I would have preferred the bye to be after the Cardinals or the Browns game, but otherwise it's really not a bad schedule. While I do believe the defense will be improved, I think it will take several games, maybe mid-season, for it to gel. Still, I'm confident the offense can carry the load until that happens.

The games before the bye should all be wins, with the Detroit game a shoot out. With the exception of the Panthers, we beat each of those teams last year. The Panthers will likely be starting a rookie QB. In any case, I think the Seahawks have improved more than any of the teams they play before the bye.

I think the Bengals game will be our first loss, but it will introduce the defense to what's going to be needed to close out the season. We get a break with the Cardinals before the next real test against the Browns. Fortunately, that game is at home. The Ravens game will be another tough game. Fortunately, neither the Browns nor the Ravens are in our conference.

Beyond the opening games of the season, I'm not going to predict wins and losses. Too much can happen to make any sort of educated guess. I think the crux of the season will be the 3 games starting with the 49ers, then Dallas, then the 49ers again. If we can split with the 49ers and beat Dallas, we should be in the playoffs.

The Titans and the Steelers may be difficult wins, but at least we play the Steelers at home, and again neither is in our conference. In short, most of the difficult games are with AFC teams and will likely not determine whether we get into the playoffs or not.