for clarification purposes

in case this needs to be said:

i *know* the Colts & Patriots schedules are not REALLY a conspiracy theory. it doesn't work that way. the Colts have just had an unbelievably easy schedule so far. (as have the stupid Bucs btw but they earned their easy schedule by being so bad last year!!) the way scheduling is supposed to work in theory though is if you have a good season this year, you're supposed to be matched up against other teams who ALSO had a good season this year when the next year's schedule is formed. now granted the fact that the Colts division competition in & of itself is one of the saddest in the NFL plays a BIG part in their piece of cake scheduling--it can't be helped that all their division games are a walk in the park & i am fully aware of this. and i know that between free agency, injury & just plain not having a good season, a GREAT team this year may be a mess next year & throw the whole scheduling plan right out the proverbial window. i really am aware of all this.

it just seems like the undefeated Colts haven't really had to play that hard to get to that spotless shiny record. i mean c'mon. their toughest game going into last Monday night was against the Jags in Week 2. the rest of those teams are a disaster...or inconsistent at best. while i am NOT making excuses for the Patriots & i don't REALLY believe it's a conspiracy, i also think that the Colts haven't proven anything to anyone yet. not really. sure they're good, i'm not disputing that as much as i dislike them, but they haven't put been put to the test against any good teams through Week 6 to drive that point home. i didn't think their defense looked nearly so impressive against the Rams (who actually have an offense) on Monday night anyway. sure the Colts managed to put up the big numbers & win in the end, but they got some key turnovers thanks to some errors made by the Rams offense to help them with that. the Patriots may be hurting right now but Indy's defense will need to step it back up if they are going to win, as will Peyton need to return to being a TD machine--because no matter what goes wrong in New England, Tom Brady does not turn over the ball in big games. he can look like crap in this week's game but historically against Peyton, he shines.

and let the record show that i wouldn't be any less critical of the Patriots winning easy games of the schedules were reversed. easy games don't prove anything to me. i'd be ecstatic for sure if the Patriots were undefeated, but i would also be worried about their performance against REAL teams when those games came up as they inevitably do if all they had to show for wins were games against teams in turmoil or just plain lacking for whatever reason. i am disappointed in New England's record & performance so far this year--because quite frankly playing injured isn't unfamiliar territory for the Patriots so i expect them to compensate & come up with wins anyway--but i am also aware that they aren't playing pansy-ass teams like the Titans, 49ers & Ravens. other than the Raiders, all the teams they've played have a .500 record or better. as opposed to playing only ONE team with a winning record as the Colts have.

so no of course not a conspiracy theory at all in the real world. but while maybe not necessarily overrated, i still think at this point the Colts are UNPROVEN.