I don't know whether you would consider me an optimistic fan or pessimistic. I see the Buffalo Bills ultimately being a better team than last season, but finishing with very close to the same record as last year, plus or minus one game. My biggest concerns for the upcoming season are JP Losman, Rian Lindell and something that will be touched upon later in this article, and that’s a tougher schedule than the 2004 campaign.
Editors note: The Zone would like to welcome new writer Neil Masters to the family.

As far as JP is concerned, I expect him to perform close to the way that Carson Palmer did with Cincinnati last season. If Losman can do that, the Bills will be better offensively than last season. If JP struggles more than Palmer did, but still matches what Drew Bledsoe did last season in leading the 25th ranked offense in the NFL, the Bills can equal 2004’s record. It will be hard to do. If JP is worse than Bledsoe, the defense and STs should still be good enough to carry them to 8-8 or 7-9.

What concerns me the most is that the teams the Buffalo Bills play this season look to be much stronger than last year. Carolina and Atlanta are going to be tough. If the Saints play up to their potential finally, they could be afierce competitor too. Tampa Bay should be better than they were last year, even though they are still rebuilding, SD is solid on defense and LaDainian Tomlinson is arguably the best RB in the game. KC's offense is great and they now have some defense to go with it. Denver is good enough to contend for a playoff berth and the Bills play an ugly Oakland team that has a much better offense than last year. Both Cincy and Houston should be better than they were last season. And, that's not to mention the AFC East teams who are always going to be tough to play against as it is one of the toughest divisions in ball. There are very few soft touches on this schedule.

The Buffalo Bills are going to have to be better than they were last season to match last years record of 9-7. Now, I think that for the most part they are, but the question in my mind is whether JP can match Carson Palmer and give them that little bit extra out of the QB spot compared to what they got from D.Bledsoe last season. If JP can do that, especially early in the campaign, the Bills should have a shot at winning enough games to match or surpass their record last season. Let’s not have to rely on Lindell to hit one or two clutch field goals.

I see the Bills being in a number of close games this season with JP at QB because their Defense and Special Teams are good enough to keep a lot of games close--games where a win or loss will ride on the leg of Lindell and his ability to come through with a kick in the clutch. As has been pointed out, Lindell has never been called on to make a truly big kick before in his career. His performance to date does not inspire confidence in his ability to make a clutch kick over 40 yards or in a game winning situation. So, that concerns me because I think that he will have to make a couple of key FGs this season for the Bills to get the record to one or two more game better than last year. A lot will be riding on his performance this season.

The offensive line is a bit of a concern, but, if they can avoid injuries, I think they will be alright. So, too, is the ability of the defensive front 7 to stand up to and stuff a power-running game designed to wear them down: there were times last season when they weren't quite as good in run D as they should have been and with LaDainian Tomlinson, Priest Holmes, McAllister and Davis joining Dillon and Martin pounding the ball at them, they won't be able to afford to have any off days.

As I see it, though, these are minor concerns. I’m confident enough to see the Buffalo Bills equaling last year’s record of 9-7 and if need be, a squeaker or two out of Lindell, the team may get to 10-6.