Detailing the NFL’s squads in 12 words

College and high school football’s week one have come and passed.

Now it’s time for the pros to step up to the plate and take their turn.

In case you haven’t heard, the Saints open their 2011-12 regular season tomorrow when they travel to Green Bay to play the defending Super Bowl Champion Packers.

Let me rephrase, in case you’ve been living under a rock the past six months, the NFL begins tomorrow.

I have a lot of flaws with the professional game and honestly, I enjoy the prep and college game much more because it’s a more pure form of football.

There’s too much money involved in the pro game and people just don’t quite enjoy something as much when it’s a job, compared to when it’s a hobby.

Because of that, high school and collegiate players rely on passion and when emotion is involved, magic happens.

The NFL does have one thing going for it every year that keeps me tuned in: uncertainty.

In high school and college games, one could easily predict who will succeed and who will falter in a given year, mostly because it’s the same handful of teams who are left standing every season.

With the NFL, that’s never the case, especially in today’s parity-driven league.

Every year, a few teams surprise, a few teams disappoint and there’s plenty of drama leading up to the Super Bowl.

So with that said, let’s survey all 32 teams in the NFL and handicap their chances for the new season.

Here are a dozen words about every team in the league and also my playoff predictions.

Sure, it’s a bit early to make such bold predictions, but I challenge everyone to raise their hands if they picked the Packers to win the Super Bowl last season during the preseason.

You guys can’t see me, but I promise you I am currently raising my hand.

Here goes:

A Dozen Words about Every NFL Team:

AFC

AFC East:

Buffalo Bills, The Andrew Luck sweepstakes begin now. Another losing season awaits the Bills.

Miami Dolphins, Truly a nice, young team, but nowhere near the Jets or Patriots.

New England Patriots, Loaded at all positions. If Ocho Cinco performs, another ring is forthcoming.

New York Jets, Benefit from the best coach in the game. Sanchez still a worry.

AFC North:

Baltimore Ravens, Aging defense not a concern because Ray Lewis isn’t a human being.

Cincinnati Bengals, Your quarterback is retiring in his prime to avoid your team. Wow.

Cleveland Browns, Still a year or two away. Colt McCoy is a good one.

Pittsburgh Steelers, If you ain’t first, you’re last. Last season’s runners-up primed for more.

AFC South:

Houston Texans, Is this finally the year? For Pete’s sake, we’ve waited long enough.

Indianapolis Colts, Peyton Manning’s got a bum neck. They can’t win games without him.

Jacksonville Jaguars, The true definition of average football. Just move to Los Angeles already.

Tennessee Titans, Why did it take for long for Chris Johnson to get paid?

AFC West:

Denver Broncos, Tim Tebow is now third string. Kyle Orton leads team to 5-11.

Kansas City Chiefs, Last season was a fluke. I’ll bet $100, no playoffs this year.

Oakland Raiders, Surprisingly better than normal. Could finish second in this beyond weak division.

San Diego Chargers, A sleeper to win the Super Bowl. In Phillip Rivers I trust.

NFC

NFC East:

Dallas Cowboys, Tanked in 2010. Still have talent to make the new season great.

New York Giants, Eli Manning throws too many picks. Giants aren’t elite until that changes.

Philadelphia Eagles, Signed every free agent possible. Offensive line still can’t protect Mike Vick.

Washington Redskins, Deciding between two quarterbacks. Neither can lead Mike Shanahan to Promised Land.

NFC North:

Chicago Bears, People forget they were NFC’s runners-up last year. Don’t underestimate the Bears.

Detroit Lions, If Stafford’s healthy, opponents beware. The Lions aren’t a punching bag anymore.

Green Bay Packers, Won the Super Bowl with a dozen injured players. That’s just unfair.

Minnesota Vikings, Bye, bye Brett Favre, hello Donovan McNabb. Vikings struggle again this year.

NFC South:

Atlanta Falcons, A popular Super Bowl pick for some. Julio Jones is a stud.

Carolina Panthers, Cam Newton is an option quarterback. That’s never worked in NFL history.

New Orleans Saints, Truly an offensive juggernaut. With better defensive line play, another ring possible.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers, A 10-6 team last year. No way they sniff 10 wins again.

NFC West:

Arizona Cardinals, Kevin Kolb’s the real deal. Arizona is the clear-cut NFC West favorites.

San Francisco 49ers, The 49ers will again rely on Alex Smith under center. Big mistake.

Seattle Seahawks, They beat the Saints in the playoffs. Marshawn Lynch is still running.

St. Louis Rams, Sam Bradford gives you hope, something you haven’t had since Kurt Warner.

Playoff Predictions:

With all of this said, give me the Chargers in the AFC and the Packers in the NFC.

From there, it’s truly a toss-up, but I’ll take the Chargers, they are too talented to not get a ring on their fingers.

As always, I’ll man-up to my pick when the season draws to a close.

Until then, I have 12 words for you all.

“Rejoice, it’s finally football season, the most wonderful time of the year!”