he was responsible for 8 or their 12 wins?  (when most were double digit wins)
Obviously no bigger fan of Brady than I so the bias is strong with me but PFF isn't biased and they had him rated 10th overall. I seem to be among the few that believe Brady can still play at a high level AND the pats might just be all right with Stidham at qb. Everything ive seen or heard of Stidham leads me to believe he "might" be pretty decent and a little better luck on the inj front and ne will likely win 8-10 games imho.  

 
Let me make the Patriots 2021 schedule.  .500 at best.
Really?  How would you do that? Again you seem to not know that every opponent and home/away game is predetermined (you mentioned how they're lucky to get the ravens and 49ers 'at home")

You've also been asked a few times and chosen to ignore the question on if you think the last 5 games being AAAHH or AAHHA would be better for the Patriots?

 
Obviously no bigger fan of Brady than I so the bias is strong with me but PFF isn't biased and they had him rated 10th overall. I seem to be among the few that believe Brady can still play at a high level AND the pats might just be all right with Stidham at qb. Everything ive seen or heard of Stidham leads me to believe he "might" be pretty decent and a little better luck on the inj front and ne will likely win 8-10 games imho.  
I believe Tom can still play at a high level with the receivers he has in Tampa.  And I also think the Pats will be okay with Stidham.

My point is, the pats won 12 games last year, and almost all of those wins way by double digits.  Throw Stidham in last year to replace a Brady who played just okay (Sure I'll give him #10) and you still probably win those games you won by 10+ points.  So to think the Pats win under 5 games this year is nuts.  7-10 seems about right and my prediction is 9.

 
Let me make the Patriots 2021 schedule.  .500 at best.
There are some well lit buildings in the desert more than willing to take your money if you think you have a handle on what teams will be good or bad in 2021. You shouldn't be wasting your talents here, you are costing yourself money.

 
Wow...after all this.....kinda weird we don’t here any complaints from NE or their fans about having the last two at home four years in a row....

 

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