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Take a good look at the Bills' 2008 schedule. Out of the first 5 games of the season (before the bye), 4 look winnable:
Sun. 9/7 SEATTLE SEAHAWKS
Sun. 9/14 @ Jacksonville Jaguars
Sun. 9/21 OAKLAND RAIDERS
Sun. 9/28 @ St. Louis Rams
Sun. 10/5 @ Arizona Cardinals
The only real challenge there is Jacksonville and it's very possible that the Bills will come out of it 4-1 (however, as I previously stated, I think Buffalo will also lose to Arizona because it's a classic "trap" game, but I digress).
One of the advantages of this schedule is that the first division game for Buffalo is week 8 against Miami, so the team six games to tune up (bye is week 6). Three are against mediocre non-conference opponents (Seattle, Arizona, St. Louis).
The big disadvantage, however, is that a lot of the easier teams are in that first 5 game stretch. We have a lot of young players on this team, and while guys like Lynch and Edwards have their first full off-season of conditioning, they also don't have any more experience now than they did at the end of last season. Lynch started to come on towards the end of last season. Edwards showed some signs of improvement, but still has a long way to go.
During the last two seasons under Dick Jauron, the Bills started slow both years. Some have speculated that this is partially due to Jauron's laid-back approach to training camp. Many players have said they enjoyed his camps because they're not as rigorous as what they've endured with other teams, but the converse of that could be a lack of physical preparation once the games start to matter.
In addition, the 2007 Bills had a mid-to-late season push partially because they beat most of the teams (arguably all of the teams) that they were supposed to beat. No one expected a young, inexperienced Bills team to keep up with the Patriots, Giants, Cowboys or Steelers. But they should have beat the Ravens, Dolphins, Jets and Bengals, and they did. The problem with the 2008 schedule is that so many of the "winnable" games (for lack of a better term) come at the beginning of the season, when the Bills have been notoriously bad under Jauron.
So, here's hoping for a tougher training camp to ensure the team is prepared. If the Bills get off to a slow start, don't expect another mid-season push against NE, a re-stocked Jets team, a road game at Arrowhead, the Browns on Monday night or a high-profile game against the Dolphins in Toronto. And it doesn't get any easier, with a long road trip to Denver and the Patriots again to finish out the season.
Sun. 9/7 SEATTLE SEAHAWKS
Sun. 9/14 @ Jacksonville Jaguars
Sun. 9/21 OAKLAND RAIDERS
Sun. 9/28 @ St. Louis Rams
Sun. 10/5 @ Arizona Cardinals
The only real challenge there is Jacksonville and it's very possible that the Bills will come out of it 4-1 (however, as I previously stated, I think Buffalo will also lose to Arizona because it's a classic "trap" game, but I digress).
One of the advantages of this schedule is that the first division game for Buffalo is week 8 against Miami, so the team six games to tune up (bye is week 6). Three are against mediocre non-conference opponents (Seattle, Arizona, St. Louis).
The big disadvantage, however, is that a lot of the easier teams are in that first 5 game stretch. We have a lot of young players on this team, and while guys like Lynch and Edwards have their first full off-season of conditioning, they also don't have any more experience now than they did at the end of last season. Lynch started to come on towards the end of last season. Edwards showed some signs of improvement, but still has a long way to go.
During the last two seasons under Dick Jauron, the Bills started slow both years. Some have speculated that this is partially due to Jauron's laid-back approach to training camp. Many players have said they enjoyed his camps because they're not as rigorous as what they've endured with other teams, but the converse of that could be a lack of physical preparation once the games start to matter.
In addition, the 2007 Bills had a mid-to-late season push partially because they beat most of the teams (arguably all of the teams) that they were supposed to beat. No one expected a young, inexperienced Bills team to keep up with the Patriots, Giants, Cowboys or Steelers. But they should have beat the Ravens, Dolphins, Jets and Bengals, and they did. The problem with the 2008 schedule is that so many of the "winnable" games (for lack of a better term) come at the beginning of the season, when the Bills have been notoriously bad under Jauron.
So, here's hoping for a tougher training camp to ensure the team is prepared. If the Bills get off to a slow start, don't expect another mid-season push against NE, a re-stocked Jets team, a road game at Arrowhead, the Browns on Monday night or a high-profile game against the Dolphins in Toronto. And it doesn't get any easier, with a long road trip to Denver and the Patriots again to finish out the season.
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