2012 Super Bowl Odds This is a bold one: The combatants within the Super Bowl will be the New England Patriots and also the Dallas Cowboys, and also the Patriots will win.
Why? The Patriots is going to be there because they are probably the most prepared inside a season where most teams will take an extra 2 or 3 games to trap up. Also, using the loss towards the Ny Jets hanging them over from last year's playoffs, they will be anxious for payback.
2012 Super Bowl PicksAnd talking about the Jets, the Patriots will beat them within the AFC Conference Championship game. This is the way life works. Win a big game unexpectedly twelve months - lose a similar game the next year.
And who'll the Cowboys beat in the NFC Conference Championship game? The underdog of underdogs - the Detroit Lions. Yes, I'm predicting that the Lions will catch several breaks and win several games.
It might be a real drag to choose a rematch from the Gambling and the Packers, although entering the growing season, they both look like they could repeat.
Divisional winners in the AFC is going to be Tom Brady and the New England Patriots in the East, with Mark Sanchez and the Jets as being a wild card team from the division. The Cleveland Browns, under the leadership of Colt McCoy, will win the brutal AFC Central division. As always, Payton Manning and also the Indianapolis Colts will win the South, and perhaps surprisingly, the Gambling will win the AFC West. Who will the second wild card team be? The Baltimore Ravens, obviously.
2012 Super Bowl OddsDivisional winners within the NFC East would be the resurgent Cowboys, with Tony Romo back again. The Packers will win the Central, however the Lions can get in through the wild card. Sam Bradford will lead the St. Louis Rams to a West Division title, and also the Gambling will fill up the South. The 2nd wild card team would be the boring old Gambling.
NFL picksThe Cowboys will be undervalued this season simply because they were overvalued last year. Super Bowl winners from the previous year will always be overvalued, as are the losers. Conventional wisdom on rising supports teams like the Jets, but CW usually is a big miss. This leaves people like Tom Brady and Peyton Manning to guide steady but very slow charges with the season and the playoffs.
Trends lead to upsets, and I usually attempt to follow these trends. The Browns might have been 12-4 this past year, even though they've new coaches, a brand new offense and a new defense, it looks pretty clear the new regime is seriously interested in winning sooner then later, and since the Steelers and the Ravens are due for any fall, picking the Browns isn't a stretch.
Finally, the Detroit Lions need to take it altogether. The talent is young. It's there. Why don't you this season rather than next?
So that's it with this year's predictions. Let's talk next February and we'll find out if I'm able to get it done two years consecutively.