2009 Rushing Strength of Schedule

Know the match-ups for your fantasy football draft

June 10, 2009

Strength of Schedule Quick Links:
Offensive Total (Run & Pass)
Offensive Pass
Fantasy Defense

Sometimes in the heat of the draft and in the rush of player news, we tend to overlook x-factors that can result in a substantial benefit to your fantasy football team.  One of these x-factors is a fantasy football strength of schedule analysis, which is exactly what the Docs have dished out. You can use this information to help give your team a little edge during both the regular season and fantasy playoffs by selecting RBs for your fantasy football team that play for NFL teams that face multiple cupcake rush-defenses (a.k.a. wet-tissue paper, in desperate need of tackle-drills rush defenses), designated by teams at the top of this list.  

In order to present the information in the most user-friendly format, we have created a pop-up window showing the entire fantasy football rushing strength of schedule over the full 2009 NFL season. The values provided in the table show the fantasy point boost on a per game basis (denoted in a green box) or reduction on a per game basis (denoted in a red box) that a fantasy football RB would receive that week based on a statistical analysis of their opponent for the 2009 season (using a standard performance scoring system). Values denoted in a white box indicate no significant effect either positively or negatively for that player that week. So for example, a value of +3.75 in an "Offensive Run Strength of Schedule" table means that on average, a RB is predicted to score +3.75 fantasy points (green box) above their baseline value that week based on their opponent for that week. The table isn't designed to be an absolute measure, but it is designed to be a relative measure to help expose players with favorable schedules (load of green boxes) for the upcoming 2009 season based on the best information we have available to us prior to the start of the NFL season.  You can use this information to help select sleeper RBs with favorable match-ups throughout the year, or you can use it to put together a "Fantasy RB by Committee" by selecting RBs with the most favorable match-ups each week (denoted by the largest value given in a green highlighted cell for that week).  Aggregate values are also provided to show NFL teams with RBs that have the most favorable schedule during the regular season (weeks 1 - 13), fantasy playoffs (14- 16), and total season (weeks 1 - 17).

Simply click on the link below to open the strength of schedule window.

2009 Strength of Schedule - Rushing

Word to the wise:  
It is not recommended to base your entire fantasy football draft solely on this list and start selecting later round players in earlier rounds of your draft due to a favorable strength of schedule; however, it can be a nice tool to use when trying to decide between two seemingly equivalent players or in the later rounds of your draft to increase the probability of a successful late round grab.  For instance, it doesn't matter if a player like Peyton Manning plays a stout defense multiple times a year... he is an elite player that any fantasy team is lucky to have.  However, less talented players are more susceptable to having their performance being influenced by the quality of their opponent each week.  As a general guideline, a favorable regular season schedule should only account for no more than 10% of a player's value when ranking them.