Easy road for the Patriots: Good or Bad

I think it's a fair conversation, in spite of the calls for the thread being dumb. In 2013, the NEP battled major injuries and were a gritty, grind-it-out kind of team for 60 minutes--whatever it took to win, which still might not be enough (as was the case against Denver). In 2014, the injury bug reversed course but the schedule was a relentless gauntlet. In both cases, I think the tough games instilled something intangible in the players and their locker room culture. The team's grittiness culminated in the Seattle game, which IMHO they faced a more talented team (not that this is why they won, but it contributed).

That all said. I agree with fnordcircle that we really can't tell how hard the schedule is. A month ago, the schedule looked pretty tough.

But in the end, I'd take the easy schedule over the hard schedule any day.