8-8 would be an improvement over 2010.
Absolutely brutal.
The 2010 season was a stunner for so many reasons. I think all of us diehards have come to accept the inevitable pain of a team in rebuild. And when the pieces come together so dramatically, like they did in 2010, it’s easy to fall under the illusion that this team is on the doorstep of contending.
Then the NFL unleashes the 2011 schedule and it resets every expectation you have for this team: in 16 games, we play four division winners, both Super Bowl teams, every one of the most elite QBs professional football has to offer (Brady, Manning, Rogers), every one of the best defenses the NFL has to offer (Jets, Chargers, Steelers, and Ravens in the preseason), and we end the season in Denver.
It’s tough to really look this schedule over and say to yourself: this could be an 11-5 playoff season. Which tells you everything you need to know about our young, still promising, but still very rebuilding team.
We faced the NFC East and bottom dwellers across the AFC in 2010, and we deservedly ate them alive. This is the year where every ounce of our mettle is tested, and we can proudly assess exactly how far it is this team has to go for a Super Bowl.