Holy crap we play the Bills week one.
Josh Allen is going to get his welcome to the NFL moment immediately if he's starting. He's got
No oline
A "meh" WR corps with only two true viable options
A solid defense, but unspectacular.
That run game, even with Shady, is likely to be an utter joke with that joke of an oline.
At Cinci is going to be a tough one. I actually am kind of scared of Mixon behind an oline that is no longer total ass. We need to acquire a run stopping ILB at this point. The run defense cannot have a repeat of 2017. But otherwise this game should be winnable. We've gotten significantly better as well, and even with their upgrades on the oline, that unit still has some holes. This is a hard one though.
I want to fly out for the Bronco's game(I should be in the area anyways and a few of my best friends are die hard fans). That defense is still very good, and adding Chubb is going to be a big add on. But losing Talib is goning to be a big blow and they still haven't really improved that oline at all. I could see this game being boring. Keenum isn't a terrible QB by any sense of the word, but that oline is worse than what he had last year.
PIT. We need our revenge more than anything now. This is where the fight for the division comes into play. They still have a juggernaut of an offense and adding James Washington does not make it easier.. But that defense is still completely uninspiring. Not an easy game, but very winnable. Pit is about to fall off of a cliff anyways. Time to take back the division.
Cleveland: Don't let their offseason improvements fool you. This squad has gone from being one of the worst teams in league history, from being a team that might have pick #8 in the draft rather than the first one. They've added some nice pieces like Landry, Hyde, Mayfield, Chubb, but have still missed the point entirely. They could've taken Rosen, who'd actually make me afraid of this team. They're not going to roll over and lose, but we are still better now. And will probably have the better QB going forward as even Baker might be ruined by the toxic culture Haslam has installed
Titans: This game is something I can be worried about. That oline is still very good, and Dion Lewis should be a good anchor for the run game to go off of. The receiving corps should improve with time, and I liked their minimalist, but effective draft. This game is not going to be easy at all. But nonetheless is winnable.
Saints: We always play them well. They are a SB team but we could match up well with them. This game is one I have little confidence in winning. They are simply one of the most complete teams in the league.. And they are likely to be the fourth seed in the NFC anyways behind the Rams, Vikings, and Eagles.
Panthers: Another really good matchup for us. Will not be a cakewalk for us.. But they're not going to have fun either. That oline without Norwell is now far weaker. Turner and Kalil are both quality options still, but it's a weakness, and that WR corps is still subpar even with the addition of DJ Moore. McCaffery and Anderson make an interesting pairing though. So their offense isn't a total pushover. Plus Cam is superman. Defense will continue to be the bread and butter of this team. This is very much a winnable game though
Covered Steelers.
Covered Bengals
The Raiders should be one of the most interesting teams in the league. They added pieces to their oline, but are they really upgrades in the short or long term? How stable is that RB corps? Will the WR corps continue to stay healthy or be plagued with injuries? Will Derek Carr revert back to form full time? Will the defense bounce back with Gruden at the helm? If the answers to these questions are a resounding "yes" then this game is not going to be easy for us. If the answer is "no" then I could see us pulling out with a handy W. I'll come back tot his one later.
At Atlanta. This game, like the Saints one, I have little to no confidence with us winning. Atlanta like New Orleans is one of the most balanced teams in the entire league. Just have to hope Sarkisian is still coaching there and continues to ignore thoroughbread Julio Jones. If the Falcons get an OC who could effectively use both Julio and Ridley in tandem with their running backs Atlanta might just go back to the SB. If they have Sarkisian still.. We have a slimmer chance.
At KC. I'll believe the hype when I see it. Mahomes looks promising but will still be prone to rookieesq mistakes. It's just his playstyle. The oline needs work, but having Hunt, Kelce, and Hill will make the life of Mahomes a lot easier. I cannot say that I have a ton of confidence in that defense. Houston and Berry remain and are both respective studs if healthy, but a lot of that defense has been gutted over the past several seasons. This game, even in Arrowhead has the potential to be very winnable
Tampa Bay: Tampa Bay is a team that I've been predicting to breakout soon. But they are not there yet imo. They have a lot of nice pieces around Winston. Evans, Brate, Howard, Jones III is a good fit for that team. The oline has some nice pieces with Jensen there. Defense has some great pieces as well. But how's their depth? How's that secondary? Outside of Gerald McCoy and Curry how's that pass rush of there's? Game once again winnable, but I would not be surprised if this team has no confidence at this point in the year playing in the NFL's hardest division.
At LA.. If we go into this game underestimating the compeition we will lose. LA is one of those sneaky SB contenders. That oline will likely improve itself and they've surrounded Rivers with some good weapons. Defense is run by Gus Bradley and with Bosa and Ingram as his pass rushers, anything is possible. Add in a massive upgrade in the secondary with the return of Verett and the drafting of Derwin James. They still have a joke of a run defense though. But like Atlanta and New Orleans.. I have very little confidence. We better show up.
Vs. Cleveland... Thank god no Bengals. This game should be a W if we are in playoff contention.
There are three games in the schedule I don't really see as winnable. All of these teams have exploitable holes that I think we've prepared ourselves for.. This offseason has turned us into a far more rounded team. Flacco shows up, this team has the potential to win the entire division. If the oline plays up to it's potential.... And Flacco doesn't show up and we put Jackson in we still might be a playoff team anyways.