Tough - but you never know
There's no question the Bills' 2007 schedule looks more difficult than their 2006 slate. Colleague Allen Wilson is correct in suggesting that anyone forecasting a winning season for the Bills definitely is an optimist.
However, plotting out wins and losses in April is risky business. I'm not forecasting a playoff berth. But the Bills schedule might not turn out to be as tough in the fall as it appears in the spring.
Miami is not going to be good. The Jets overachieved last year and figure to be decent but not great. Baltimore just might take a sizable step back due to age, numerous free-agent losses and a potentially shaky offensive line. The Cowboys are no lock to improve in Tony Romo's first full season. Jacksonville, which lost at Buffalo last year, still has uncertainty at quarterback. Washington could be in a rebuilding mode at QB by the time it hosts the Bills in December. Cleveland is awful. The Giants' Tom Coughlin could be a dead man walking by the time he visits on Dec. 23.
Are all the Bills' foes going to fall apart? Probably not. But nobody's crystal ball is seeing clearly in April.
---Mark Gaughan.
