When you are talking fantasy football success, a lot of variables goes into figuring out exactly who might be the best choice for your team. Some of the top ones include bye-weeks, injuries, and team style of play. Throw in need, available players and perceived expectations and you pretty well have most of those pesky details covered.
Most, but not all.
When people sit down to do the prep work for any upcoming drafts, they often forget to factor in one crucial fact. That fact is strength of schedule, and it’s a very important variable to keep in mind when deciding between two players that may have a similar skill set.
With that in mind, here are the five teams with the toughest roads ahead of them in 2013. While this doesn’t necessarily mean they will struggle this year, it does go to show exactly what level of opponents potential fantasy choices from these teams will be facing.
The Ravens open up 2013 with four of their first seven games on the road against solid competition. However, fantasy options for the Ravens will be rewarded in weeks 12-14 with a three game home stead that could propel fantasy owners to potential championships.
It’s bad enough playing in the loaded NFC West but to have an overall tough schedule doesn’t inspire much in the way of confidence. Despite expected overall improvement in 2013, the Rams don’t look to have much in the way of breathing room with opponents that will keep fantasy options in check.
Unlike a lot of teams on this list, the Saints face their most daunting stretch during expected fantasy playoff weeks. Between weeks 12-16, the Saints are on the road four out of those five games. However, as New Orleans often have to score big to win, this might not be as bad as it looks.
The Detroit Lions tough schedule is compounded by the amount of road games they play to start the season. The Lions start out the year with four out of their first six games on the road. On the flip side, however, during traditional fantasy playoff times, weeks 12-16, the lions are home.
Despite holding the toughest opponent record heading into 2013, the Panthers do have stretches that look favorable. From week two to week seven, they don’t face much in the way of defenses and during playoff crunch time, the Panthers landed the high scoring Saints twice and the Jets.
James LeBeau is a contributor for CraveOnline Sports. You can follow him on Twitter @Jlebeau76 or subscribe on Facebook.com/
