The NFL hands the New Orleans Saints one of the easiest schedules in the entire NFC
On paper, the New Orleans Saints should find more success in 2024 than they did in 2023. They have more depth on defense. They upgraded their offensive coaching staff. Derek Carr played better ball to finish last year to gain momentum for this year. All in all, New Orleans should bounce back to a degree, […]
On paper, the New Orleans Saints should find more success in 2024 than they did in 2023. They have more depth on defense. They upgraded their offensive coaching staff. Derek Carr played better ball to finish last year to gain momentum for this year.
All in all, New Orleans should bounce back to a degree, and Dennis Allen needs it to happen to keep his job. There's good news after the recent schedule release by the NFL.
The NFL gave the Saints one of the easiest schedules in the league
As far as winning percentage from last season, the Saints have the second-easiest schedule in football. The Atlanta Falcons are the only team with an easier slate from that metric. Thank you, NFC South.
The Carolina Panthers' regular season slate is fourth-easiest, and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' sits at sixth. Everyone in the division has a manageable schedule for the upcoming season.
The more accurate prediction for strength of schedule is Warren Sharp's projection-based model.
It accounts for free agency moves and predicted improvements or declines in a roster – rather than just last year's performance.
Instead of ranking strength of schedule by last year's records, Warren Sharp of Sharp Football Analysis bases his rankings on Vegas' projected win totals for the upcoming season. This methodology allows for a more accurate projection of how good teams are expected to be for the season.
He has the Saints' SOS as the fifth-easiest. Only the Atlanta Falcons, Los Angeles Chargers, Chicago Bears, and New York Jets have easier schedules, as pictured below:
So, either way you crack the egg, the yolk is still a top five schedule in terms of the "easiness" of the slate for the Saints. If they cannot find the postseason for the third year in a row, there will be no more excuses for Dennis Allen.
With the schedule, Allen has all of the pressure on himself to prove that he can be a winning coach in the NFL. He has not proven that during his pro coaching career as a head coach yet.
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