The way the league does schedules makes your record almost irrelevant when it comes to difficulty. Hell, New England went to the Super Bowl and they got one of the easiest schedules in the league. It's not irrelevant. Having bad teams in your division is one help, and the division rotation schedule is helpful too. But you do still face teams that finished in the same "spot" as you did in other divisions. Next season, the Saints get the NFC West and the AFC East. With the exception of the Pats and Niners, there's some very beatable teams in there.