[PhatTBoll]

Well, you didn't exactly go out on a limb with your dark horses. Here's mine:

NFC: Giants. The latest Manning clone will be much improved, and Coughlin has had some time to figure out which guys will buy into his system. The O-line will make or break them.

AFC: The Bengals have drafted really well the past couple years, and I expect Lewis to translate all that good young talent into a playoff berth. Besides, it's about time something newsworthy happened in Cincinnati.

Overrateds:
NFC: Packers. Brett Favre is a year older and he continues to destroy his team in big games. They didn't make any big changes to a horrible D, and the NFC North is becoming less of a cakewalk.

AFC: Denver. There will be serious questions about Shanahan's job security as the season progresses.

I'm most interested to see how the Patriots do after losing both coordinators. Their in-game adjustments have been a remarkable part of their success, and nobody really knows how much of that was Belichick as opposed to his assistants. I'm also interested to see just how awesome Sunday Ticket is, since this will be my first season having it in my place.