Was our success in 2015 a product of our schedule?

[fredp45]

OK...not taking anything away from our 2015 year and making the Playoffs -- I enjoyed it 100%!!

I have a good friend, who is a Browns fan (bawahahahaha), and keeps insisting we'll be luck to be 7-9 next year because of our first place schedule.

I was looking at our 2016 opponents and realized we need Scot to have another successful draft and Free Agency and we need injured guys to return.

Here's who we play in 2016:

2016 Home Games: Cleveland Browns, Green Bay Packers, Carolina Panthers, Pittsburgh Steelers, Minnesota Vikings, Dallas Cowboys, Philadelphia Eagles, New York Giants.
2016 Away Games: Chicago Bears, Cincinnati Bengals (London), Arizona Cardinals, Detroit Lions, Baltimore Ravens, Dallas Cowboys, Philadelphia Eagles, New York Giants.

I believe we'll go either 4-2 or 5-1 in the Division. Two of the teams have new Head Coaches and lots of changes, let's be conservative and say 4-2.

At home, we'll beat the Browns and Vikes. We'll go 1-2 versus the Packers, Panthers and Steelers.
Away we'll beat the Bears and Lions. We'll go 1-2 versus the Bengals, Cardinals and Ravens.

4-2 + 2-0 + 1-2 + 2-0 + 1-2 = 10-6

Arguments please.....not that I need to ask for them on this board!

[Burgundy&GoldForever]

Can we maybe wait until we see who gets tagged, signed, released, traded away, traded for, drafted, etc. before we start trying to predict or analyze the schedule? I'm not saying it's not a good question but I think it's too early to answer it.

[riggofan]

We had some things go our way this past season, no doubt. But folks were saying the same thing about our schedule before the 2015 season. That it was so tough and we would be lucky to win 4 games. Keim predicted us at 6-10. USA Today had us 4-12 and Sports Illustrated said we would be 3-13.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/foo ... look-good/

Maybe the schedule will be tougher, but I think we will also be a better team. Another draft. Same coach, QB, system for a consecutive year. A GM who clearly knows how to build a team. I'd argue that we actually look like the most stable team in the division this year too.

I don't see a game on that 2016 schedule that I don't think we're at least capable of winning. Not something I probably would have said last August about this team.

[OldSchool]

Their 2015 success was real. SM did a great job improving the roster in FA and the draft and the decision to start Cousins made a huge difference. It had to be joint decision in my opinion. SM and Gruden are on the same page and Kirk's success reinforced SM's and Gruden's alignment. The improved as the season went on as good teams do and I expect continued improvement in 2016.

While it is certainly possible for the team could improve and the wins decline in 2016 but I don't think that will be the case. I expect the Skins will win 10+ games barring crushing injuries. I think Cousins will pick up where he left off the supporting cast will be better in 2016. I haven't been this optimistic about the Skins since Marty's surge many years ago.

[Irn-Bru]

We certainly benefited from an easier schedule toward the end of the year but the team also showed real improvement. The fact that we trounced bad teams and had solid wins against teams we "should" have beaten tells you that this wasn't a fluke. Advanced stats sites, which try to account for things like strength of schedule, generally rank us in the top half of the league. If we were actually a bad team we would've looked a lot luckier than we actually were.

[Hooligan]

It's the first time in a long time that I didn't feel like we played down to our level of competition. So many times we've fought a good team hard, then struggled to squeak out a victory against the baddies. This year is a success just for that.

[Chris Luva Luva]

Of course it was, as is the case with every team. Good or bad, the teams you play in some way factor into your level of success. Nobody says crap when the Patriots get an automatic 6 wins every year because they're in a weak division.

[SkinsJock]

The other 3 teams in our division played terribly and we played better than expected - There are so many factors that we do not know at this time - we should be better than last season but then again all 3 of our rivals should be vastly better than last season - the 'strength of schedule' is better evaluated after the season than before

there's nothing we can do about the other teams - all we have to hope for is more progress in fixing the mess that Snyder is responsible for

last season was a bonus - this franchise is now in good hands and just like the beginning of 2015 season, I'm hoping for this franchise to continue to improve so that in 2017 we can see a product on the field that is regarded by all as a playoff contender each season

we're getting there - the strength of schedule in 2016 is not going to affect the plan that Scot and this FO have for the future here

[riggofan]

Of course it was, as is the case with every team. Good or bad, the teams you play in some way factor into your level of success. Nobody says crap when the Patriots get an automatic 6 wins every year because they're in a weak division.

No doubt man. +1K.

[riggofan]

The other 3 teams in our division played terribly and we played better than expected - There are so many factors that we do not know at this time - we should be better than last season but then again all 3 of our rivals should be vastly better than last season - the 'strength of schedule' is better evaluated after the season than before

Yeah I agree the strength of schedule stuff is way overrated. Going into 2015 if you had New Orleans on your schedule, that was looking like a tough game. Midway through the season, not really. On the flip, Carolina might have been one of the games we thought was winnable looking at it before the season.

I disagree though with your statement that "all 3 of our rivals should be vastly better than last season". Anything could happen, but as of now two of those teams have brand new first time head coaches and a lot of roster issues. Eagles don't know who their QB is going to be, and they're going to have to recover from all of the solid players that Chip Kelly let go. Giants defense is a mess and they really need to rebuild the o-line. Dallas should be better than last year, but how can anyone count on Romo at this point? I'm just not seeing any guarantee of vastly better for any of them.

NFC East is always going to be a dogfight, but I don't think you have to be a homer to say that we actually look like one of the better teams in that group for a change.

[SkinsJock]

no question we played better than expected and absolutely were the best team in the division - the other 3 franchises don't need to do much to be vastly improved based on what we saw last season - they were horrible and IMO should have played better than they did

PLUS, let's not forget that we're still getting out of the mess that Snyder created here - at the beginning of the 2015 season I felt it would be at least 2 seasons and 3 drafts - I still feel like that is the case

Nothing takes away from the fact we won the division but winning the NFC East last season was just a bonus to me - we still have work to do



how interesting is it to anyone to look at the strength of schedule before the season and after the season? means squat to me - we won

looking at our strength of schedule in 2016 means little to nothing at all at this stage of the season

[riggofan]

looking at our strength of schedule in 2016 means little to nothing at all at this stage of the season

Totally agree. Talk to me about how tough the schedule looks about three weeks after Labor Day!

[StorminMormon86]

Where were the analysts saying the same thing about the Panthers' schedule of 2015?

[DEHog]

For me it’s always been about playing meaningful games in December! If the team does that, I’ll be happy...playoffs or not. I don’t care about schedule, with the way the league is setup there’s no reason to be eliminated from the playoff before December!!

[riggofan]

For me it’s always been about playing meaningful games in December! If the team does that, I’ll be happy...playoffs or not. I don’t care about schedule, with the way the league is setup there’s no reason to be eliminated from the playoff before December!!

Baby steps!

You know man, there was a time here in DC when the season was considered a disappointment if we didn't *at least* make the NFC Championship game.

[Burgundy&GoldForever]

You know man, there was a time here in DC when the season was considered a disappointment if we didn't *at least* make the NFC Championship game.

Those were the days, my friend. We thought they'd never end.

[SkinsJock]

.. there was a time in DC when the season was considered a disappointment if we didn't *at least* make the NFC Championship game.

HA - that was all BS (Before Snyder)
2015 is clear evidence of how important it is to have a FO that has a plan and knows how to make that plan help the franchise

these guys still have some work to do here, especially with the big guys on both defense and the O line but this last year was a great start

[Countertrey]

You know man, there was a time here in DC when the season was considered a disappointment if we didn't *at least* make the NFC Championship game.

Those were the days, my friend. We thought they'd never end.

No... not quite there in '68... but, they were the days for other... heh, heh, heh... reasons..
those WERE the days...

[Burgundy&GoldForever]

You know man, there was a time here in DC when the season was considered a disappointment if we didn't *at least* make the NFC Championship game.

Those were the days, my friend. We thought they'd never end.

No... not quite there in '68... but, they were the days for other... heh, heh, heh... reasons..
those WERE the days...

Ahh, Mary Hopkin.

[SkinsJock]

OK ... not taking anything away from our 2015 year and making the Playoffs -- I enjoyed it 100%!! I have a good friend, who is a Browns fan (bawahahahaha), and keeps insisting we'll be luck to be 7-9 next year because of our first place schedule.

NO! the 'strength of schedule' is not a factor - there is nothing wrong with the way the NFL sets up the following year schedule but it has nothing to do with how well or badly a team plays or the wins and losses each team gets

we were not a really good team but we found a way to win the division title and it did not happen because of the teams we played - the main reason we won was because of how we played the final 6 games

the strength of schedule will not play a role in how we do this season either

[fredp45]

I believe it's actually less about the strength of schedule and more about the qb's you have to play against.

Of course, there's a relationship between great QBs and great teams, but not always...

[hitmandm]

85% chance that the Redskins got lucky and 2015 was a fluke. It is good that others in the NFL are saying what Ive been saying all year.

The playoff game pretty much showed KC and the Jay Gruden Redskins were not even close.

KC is not a real franchise QB- hence the Redskins not wanting to resign him except to a team friendly contract. He is most like a 1/2 a year fluke. Plus He is arrogant- He actually wants to be paid like a top starter when he is likely a Nick Foles type bust? Really 1/2 a year of luck makes you a legit QB? And You Like That is the dumbest thing ever.

Jay Gruden is not a real coach. The guy is legit an idiot.

The front office not paying KC is pretty damning.