Fantasy Football Schedule - 2009 NFL Schedule Fantasy Football Impact

2009 NFL Schedule: The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly

by: John Holler

Editor's Note: Below you will find fantasy football schedule analysis for two of the eight NFL divisions for 2009. If you'd like to read the entire article, please click HERE to order our 2009 Pre-Season Draft Guide.

One of the oft-ignored secrets of winning fantasy titles is to set yourself up as early as draft day to have a team that is built to win in December. Just like in the NFL, the games take on much more significance late in the season and December weather can play a big role in the outcome of late-season games – when you are in your fantasy playoffs.

What follows is a team-by-team breakdown of the 2009 schedule. We will point the rough spots that teams will face and where they could have some easy sledding. For a team that starts with a cake schedule, drafting mid-round players from those teams might be advisable. But even more important is how a team finishes. Who doesn’t want to see Oakland or Detroit or St. Louis during the fantasy playoffs?

The list following the team name is the opponents that team will face in the final four weeks of the regular season, helping us come up with a verdict whether a team’s schedule is the good, the bad or the ugly.

AFC EAST

Buffalo Bills (at KC, NE, at Atl, IND) – The Bills didn’t catch any breaks with their road schedule, catching Carolina, Tennessee and Atlanta on the road. They have brutal stretch around their bye week that will be critical, playing four of five games on the roads and matching with the Jets, Panthers, Titans and Jaguars on the road. Weather could play a factor in all their games after Thanksgiving except Atlanta – they have four home games in the final six and a trip to Kansas City Dec. 13. There aren’t too many easy stretches in this schedule and they will be hard-pressed to survive their murderous October-November slate. VERDICT: Bad.

Miami Dolphins (at Jax, at Ten, HOU, PIT) – The Dolphins didn’t get any favors handed to them. They open with three games vs. 2008 playoff teams – at Atlanta, Indianapolis and at San Diego – and face a brutal November in which they play four of five games on the road, including trips to New England and Carolina as well as their other two divisional opponents. If they survive that stretch, they still have to face the Patriots, Titans and Steelers down the stretch – making their defense of their division title much more difficult that some might think. VERDICT: Ugly.

New England Patriots (CAR, at Buf, JAX, at Hou) – As if the Patriots need any breaks, they would appear to have received them. With the exception of Indianapolis, all of their toughest non-division opponents are home (Atlanta, Baltimore, Tennessee and Carolina). The not only get a bye week in a prime spot (Week 8), but their game in London doesn’t count as a home game. In their final 10 games, they play only three teams that made the playoffs in 2008, so this has all the makings of a pretty gravy slate of opponents. VERDICT: Good.

New York Jets (at TB, ATL, at Ind, CIN) – Like New England, the Jets are fortunate to get their toughest non-division opponents at home – Tennessee, Carolina and Atlanta. However, the schedule doesn’t fall favorably in the first month. The Jets may not be a point spread favorite to win any of their first five games – at Houston, vs. New England and Tennessee, at New Orleans and at Miami. For a new coach with a new QB, that could be a deal-breaker early unless the Jets play with a lot of fire. Getting Atlanta and Indy in Weeks 15-16 doesn’t do them any favors either. VERDICT: Bad.

AFC NORTH

Baltimore Ravens (DET, CHI, at Pit, at Oak) – The Ravens could have the schedule that differentiates between a team being dominant at home and struggling on the road. The Ravens don’t play a winning team at home until Indy Nov. 22, who is preceded by the Chiefs, Browns, Bengals and Broncos. The road games, however, are a different story. Their first three road games will be at San Diego, New England and Minnesota – all teams with recent playoff histories. The tricky part of the schedule might be their prime time schedule. From Nov. 16 to Dec. 7, the Ravens play four games – three of them at night. Getting the NFC North during the fantasy playoffs, especially Detroit and Chicago at home, isn’t too shabby. VERDICT: Pretty Good.

Cincinnati Bengals (at Min, at SD, KC, at NYJ) – Any schedule the Bengals have is likely to be ugly, but they will know pretty quickly if they are a contender or pretender in the division – they play three straight games early in the season against all division rivals. They also don’t get any breaks coming out of their bye week with games vs. the Ravens and at Pittsburgh. The closing schedule includes three road games, including matchups with playoff teams Minnesota and San Diego. If there is good news, nobody gets to see them in prime time. All of their games with the exception of the Steelers in Week 3 will start at 1 p.m. local time. VERDICT: Bad.

Cleveland Browns (PIT, at KC, OAK, JAX) – The Browns get punished early, but get a lot of home cooking in December. The Browns open with four of their first six games on the road, making trips to Denver, Baltimore, Buffalo and Pittsburgh in the first month-and-a-half of the season. By the time they have their bye in Week 9, the Browns will have already played five games on the road. If they can survive past Thanksgiving, they could be a difference-maker in the final weeks. They not only play four of their final five games at home, but play their final six against teams from the AFC. The never go more than three games without facing a playoff team until the final three games of the season, but seeing the Chiefs and Raiders on the closing schedule could be enough to get some owners to consider guys like Braylon Edwards a little more seriously. VERDICT: Not too good.

Pittsburgh Steelers (at Cle, GB, BAL, at Mia) – From the start of the season until after Thanksgiving, the Steelers play just three teams that made the playoffs in 2008 – Tennessee, San Diego and Minnesota – and they get all of them at home. The December games look extremely favorable with Raiders, Browns and Packers bringing their double-digit losses in 2008 to the Steelers’ table. Baltimore in Week 16 could be a little dicey, but, like most of the other tough games, it’s at Heinz Field too. VERDICT: Damn good.

As mentioned atop this release, if you like to read the entire article, please click HERE to order our 2009 Pre-Season Draft Guide.