Finally, ladies and gentlemen it’s that time again! The leaves are changing, the weather’s getting colder (well, not exactly), and the birth of a new football season is upon us. After a long-awaited offseason, as it always is, we are ready to begin the 2013 NFL season. Can the Baltimore Ravens repeat? Will Adrian Peterson have another heroic, dominating season like he accomplished last year? Will the Philadelphia Eagles soar under new head coach Chip Kelly? These are some of the questions that will be answered as we look forward to the season.

AFC West

With Peyton Manning and his high-powered receiving core along with new addition Wes Welker, the Denver Broncos are the overwhelming favorite to come out on top in the very deficient AFC West. The San Diego Chargers will be the normal Chargers – good talent but will never amount to it. The Oakland Raiders will be the normal Raiders – bad. The team that I am quite impressed with is the Kansas City Chiefs. They acquired the former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Alex Smith during the offseason, which will fill their hole in the lack of a good quarterback, and they also improved very well on the defensive side of ball this offseason. I believe the Chiefs will vastly improve their 4-12 record from last year to a possible playoff berth by the end of this year.

AFC North

This toughest division in the AFC has three – maybe four legitimate playoff contenders. Of course you have the Ravens, defending Super Bowl champions, but they have lost more than they gained. Losing Ray Lewis and Ed Reed on the defensive side of the ball will be difficult to deal with; and with the loss of Anquan Boldin and Dennis Pitta on the offensive side of the ball, the Ravens will have a tough time staying atop the North. The division champions will be the Cincinnati Bengals, with returning quarterback Andy Dalton, and all-pro receivers in A.J. Green and Jermaine Gresham – the Bengals are much improved. The Pittsburgh Steelers will be average, mostly because they are looking to replace both their offensive and defensive coordinators, and the Cleveland Browns will be improve, but still have a year away from being serious playoff contenders.

AFC South

This is barely a two-team race for the AFC South. The Houston Texans return as defending AFC West champions, and will retain the crown. The only legitimate team to contend with the Texans is the Indianapolis Colts. The Colts will be good again this year and they are definitely a wild-card worthy team; it’s just the Texans have too much firepower. The Tennessee Titans have a slim chance of competing, or even making the playoffs, and the Jacksonville Jaguars may just be the worst team in football – so that speaks for itself.

AFC East

The New England Patriots will, without a doubt, defend as AFC East champions for the 5^th straight year. Even with the major losses of Wes Welker, Aaron Hernandez, and possibly Rob Gronkowski, the Patriots will have enough to do what it takes to win the division. Tom Brady might have something to do with that. Surprisingly, I do have a little hope for the New York Jets. They found their starting quarterback in Geno Smith and finally stepped out of the Mark Sanchez era, and soon to be Rex Ryan era. The Jets may be the only team in the East that has a good chance to beat the Patriots at least once this season. The Miami Dolphins and the Buffalo Bills will still be mediocre, but will look to improve vastly during the regular season.

NFC West

Arguably the best division in the NFL, will probably come down to the final week of the regular season. Defending NFC champions 49ers are a clear-cut playoff team, but I believe this is the year of the Seattle Seahawks, with second-year quarterback Russell Wilson. However, don’t sleep on the St. Louis Rams. They will not win the division, nor will they make the playoffs, but a couple years from now this team has a potential to be great. It’s just really difficult to have three teams from one division in the playoffs.

NFC North

Another tough division, the NFC North will have its fair share of excitement. Literally every team is in contention to win the division, but you can’t mess on the Pack and Aaron Rodgers. The Green Bay Packers will win the division with the Chicago Bears and Detroit Lions coming in second. The Minnesota Vikings will come in last, largely because I do not believe Adrian Peterson is capable of having another season like he did last year. This will be a close race, and a tough one as well. because I believe the winner of this division may be the only team representing the North in the playoffs.

NFC South

Possibly one of the easier divisions in the NFC to pick, the NFC South defending champions Atlanta Falcons are favored to win the East for a second-straight year. Led by a high-octane offense with Matt Ryan at quarterback, the Falcons will be unstoppable. Their defense is the only question I have, and that’s why I believe they will not perform to the levels experts expect. The Carolina Panthers and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers will be two sub-.500 teams, so you can cross them off the list. With the return of the New Orleans Saints head coach Sean Payton, the Saints will be much improved from where they were last year and will come in a close second to the Falcons.

NFC East

I have literally been drawing sweat trying to figure out the winner of the most consistently toughest division in the NFL. You could seriously put all four of these teams in the this division in a hat, pick a random team, and I will not be surprised if that team wins this division. Defending champions Washington Redskins will not be as electric as they were, especially if they have an unhealthy Robert Griffin III. The New York Giants will be good, and the Eagles will be fair contenders as well, even with new head coach Chip Kelly at the helm. In the end, it’s going to come down to the final regular season game, and I’m going with… drumroll please… the Dallas Cowboys. I know, I cried too, but the Cowboys have easily the most favorable schedule in the NFC East, and I truly believe this is quarterback Tony Romo’s year.

Playoff predictions

AFC – Denver Broncos (14-2), New England Patriots (11-5), Cincinnati Bengals (11-5), Houston Texans (12-4), Kansas City Chiefs (10-6), Baltimore Ravens (10-6)

NFC – Seattle Seahawks (12-4), Atlanta Falcons (12-4), Green Bay Packers (11-5), Dallas Cowboys (10-6), San Francisco 49ers (11-5), New Orleans Saints (10-6)

Super Bowl XLVIII

Broncos over Seahawks

NFL MVP

Peyton Manning – Denver Broncos

Defensive MVP

DeMarcus Ware – Dallas Cowboys

Coach of the Year

Andy Reid – Kansas City Chiefs