Sgt. Largent":1w9klj7n said:Maulbert":1w9klj7n said:What I meant about coincidence wasn't about how the schedule played out for Dallas, I know the opponents are set the day the last season ends. I'm not stupid. I meant that it might just be coincidence that they got REALLY good in a year where they had a soft schedule, but I doubt it. Also, 4th place schedule doesn't mean much. All it affected was their games against SF and TB. They would have gotten the Bears and Browns if they finished in first last season.
That's how the NFL wants it.........and that parity is one of the big reasons the NFL is such a great pro sport.
On the flip side, the Cardinals and Panthers are getting their teeth kicked in this year cause they've had to play 1st place schedules, and all the expectations and how hard teams go after them that comes with it.
The Panthers are a flawed team...in a league full of flawed teams. But the only game they truly got their teeth kicked in was @Atlanta, without their stud rookie CB and in a place they've also lost in multiple years that resulted in Super Bowl/NFC Championship appearances/1st round byes.
A confluence of factors, both of the Panthers doing and otherwise, has lead to the bottom line record, but the 1st place schedule itself meant Minnesota and Washington instead of other possibilities. https://www.google.com/amp/blackandblue ... ent=safari The Vikings whipped the Panthers in the 2nd half in a game the Panthers should have easily lead at halftime by double digits-a game also played in the hollow/surreal setting of weeklong riots. Washington is still to come.
It's felt like anything but the Panthers year so far, but I have to think the rest of the league is very much hoping the Raiders and/or Hawks can win over the next couple weeks and/or the Falcons beat the Cardinals/Chiefs, significantly lowering the odds the Panthers get in.
If they did get in, who knows.