2012 NFL Schedule Strength

There still hasn’t been an official announcement but there is a very good chance the 2012 NFL schedule will be released this week, likely tomorrow evening.

The schedule is almost always released before the NFL draft and it usually comes on a Tuesday. ESPN has blocked off time for a schedule release show tomorrow night, though they claim that is just a guess.

Regardless, the schedule is coming soon. As such, I thought it would be fun to take a look at the strength of schedule breakdown. We don’t know what order the games will be played in but we do know the opponents. Here is how things break down based on last year’s records. Number of games against teams that won nine or more games in 2011 are in parenthesis.

1. N.Y. Giants (7)
2. Denver (7)
3. Cleveland (7)
4. St. Louis (5)
5. Baltimore (7)
6. San Diego (6)
7. Philadelphia (8)
8. Minnesota (7)
9. Arizona (6)
10. Carolina (5)
11. Seattle (5)
12. Dallas (7)
13. New Orleans (5)
14. Jacksonville (8)
15. Cincinnati (5)
16. Pittsburgh (6)
17. Indianapolis (7)
18. Oakland (5)
19. Miami (6)
20. N.Y. Jets (6)
21. Kansas City (5)
22. Chicago (7)
23. Detroit (6)
24. Washington (7)
25. Atlanta (4)
26. San Francisco (5)
27. Tampa Bay (5)
28. Tennessee (6)
29. Houston (6)
30. Buffalo (5)
31. Green Bay (7)
32. New England (4)

The Chiefs had one of the league’s hardest schedules in 2011 so coming in at #21 this year is a welcome relief. Of course, as we all know, schedule strength often changes quite dramatically over the course of the season. For instance, the Colts factored in as one of the teams adding to KC’s tough 2011 schedule and thanks to Peyton Manning’s injury, the Colts were the worst team the Chiefs faced all season. Now, Manning is in Denver and while the Broncos factor into this year’s strength of schedule as an 8-8 team, however going from Tebow to Manning could increase that record in 2012.

What do you think, Addicts? When it is all said and done, will the Chiefs have an easier or hard schedule in 2012 than they did in 2011?