Well, its time for real football to really start going. No more waiting until Camp, getting irate at paying $70 for a ticket to a game when the starters leave after 2 series. Thursday night marks the kickoff of the season. I'm going to give a last few thoughts and predictions.

AFC Playoff Order

1. New England Patriots 14-2

2. Jacksonville Jaguars 13-3

3. San Diego Chargers 12-4

4. Pittsburgh Steelers 10-6

5. Indianapolis Colts 12-4

6. Cleveland Browns 10-6

Why I'm Right: Are the Pats old on defense? Yes. Could they still be suffering from a Super Bowl hangover? Probably. But guess what, they have Tom Brady at QB. All signs point to this being the year the Jags will overtake the Colts for the AFC South. The big question is the AFC North. I think getting Rashard Mendenhall for the Steelers was a big grab. I'm not convinced the Browns are ready to wrestle control of the division away, atleast not yet.

Why I'm an Idiot: The Pats are old in alot of places. While winning the AFC East should be a given, expecting another Elite season might be abit much. Was last years playoff victory the breakthrough the Jaguars needed? Face it, we have come tantalizingly close under Del Rio alot, but always fell short. The Steelers are going through a rebuilding phase in alot of areas, can their backfield bring them up? The Browns are talented and plus the league seemingly bet the house on them with 5 prime time games.

NFC Playoff Order

1. Dallas Cowboys 13-3

2. Seattle Seahawks 12-4

3. New Orleans Saints 11-5

4. Green Bay Packers 11-5

5. Minnesota Vikings 10-6

6. New York Giants 10-6

Why I'm Right: Dallas is by far the most talented team in the NFC. They should run roughshot over everyone. Seattle has always been an under the radar team, but they play in the weakest division in the NFL and should provide a good final season for Holmgren. New Orleans should return to the team we say in 2006 when they went to the NFC title game. Even with the inexperience of Aaron Rodgers, the Packers still have talent around him. If Ryan Grant can keep up what he did in the 2nd half of the season, it will make everything better. With the Vikings, the QB position is key. There was a reason everyone said if the Vikes landed Favre they would be immediate Super Bowl contenders.  The Gmen round out the playoff race. Losses on the defensive line and my own wonderings about which Eli Manning we see this year bumped them down from a few weeks ago to where I would have had a coin flip between them and Dallas.

Why I'm an Idiot: Can TO keep his cool for another year? Will Tony Romo erase the Curse of Jessica? Eli Manning made last year's playoffs his coming out party and should continue that into this year. The Packers were reliant on Brett Favre to make the offense go and Aaron Rodgers is still untested. Reggie Bush is getting the "Bust" label thrown about more and more, and will Deuce McCalister be able to return to form?

Playoff Predictions

Wildcard:

San Diego 27 Cleveland 14

Indianapolis 24 Pittsburgh 17

Green Bay 28 Minnesota 21

Giants 23 New Orleans 21

Divisional Round:

Jacksonville 24 San Diego 13

New England 17 Indianapolis 14

Dallas 28 Giants 24

Seattle 31 New Orleans 20

Conference Championship:

Jacksonville 24 New England 21

Dallas 31 Seattle 27

Super Bowl:

Jacksonville 24 Dallas 23

Why I'm Right: I admit it, I'm drinking the Kool-Aid. I believe in David Garrard as our QB, I believe Fred Taylor's will for a Super Bowl, and I believe Derrick Harvey can get enough pressure on Tom Brady and Peyton Manning. I just hope the funny feeling I'm getting from the Kool-Aid is from the vodka.

Why I'm an Idiot: Last time there was this much Kool-Aid going around was in Jonestown, and that didn't turn out too well.