“The Professor” John Clayton Once Taught Me How To Evaluate An NFL Schedule

One of the greatest joys in my time hosting radio shows with ESPN was getting to know the legendary personalities personally. One of the legends was “The Professor” John Clayton. He was an amazing writer and brought his unique insights to ESPN TV and Radio programming. Over the years John would join me on various programs for some of my favorite and memorable NFL conversations. Like me, he was a bit of a “schedule geek”. He had a unique way of evaluating a schedule as to determine its true difficulty. I’ve used this analysis system ever since. I know that John wouldn’t have an issue with me sharing his evaluation system with you. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images) John Clayton Says To Watch The QBs Begin the process of evaluation by determining the opponents that have a starting quarterback who has already led a team to a playoff berth in the past. For the Eagles 2024 Schedule that creates this considerable list: Dak Prescott - Cowboys (2) Daniel Jones - Giants (2) Jordan Love - Packers Kirk Cousins - Falcons Matthew Stafford - Rams Derek Carr - Saints Baker Mayfield - Buccaneers Joe Burrow - Bengals Lamar Jackson - Ravens Trevor Lawrence - Jaguars Deshaun Watson - Browns Russell Wilson - Steelers That’s 14 different games where the Eagles will be facing a quarterback who has previously led their team into the playoffs. That is a whopping 82% of their schedule. That puts the Eagles into the top quarter quadrant on the John Clayton difficulty scale. While there are many reasons to be bullish on their chances, this is an indicator that there will be very few easy games on this year's slate. What Percentage Of Those Games Are On The Road Only one of the Eagles' eight road games will be against a team that isn’t starting a quarterback that has led a team to the playoffs. The Washington Commanders are the only team without a “danger” quarterback. 88% of the road games are in the top quadrant of danger Only two of the Eagles' eight home games will be against a team with a “danger” quarterback. The two teams that don’t have one are the Washington Commanders and Carolina Panthers. 75% of the home games are in the top quadrant of danger The Green Bay Packers are the lone “neutral site” game opponent and Jordan Love led the Packers to the playoffs in 2023. 100% of the neutral site games are in the top quadrant of danger What Does It Mean? The Eagles haven’t played a schedule like this one in recent memory. To have all of the measurements appear in the top quadrant of danger means they have the most difficult schedule available. In previous seasons this will mean that the Eagles would fall below their expectations. Summary I can almost hear his voice. “John, I think your Eagles may be in a little trouble.” Using the John Clayton evaluation I’m now cautious as to how confident I should be regarding the Eagles NFC Championship hopes. They are going to need some very good fortune and health if they hope to reach their full potential. Enjoy the 2024 schedule release! Watch Kincade & Salciunas on the 97.5 The Fanatic YouTube page for discussion about the latest breaking sports news in Philadelphia.