Welcome to the most complete and comprehensive Strength of Schedule (SOS) Footballguys.com has ever featured. Here are the advantages we offer over the competition:

• Positional Breakdown
  If you are drafting a WR, it's much more relevant to see SOS data for WRs rather than passing stats or (shudder) won/loss records.



• Fantasy Points Driven
  Fantasy football is all about scoring Fantasy Points. Our SOS is based on Fantasy Points Allowed rather than the more common won/loss data. If a defense generally allows opposing TEs to score a ton of Fantasy Points, then you obviously want your TE starting against that defense.



• Removed Bias Of Schedule
  Consider the following two defenses: Defense A faced the top 16 offenses while Defense B faced the bottom 16 offenses. What if both defenses allowed opposing running backs to average 20 fantasy points per game? Are these defenses equivalent? Of course not. Defense A is much better as they faced much better offenses. Our SOS removes this bias.



• Based Completely On 2004 Expectations (new for 2004)
  With free agency such a big part of the NFL, team strengths can change in a single offseason. Everyone else uses the 2003 data to create their SOS. That would be great...if it were still 2003. We have determined what constitutes a good or bad defense at each position and then ranked all 32 teams based on our expectations for the upcoming season. We certainly have taken into account the changes (if any) in coaching staff and player personnel for each team. This feature is exclusive to Footballguys.com SOS.



• Comparison of 2004 Schedule to 2003 Schedule
  On the surface, a team with an easy schedule at RB should see better RB stats this year. Good schedule = bigger numbers than the year before, right? It seems logical. However, sometimes it's not enough to say that a team has an easy schedule. What if they had an equally easy schedule the season before? Equal schedule = similar numbers as the year before. Our SOS looks at the difference between the 2004 schedule and the 2003 schedule. An easier set of opponents this year points to increased production. A more difficult set of opponents this year points to decreased production.



• Inclusion of Home & Away Data (new for 2004)
  Most teams play a little different on the road than in their own friendly confines. Look at the 2003 Seahawks if you don't believe that. Our SOS takes this variable into account. This feature is exclusive to Footballguys.com SOS.



• Inclusion of Grass & Turf Data (new for 2004)
  As with the Home/Away differences, a team on natural grass is not always the same team as when they are on the artificial turf. Our SOS now also takes this variable into account. This feature is exclusive to Footballguys.com SOS.



• Presentation of Data
  Most SOS charts offer a simple ranking that covers the entire season. Footballguys.com offers the following additional presentations of SOS data:
  
  
  • Number of Difficult and Easy Games
    You can easily tell how many games each team will play against a tough defense and against a weak defense.
  
  
  
  • First Six Weeks
    There are few things better than starting the season strong. This makes it easy to find a team that faces an easy opening schedule.
  
  
  
  • Breakdown of Fantasy Football Regular Season and Playoffs
    It can be advantageous to stack your roster with players facing weak teams during your fantasy playoffs. Of course you'll need a good regular season to actually get to your postseason. Our SOS offers several options for the fantasy regular season and playoffs.
  
  
  
  • Weekly Values for Each NFL Team
    Sometimes it's just not enough to know a player faces a great schedule. What if you play your brother-in-law week five (or whenever) and just have to win that game? With our Schedule Breakdown table, finding teams with a favorable opponent that all important week is simple.
  
  
  

Quick Glance

Below is a quick glance of the 2004 Strength of Schedule. The Overall Offense and Overall Defense categories have been added in an attempt to show the general strength of each team's schedule.

Overall Offense is found by summing the SOS of the QBs, RBs, WR, TEs, and PKs.
Overall Defense is found by summing the SOS for the Def/STs, DLs, LBs, and DBs.

Remember, a higher SOS value means that team's opponents are expected to allow more fantasy points.