can't wait for this. My only gripe is...what is this the third year in a row it's been @indy?
Like to get a home game next year, i might even pay for an overpriced ticket to go
Mike Reiss wrote about this, answering a question in his mailbag.
Q: Hey Mike, I understand why we play the Colts every year -- it's a great rivalry game. But can you explain how they decide where the game is played? The Pats are playing at Indy for the third straight season, and when I looked at previous schedules, the Pats played them at home for the three seasons before that. Why don't they just alternate playing at New England or Indy every other year? -- Dave (Fairfax, Va.)
A: This is one of the most common questions, Dave, and it is important to point out, as you did, that the Patriots had a long run of home-field advantage in the series just a few years ago. The location is based on the NFL's rotating scheduling formula, and here are the details:
When the NFL went to eight divisions in 2002 (when Houston entered the league), it created a rotating schedule format that was designed to ensure every team in the league played every other club -- both home and away -- within a certain time frame. The idea is to avoid a long stretch in which one team does not play another in its home stadium.
This is how the rotating formula breaks down:
Six games against division opponents
Four games against the teams from one other AFC division (rotates each year)
Two games against teams from the other two AFC divisions -- against the clubs that finished in the same place the year before
Four games against each from an NFC division (rotates each year)
As for how this relates specifically to the Patriots-Colts, the teams have consistently finished in first place in their divisions, so that explains -- first -- why they are frequent opponents, other than just playing once every three years. As for the home-away aspect of the matchup, it's basically on a cycle. Recall that the Colts visited the Patriots in the regular season in each of the 2004, 2005 and 2006 campaigns. This year will mark the third straight season the Patriots visit the Colts. As part of the rotating scheduling format, the Patriots already know that in 2010 they will be hosting the AFC South team that finishes in the same spot in the standings. If the current standings hold true to form, that would mean the Colts come to Gillette Stadium in 2010.
http://sports.espn.go.com/boston/columns/story?columnist=reiss_mike&id=4641117