conspiracy theory??

i was reading this on Vinnie Iyer's blog this morning & i have to admit it made me think for a minute. i've been really frustrated with the way the Patriots have performed on the field so far this season & i know a lot of it can't be helped due to injury. i guess i just got used to them acting invinceable in the past & have forgotten that these guys will eventually wear down by needing to be super-human season after body-battering season. still though...this does hold some credence (well not so much the first section but definitely the 2nd and to some degree the last):

I think the NFL scheduling powers who be have really done everything they can to help the Colts get over the hump and to make the Patriots hit a bump.

In the past five weeks, the Pats have played Carolina (4-2), Pittsburgh (4-2), San Diego (3-3) Atlanta (4-2) and Denver (5-1). In the first five weeks, the Colts have played Baltimore (2-3), Jacksonville (4-2), Cleveland (2-3) Tennessee (2-4) and San Francisco (1-4).

The Pats get a bye before hosting Buffalo (3-3) in Week 8's Sunday night game, while the Colts enjoy a bye on that same week before their Week 9 Monday night showdown with -- New England. Before then, the Colts get St. Louis (2-3) and Houston (0-5).

i mean seriously folks. the standard is that the better your record the previous season, the harder your schedule outside of your division will be NEXT season. were the Colts in the play offs last year too or was that my imagination?? now i'm not making excuses. the Patriots of recent history would have bucked up & found ways to win those games & i am hoping against hope that with the inspiration of Bruschi stepping back out onto the defensive side of the ball that the momentum will start to roll. if New England can somehow manage to squeak back into the play offs this year, i have to just hope that if they come up against Indy again on the road to the Super Bowl, that they are still deep inside Peyton Manning's head & that they have his number...i'm not feeling so good about Week 9 Monday Night Football at the moment though...