Over the last decade or so, the Oakland Raiders have gone from perennial Super Bowl title contenders to arguably one of the worst teams in the NFL.

With little to hope for the future, the Raiders seemed to get progressively worse with every passing season and despite getting high draft picks over the years, Oakland has continued to make the wrong decisions with players like quarterback JaMarcus Russell and running back Darren McFadden.

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Even though the Oakland Raiders have gotten worse and worse over the years, there finally seems to be hope for the struggling NFL franchise as they made a bold move in the offseason by releasing draft bust JaMarcus Russell and trading for quarterback Jason Campbell from the Washington Redskins.

Jason Campbell might not be a Drew Brees, Tom Brady or Peyton Manning, but he could be the missing piece of the puzzle in
Oakland as he numbers have improved every since season with the Redskins and the Raiders have been in dire need of a quarterback that can hold his own under center.

Obviously, there will be a learning curve for Campbell in Oakland, but he has impressed the Raiders coaching staff so far and most importantly, he has already gotten the respect of his teammates.

During the JaMarcus Russell era in Oakland, the biggest problem with the former number one overall pick was his mobility and accuracy. Even though the LSU standout might have been able to turn things around in a year or two, the Raiders and head coach Tom Cable were tired of waiting for this kid to come around and decided to move on.

So with Jason Campbell now under center with a promising young receiving corps (Chaz Schilens, Darrius Heyward-Bey, Zach Miller, Louis Murphy and Johnnie Lee-Higgins) and two running backs on the verge of a breakout season (Darren McFadden and Michael Bush), the Oakland Raiders offense could be a force to be reckoned with in the AFC Conference this season, but it might be the defense that propels the team back into the playoffs.

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Even though the offense is making headlines after the team acquired Jason Campbell, the Oakland Raiders defense could be what people end up taking about as Tom Cable’s secondary and defensive line is much improved this time around.

There is no doubt that the Raiders will have their work cut out for them this season in the AFC West division as the San Diego Chargers, who have won the division title five of the last six years (2004, 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009), will be Super Bowl title contenders once again and the Denver Broncos might surprise some people for the second straight season.

It is pretty much a foregone conclusion that the Chargers will come out on top in the AFC West, but if the Oakland Raiders can play well throughout the regular season, they just might be able to contend for the AFC Wildcard.

Fortunately, the Raiders have a favorable schedule and things will be looking up heading into the regular season.

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Last season the New England Patriots were able to get back to form as All-Pro quarterback Tom Brady finally looked healthy and the offense started to fire on all cylinders once again, but even though the Patriots seemed poised to make some noise in the AFC Conference, they were knocked out early in the playoffs against the up and coming Baltimore Ravens.

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After the Ravens made easy work of Bill Belichick’s squad, some changes were on the horizon as the defense needed some serious upgrades as the Ravens Pro Bowl running back Ray Rice just ran all over the field against the Patriots and shed light on a secondary that needs an overhaul.

Even though it was obvious that the New England Patriots’ defense was no longer amongst the best in the league after the retirement of veterans like Teddy Bruschi and Rodney Harrison and trades sending Richard Seymour (Oakland Raiders) and Mike Vrabel (Kansas City Chiefs) elsewhere, the Patriots are still favored to made an impression in the AFC Conference this season.

As of right now, the Indianapolis Colts are the team to beat in the AFC and other teams like the New York Jets (AFC East division rival), Baltimore Ravens and the San Diego Chargers will also be forces to be reckoned with in the conference, but with the New England Patriots experience and the fact that future Hall of Fame quarterback Tom Brady looks as good as ever under center, Belichick’s squad could fly under the radar this season and quickly become Super Bowl title contenders.

The one problem the Patriots will have this season will be containing potent offenses and maintaining leads. With a questionable defense and the fact that the team’s best defensive end Ty Warren has gone down for the season with the a hip injury, the Patriots could be in trouble if they can’t stop opposing offenses from scoring.

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Even though the New England Patriots offense seems to be back to form with a healthy Tom Brady, Wes Welker and Randy Moss, their defense could be their Achilles heel once again and the reason they might not be able to compete with the best of the best in the AFC.

Needless to say, despite the Patriots defense almost certainly struggling this season, with head coach Bill Belichick on the sidelines and Tom Brady leading the offense, New England will always have a legitimate shot at contending for a Super Bowl title.

Perhaps the New England Patriots biggest challenge this season will be within their own division in the AFC East as they will be trying to hold off the New York Jets from winning the division title.

Over the last nine years, the New England Patriots have won the AFC East division title seven times (2001, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2009), but their reign as the team to beat in the division might be over as the New York Jets will be Super Bowl title contenders this season and aiming at taking down their division rivals.

Ultimately, I believe the New England Patriots will be playoff bound this season, but in the end they won’t get much further than the first or second round.

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The Green Bay Packers are officially done with Brett Favre era at Lambeau Field and even though many people thought it would be a rocky divorce which would take the team a few seasons to get back into playoff contention in the NFC conference, Aaron Rodgers and company have done just fine on their own and will give Brett Favre and the Minnesota Vikings a run for their money in the NFC North division this season.

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Even though last season Aaron Rodgers spent a lot of time on his back being sacked 70 times and having get the ball out as quickly as possible due to a intense pass rush on every snap, the Green Bay Packers have made considerable upgrades to their offensive line and will look to be even better this season with Rodgers possibly having another career year under center.

Ironically enough, even though Aaron Rodgers couldn’t get any protection all year long, the up and coming quarterback still finished with some of the best numbers under center in the league (4,434 passing yards, 30 passing touchdowns, 314 rushing yard, 5 rushing touchdowns).

Finishing 7th overall in passing yards (261.3 yards per game) with Aaron Rodgers under center and 14th overall in rushing yards (117.8 rushing yards per game) with Ryan Grant coming out of the backfield, the Green Bay Packers have one of the most dynamic offenses in the NFL, but ironically they have one of the elite defenses in the league led by reigning Defensive Player of the Year in cornerback Charles Woodson.

With the best run defense (83.3 rushing yards per game) and the 5th best pass defense (201.1 passing yards per game) in the NFL, the Packers have one of the most well rounded team in the league and could very well be Super Bowl title contenders heading into the 2010-2011 NFL season.

There is no doubting the Green Bay Packers ability to be one of the best teams in the league, but they will have their work cut out for them in the NFC Conference once again this season as teams like the Minnesota Vikings, Dallas Cowboys and the defending Super Bowl champion New Orleans Saints will have their sights set on playing in Arlington, Texas this February.

Even though I believe the Dallas Cowboys and the Minnesota Vikings or better team as of right now, the Green Bay Packers have one of the easiest schedules of any Super Bowl title contender in the NFC conference this season.

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Besides playing the Philadelphia Eagles to open the season and teams like the New York Jets (Week 8), Dallas Cowboys (Week 9), Atlanta Falcons (Week 12), New England Patriots (Week 15) and the Minnesota Vikings twice (Week 7 and 11), the Green Bay Packers have a fairly easy road to the playoffs with the potential to finish the regular with a record of 10-6 if they lost to all of these teams mentioned.

Chances are pretty good that Aaron Rodgers and company will be playoff bound once again, but the real question is whether or not they will be able to give the Minnesota Vikings a run for their money in the race for the NFC North division title.

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Over the past decade or so, the Indianapolis Colts have been arguably one of the most successful teams in the AFC as they have won AFC South division six times (2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009), the AFC Conference twice (2006, 2009) and one Super Bowl title (2006).

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Every single year that the Colts have four-time NFL MVP quarterback Peyton Manning under center, Indianapolis has a legitimate shot at contending for a Super Bowl title and this season will be no different as the Colts could actually be better than last season when they were able to finish the regular season with a 14-2 record and reached the Super Bowl.

Even though the Indianapolis Colts have never been known for their defense or their running game over the past decade, finished last in rushing yards last season with 80.9 yards per game, they have never needed to be dominant in either area due to the brilliance of Peyton Manning under center.

Obviously, Peyton Manning isn’t getting any younger at 34 years of age, but he is still the best player at his position and can single handedly lead his team to the Super Bowl.

This year the Indianapolis Colts will have one goal heading into the NFL regular season as it will be Super Bowl or bust, but even though they lost in the big game last season to the New Orleans Saints, the Colts are considered the favorites to win a Super Bowl title right now and for good reason.

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Last season was the first year of the post Tony Dungy and Marvin Harrison era in Indianapolis and not many people knew what to expect as Peyton Manning no longer had his go to wide receiver in the offense and his mentor on the sidelines, but it didn’t seem to matter as the perennial Pro Bowler was able to lead this team to an almost flawless record in the regular season and all the way to the Super Bowl with a group of relatively unknown players.

Obviously, Manning still had tight end Dallas Clark and wide receiver Reggie Wayne at his disposal, but with players like Austin Collie and Pierre Garcon to check down to, the consensus was that the Colts might struggle.

Despite concern surrounding the Colts new young wideouts, Indianapolis quickly came into their own and went on a tear to start the season with 14 straight wins and the two loses coming at the hands of the team’s reserves as new head coach Jim Caldwell decided to sit his starters for the last two games of the regular season.

So with one full season of experience with Peyton Manning under center, the Colts talented young wideouts have officially become veterans and could help the team put up record numbers this season as Indianapolis could be headed
to their second straight Super Bowl appearance and second Super Bowl title in three years.

The Colts won’t be without their fair share of competition though as they will have to deal with the likes of the New York Jets, New England Patriots and San Diego Chargers in the AFC Conference, but they should still come out on top in my opinion.

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