Here it is!

we have a schedule that appears easier and have upgraded two weaknesses greatly

 

Why do we lose a game because it may be cold? I will grant that Buffalo is going to be vastly improved this season and will be a tough game at home regardless of the position of the mercury. But Chicago has done nothing but add a decoy reciever to a team that needs a lot more work. That should be a gimme win right there.

I was at the NFC Championship game in Philly. It was so freaking cold there even the locals were bitching. And yet we won, imagine that...

 

there is no such thing

 

Perhaps, but based on the gimmie logic of cold weather fouling the Panthers hopes of victory, it should be a win...

 

I predicted 8-8 for us last May, so maybe I can get within one game of the correct record even though it's just April.

QB - I don't know if Jake can be as good as he was over the last eight games, but aside from the occasionally boneheaded interception, he does ok barring injury *knock on wood*. Speaking of, I wonder how Weinke will look in camp.

RB - Major area of concern, which is why I'd love to get someone like Benson. Davis is probably done, while Foster doesn't seem capable of handling a full load for a full season. Goings is nice insurance, but we don't want to repeat that experiment.

WR - Losing Moose hurts us in the red zone, but if Smith is anything close to healthy, he'll pick up a great deal of that slack. Plus we won't be passing as much this season.

OL - LT is still up in the air, but adding Wahle can't be underestimated. It takes away one of our weak spots in pass protection, but more importantly, it gives us someone capable of opening a hole every time we run the ball.

DL - We just have to hope for health. At least we have depth. I could stand for us to look better against the run, though.

LB - With Morgan and Witherspoon playing for contracts, I'm expecting some decent production.

DB - Should be much improved. The addition of Lucas not only gives us a better starting corner, but allows Manning to play to his strengths as a nickel corner. Plus Bashir makes for an interesting possibility at free safety (I remember drafting him for the Colts in that 2001 fake draft).

So I don't see anywhere that we've truly fallen off from last season, given that being without Muhammad isn't worse than being without Smith. With that said:

New Orleans - W (they're dangerous, so it's no given)
New England - L (have a chance, but they're awfully good)
@Miami - W (gutty team held down by terrible front office moves)
Green Bay - W (losing Sharper hurts as much as the Gs)
@Arizona - L (had to pick one surprise loss and they should be better)
@Detroit - W (Would anyone admit they wanted to draft Harrington?)
Minnesota - L (They've made some nice moves)
@Tampa Bay - L (They actually played fairly well down the stretch)
N.Y. Jets - W (could be a loss, but I don't like their D)
@Chicago - W (Sorry Moose)
@Buffalo - W (Losman should beat out Boller for worst starting QB in the NFL)
Atlanta - W (Hartwell could give us problems, but they'll slip a bit)
Tampa Bay - W (They're just not as good as we should be)
@New Orleans - L (Figure predicting division splits is pretty safe and pretty likely)
Dallas - W (They have some tools, but we're better)
@Atlanta - L (Will we ever win there?)


10-6 looks realistic since I could see us winning some of the games I have us losing or losing some of the games I have us winning. The draft, FA, and especially injuries could obviously affect the picture, but it looks good for us so far.

 

considering we only won two more games than Chicago and they had no QB or offense I wouldn't be so confindent about playing them

 

Actually Buffalo will be a hell of a lot worse. If they thought Bledsoe struggled, wait until they get a look at Losman. Meanwhile McGahee is much talked about, but his ypc was lower than Henry's in '02 and '03. Plus they lost Pat Williams and Jonas Jennings when they were already thin on both lines.

And as for Chicago, they still have no QB or offense.

 

I like not having ultra cold away games in Dec, but wtf is it with playing the last 4 out of 5 being division games?

AT vicklanta the last game could be huge.

 

We had the same situation last year. The NFL decided that an unbalanced schedule featuring more divisional contests in the final weeks of the season would make for more exciting playoff races. There's some merit to that thinking, but it really screws you if you have an injury at the wrong time.

 

cold game in there stadiums....both teams are improved and will be use to the cold.....the games are in mid-season...so they are not must wins.....I can just see them slipping away from us.....for that matter I can see most road games slipping away from us....I almost picked Detriot and Miami to beat us....we don't have an established running game....so we will have to pass even if we don't want to.....clock control will be an issue.....only thing I feel sure about is our Defense....and look what happened last year when we were sure about out defense....the line played mediocre....

I'm just being pessimistic...I'll still be screaming and stomping and cheering my ass off......