Every schedule in the NFL is difficult, some more so than others. I readily admit that our schedule is difficult this year, but is it as difficult as everyone makes it out to be?
Division games usually make or break a team - 6 games out of 16 will be played against New England, Buffalo, and the Jets. Wannyball did not fare well in the AFC East. For whatever reason, Herm Edwards owned Wannstedt and we usually underperformed against the Jets. We've had mixed results with the Patsies and Bills in the past.
This year may be different. As tough as the AFC East is, maybe the best division in the NFL, there are a few chinks in the armor this year, which may give us a chance to improve our division record.
First of all, I believe the glory days for the Patsies are over. To be sure, as long as King Bill rules in Foxboro, they will be very competitive. But the loss of both coordinators and a few players may finally knock the Patsies off their perch. They never dominated anyway (with the exception of the Colts last year), they simply outlasted other teams and played smart football. Bellichick admitted that there is no smarter coach than Nick Saban.
Herm Edwards simply outcoached Wanny. That won't happen this year. I think the aging Curtis Martin and the gimpy Chad Pennington will be 2 reasons why the Jets won't be as effective this year. They've lost a key O-lineman and I don't think their defense will be as good either.
Finally, the Bills start newbie J.P. Losman. Never bet on a rookie. The Bills will struggle. Losing Jennings may weaken the line as well. Saban will pressure the he!! out of Losman and we will have no problem with the Bills.
If we stay healthy and make less mistakes than we did last year, I think we can win a lot of games in our division. If we do well in the AFC East, we should do very well in other games, since our division is arguably the best.
A final thought, we had two playoff teams - the Super Bowl Champs and the Jets in our division and a very good Bills team, yet we still went 4-12 last year under absolutely horrible conditions. Things can only get better this year. I think we split with the Jets and Patsies and sweep the Bills in 2005.
Division games usually make or break a team - 6 games out of 16 will be played against New England, Buffalo, and the Jets. Wannyball did not fare well in the AFC East. For whatever reason, Herm Edwards owned Wannstedt and we usually underperformed against the Jets. We've had mixed results with the Patsies and Bills in the past.
This year may be different. As tough as the AFC East is, maybe the best division in the NFL, there are a few chinks in the armor this year, which may give us a chance to improve our division record.
First of all, I believe the glory days for the Patsies are over. To be sure, as long as King Bill rules in Foxboro, they will be very competitive. But the loss of both coordinators and a few players may finally knock the Patsies off their perch. They never dominated anyway (with the exception of the Colts last year), they simply outlasted other teams and played smart football. Bellichick admitted that there is no smarter coach than Nick Saban.
Herm Edwards simply outcoached Wanny. That won't happen this year. I think the aging Curtis Martin and the gimpy Chad Pennington will be 2 reasons why the Jets won't be as effective this year. They've lost a key O-lineman and I don't think their defense will be as good either.
Finally, the Bills start newbie J.P. Losman. Never bet on a rookie. The Bills will struggle. Losing Jennings may weaken the line as well. Saban will pressure the he!! out of Losman and we will have no problem with the Bills.
If we stay healthy and make less mistakes than we did last year, I think we can win a lot of games in our division. If we do well in the AFC East, we should do very well in other games, since our division is arguably the best.
A final thought, we had two playoff teams - the Super Bowl Champs and the Jets in our division and a very good Bills team, yet we still went 4-12 last year under absolutely horrible conditions. Things can only get better this year. I think we split with the Jets and Patsies and sweep the Bills in 2005.
