NFC South teams face brutal 2009 schedules

NFC South Blog

February, 2, 2009

Feb 2

3:00

PM ET

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By Pat Yasinskas

Posted by ESPN.com's Pat Yasinskas

The conclusion of the Super Bowl means all we have to look forward to is next season. On the surface, 2009 is not going to be an easy season for the NFC South.

All four teams rank in the top eight when it comes to schedule difficulty. Based on the 2008 records of opponents, Carolina has the league's second-hardest schedule. Atlanta ranks fourth, Tampa Bay fifth and New Orleans eighth.

But there may be a silver lining to all this. At this time last year, the Pittsburgh Steelers had the toughest schedule based on this system. They went out and won the Super Bowl.

Here's a look at the difficulty of every team's schedule for 2009:

Highest Opponents' Combined Win Pct (2009 Schedule)
	Win	Loss	Tie	Opp. Combined win pct*
1. Miami Dolphins	152	104	0	.594
2. Carolina Panthers	151	104	1	.592
3. New England Patriots	151	105	0	.590
4. Atlanta Falcons	150	105	1	.588
5. Tampa Bay Buccaneers	148	107	1	.580
6. Buffalo Bills	146	110	0	.570
7. New York Jets	145	110	1	.568
8. New Orleans Saints	142	113	1	.557
9. Philadelphia Eagles	137	119	0	.535
10. New York Giants	134	120	2	.527
11. Dallas Cowboys	131	123	2	.516
11. Jacksonville Jaguars	132	124	0	.516
13. Indianapolis Colts	131	125	0	.512
14. Tennessee Titans	130	126	0	.508
15. Houston Texans	129	126	1	.506
16. Washington Redskins	125	129	2	.492
17. Kansas City Chiefs	123	131	2	.484
17. San Diego Chargers	123	131	2	.484
19. Denver Broncos	122	132	2	.480
19. Oakland Raiders	122	132	2	.480
21. Detroit Lions	119	136	1	.467
22. Cincinnati Bengals	119	137	0	.465
22. St. Louis Rams	119	137	0	.465
24. Seattle Seahawks	117	139	0	.457
25. Cleveland Browns	114	140	2	.449
26. San Francisco 49ers	113	142	1	.443
27. Arizona Cardinals	113	143	0	.441
28. Baltimore Ravens	111	143	2	.438
29. Pittsburgh Steelers	110	144	2	.434
30. Green Bay Packers	109	146	1	.428
31. Minnesota Vikings	107	148	1	.420
32. Chicago Bears	105	149	2	.414
* Based on opponents' 2008 record

Tags:

Atlanta Falcons, New Orleans Saints, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Carolina Panthers, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Atlanta Falcons, New Orleans Saints, Carolina Panthers, strength of schedule

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