[Bigblue78]

E-town's, nor anybody schedule for that matter helps determine what you do in November. I get its a fun thing to talk about, but playing people better than you doesn't make you bigger, faster, stronger. It doesn't make your players better. All it does is give you a barometer to measure yourself and how "good" you really are.

I take that back....there are one or two ways it might "make you better" and that's from a mental aspect. If you beat and/or play a 'big boy' close, it can give your team a sense of "we've seen what we can do when we play the best" (which, just as what comes from winning, gives amother sense of confidence).

Schedule talk is fun, but way overblown.

I disagree. You don't learn, you don't improve, by playing sub par opponents. All that accomplishes is it gives you a false sense of security.

You improve by playing tougher competition. By competing against players who are as good or better than you. If you play against crap all year how do you learn to block a premier pass rusher? How do you learn to cover a really good receiver? How do you learn to tackle a quick running back in the open field?

Playing against tough competition is the best way to prepare for what you will see as you go deeper into the playoffs.