NFL: Why Do The NFL Schedule Makers Hate Atlanta?

[RFlagg]

I know Atlanta just finished playing their 3rd opponent of the season coming off a BYE (and managed to win all three). This isn't the first time the Falcons have played a lot of teams coming a BYE, and in fact, only Philadelphia has played more this season (4). However, the Falcons also do not have successive home games all season and we all remember the 2009 schedule that saw us play 4 teams coming off a BYE.

This got me curious, just how many teams have the Falcons played coming off a BYE? I needed some guideline to find this out, so I went back to when the divisions realigned in 2002. What I found shocked me. In 11 seasons, the Falcons have played 18 teams coming off a BYE. 18! That's the most in the NFL by 3 games (Buffalo, Dallas, Tennessee). But what really enraged me was when I looked at the bottom of my spreadsheet and found that there are 12 teams that have played less than 11 teams coming off a BYE in the past 11 seasons. Here's my chart.

Atlanta - 18
Tennessee - 15
Dallas - 15
Buffalo - 15
Cleveland - 14
Houston - 14
Miami - 13
Green Bay - 13
Philadelphia - 13
San Diego - 13
San Francisco - 12
Denver - 12
Kansas City - 12
Baltimore - 12
Detroit - 11
Tampa Bay - 11
New Orleans - 11
Chicago - 11
Seattle - 11
Washington - 11
St. Louis - 10
Jacksonville - 10
NY Jets - 9
Indianapolis - 9
Oakland - 9
Minnesota - 8
NY Giants - 8
New England - 8
Cincinnati - 7
Pittsburgh - 7
Carolina - 6
Arizona - 4

How in the hell have we played 18 teams coming off a BYE in 11 years and the Cardinals have played 4? What do the schedule makers have against us?

As an afterword, I'd like to find a way to get some media attention on this subject, but without sounding like a sore Falcons fan who's crying about the schedule. Any ideas?