[Blau Vogel]

That's funny because Johnson Central fans hear that all the time. They can't possibly be as good as Highlands, Covington Catholic, etc. because they play a weaker schedule.

Strong competition is an advantage and winning some close games against strong competition does make a team better. Through no fault of Highlands, most of the teams on its schedule have been down compared to the recent past. That doesn't mean Highlands is not a very good team but it means that they probably would have been better if their competition had been able to push them a little more. Think of how many more snaps their first team offense and defense would have had if they had been involved in a few less 60+ point beatdowns.

That is not saying the are not as good from one year to the next because of their schedule. What you are talking about relates more to the ability to tell how good a team is because of a weak schedule. A few years ago, NOBODY expected Rockcastle to clean Highlands clock. It is really hard to tell how good a team is that is not really tested.

What I was talking about was a teams inability to be as good as a prior year simply due to a weaker schedule. You make great points taking about more snaps and having to work harder against better competition. Having watched the Birds both years, I would say the teams a generally the same with two exceptions. 1) I believe the receiving corp is deeper and more talented 2} The QB play has improved more than I could have imagined.