[HPF Bob]

One thing I truly love about the 32-team, 8-division, 16-game league is how transparent the schedules are. How the games are arranged, of course, can make a difference but the way the opponents are chosen cannot be easier to do.

One benefit is you know as soon as the regular season ends which teams you'll be playing next year. For the Texans, there is the standard home-and-homes within the division (Indy, Jacksonville, and Tennessee) plus a round robin with another AFC division (next year, the infamous AFC North) plus a round robin with an NFC division (next year, the NFC North). The final two opponents on the sched, because we are division champs, are the other two division champs not in the AFC North. That would be Kansas City and New England. Before you shudder, the Texans beat both of them this year.

Home: Colts, Jaguars, Titans, Ravens, Bengals, Vikings, Packers, Patriots
Away: Colts, Jaguars, Titans, Steelers, Browns, Bears, Lions, Chiefs

That's five games outdoors which could be cold weather games in winter (Titans, Steelers, Browns, Bears, Chiefs). We get most of the easy opponents on the road which can be a blessing or a curse. We get the Ravens, Packers and Patriots in our own building where we might have a fighting chance.

Full schedules will be released in April.

Comments?