Are you ready for some football?

Finally, winter, spring and summer have come and gone and the fall air is crisp with the sounds of rustling leaves and tackling players. Football is back and not a moment to soon. Here in Miami much has changed since the last football season.

The Heat have been dethroned as champions being swept in the first round ignominiously by the Baby Bulls. Yet all was not lost as the whiny, ever-complaining, choking, can't get it done, we're the real champions saying, we were robbed acting, our owner is a buffoon having Dallas Mavericks were dropped in the first round by the number 8 seed Golden State Warriors, proving once and fall that champions are crowned in June not November to April. The Mavs were summarily dismissed as they should have been, all year they were focused on what happened to them how they were the true champions and then when it came time to put up they were emphatically shut up.

The Marlins, well let's not talk about the Marlins, but hey at least they get an A for effort.

The Panthers are trying to revive hockey, but let's face it unless rats are being thrown around no one will know about it.

Which brings us to the Dolphins. The Dolphins who teased everyone in their pursuit of Brady Quinn only to pick Ted Ginn Jr when Brady fell into their laps at number 9. Outrage isn't strong enough to describe the initial emotions following that pick. Shock. Embarrassment. Shame. Sadness. Confusion. All these and more would be appropriate. Yet, something happened, the draft unfolded and a plan was seen. The Dolphins solidified their special teams unit, their O line and did draft a quarterback of the future, the multi-lingual, accurate, talented, humble and happy to be here John Beck.

As training camp and mini camps came and went it became clear this Dolphin team just might have a shot. Maybe Cam Cameron knows what he's doing, maybe the Dolphins are better than anybody thought, after all everyone picked them to make the Super Bowl last year and they stumbled badly, maybe just maybe the opposite will be true this year. Last year was a fairy tale season for New Orleans and Indy for different reasons Indy was finally crowned champions after years of expectations and the Saints were nearly in the Super Bowl after years of nearly no expectations. Who will be the fairy tale team this year? Let's turn to the NFL Preview, Primetime style to find out.

Well on to the picks:

NFC EAST
1.Dallas 11-5
2.Washington 9-7
3.Philadelphia 7-9
4.NY Giants 5-11

This is an always entertaining division and with the return to form of the Dallas Cowboys we should all prepare ourselves for the barrage of annoying phone calls, text messages and e-mails from Cowboy fans to NFL and non NFL fans everywhere about how they are back. TO will be let loose to do his damage as Wade Phillips and Bill Parcells are as polar opposite on discipline wise as North and South. Washington has a chance on paper every year, but Jason Cambell will need to adjust to take them to the next level, i.e. the playoffs. Meanwhile Philly and the Giants represent the biggest axiom in all of football, you are only as good as your quarterback. McNabb has been injury prone and doesn't have enough weapons on offense, the D is aging and Andy Reid can't wait to put in his rookie draft pick into play. The Giants have already quit on Eli and Tom Coughlin and unless Eli gets a shot of Peyton juice the Gints are going nowhere and fast.

NFC Central
1.Chicago 12-4
2.Green Bay 10-6
3.Minnesota 6-10
4.Detroit 6-10

Chicago is easily the class of this group but the Packers in Brett Favre's latest last hurrah will have just enough to sneak to a wild card. The Packer's defense has the potential to be top 5 this year and Favre should make the adjustments necessary to take this team to the playoffs. Meanwhile Tavaris Jackson is expected to be a savior in Minnesota, he's not. Not yet anyways, maybe in the future. Finally does anyone really expect Matt Millen to have a winning team in Detroit. I say no.

NFC South
1.New Orleans 13-3
2.Atlanta 8-8
3.Carolina 7-9
4.Tampa 4-12

The Saints had to adjust to new players, new coaching staff, a return to New Orleans and were still one good half from being in the Super Bowl. This year they'll get home field advantage with a chance to win that NFC Championship at home. They will only improve on last year and will be a juggernaut. Atlanta will surprise some but in reality Joey Harrington is capable of leading them to a good season, they won't be the train wreck that some foresee and will battle through the year before ending at .500 Carolina and Tampa unfortunately won't be so lucky they have aging quarterbacks and not enough weapons, add a coach on the hot seat in John Gruden in Tampa and you can see the recipe for disaster in Tampa.

NFC West
1.San Francisco 10-6
2.Seattle 9-7
3.St.Louis 6-10
4.Arizona 5-11

This is the year for San Fran to take it to the next level. Alex Smith has had his seasoning Frank Gore will rush them to glory and Niners make the playoffs. Seattle finishes a close second and will get their chance for a return to the Super Bowl as a wild card. Meanwhile St. Louis while led by Stephen Jackson and Mark Bulger have an average defense and aging wide outs, Isaac Bruce and Tory Holt aren't exactly spring chickens any more. As for Arizona they fall in my Detroit category until they actually perform to expectations they will be in last place for me.

AFC Picks

AFC SOUTH
1.Indy 11-5
2.Houston 8-8
3.Jacksonville 6-10
4.Tennessee 5-11

Indy will always win the division as long as Peyton Manning has breath in his lungs, its that simple. Houston should improve with the addition of Matt Schaub but the playoffs are still at least a year away for them as they adapt to their new QB and are in the 2nd year of the Gary Kubiak system .
Meanwhile Jacksonville and Tennessee will take steps back. David Garrard can play in the NFL but he can't do it by himself. Fred Taylor is never a lock to play in 16 games and Maurice Jones-Drew is still a young back. Tennessee which exploded last year will inevitably take a step back as the Titans front office decided the best way to improve on VY's year and help out was to take away his weapons and not replenish him with new ones. Losing Pac-Man Jones didn't help the defense and special teams either.

AFC WEST

1.San Diego 12-4
2.Denver 8-8
3.Kansas City 6-10
4.Raiders 4-12

San Diego is still at the head of the class in this division and while Norv Turner is no Don Shula even he couldn't screw up this team. It's just too good. Jay Cutler will lead Denver to the brink but it won't be enough despite the dozen successful running backs they seem to have on the roster every year. After watching KC on Hard Knocks, even they can smell that they'll be lucky to get to .500 this year and when you start the season like that well let's face it in a league where everyone thinks they have a chance when you sound like you don't, you don't. Speaking of not having a chance the Raiders have done little to overhaul this team. Starting with a new coaching staff is a positive start but is it enough. No. Maybe JaMarcus Russell will be the next Dan Marino, maybe Mike Williams will become an All Pro, maybe the Raiders defense will be a top 5 unit. Maybe all this will happen, but not this year. Not with Cade McCown and Daunte Culpepper as your two best options at QB, sorry Raider Nation looks like another year of bags over your heads.

AFC North
1.Baltimore 12-4
2.Pittsburgh 10-6
3.Cincinnati 9-7
4.Cleveland 5-11

Despite Steve McNair not being a top 15 QB anymore this team is loaded. With McGahee taking the load on offense, Todd Heap at TE and Mark Clayton emerging as a legitimate wide out plus the always stacked D which won't miss a beat despite losing Adalius Thomas to the Pats, the Ravens were made for the post season this year. Pittsburgh will rebound from last year's championship hangover and make the playoffs. And Cincy at 9-7 will be just strong enough to sneak in and make it a trifecta for the AFC North. Their D isn't Baltimore like by any stretch (whose is?) but their offense is too powerful to be denied despite losing two key offensive linemen. Cleveland may have won the Brady Quinn sweepstakes, but they will lose the battles and the wars, at least this year.

AFC EAST
1.Miami 11-5
2.New England 8-8
3.NY Jets 8-8
4.Buffalo 5-11

Every year a team rises up from the cellar to stun everyone and get it done. We've seen Baltimore, Tampa Bay, St.Louis, New England and other perennially down franchises rise up from the ashes to be Super Bowl Champions, and this year Miami is the team that will surprise. Will it win it all? Keep reading below. But this year Cam Cameron steps in confidently, and with his guys and his system along with Dom Capers D the Dolphins will prevail in the wild and woolly AFC East. Am I an unabashed homer, in September yes, but when it all comes together it will be crystal clear that I was right. As a Miami fan expectations were always a burden, every year was the year, heck one year we had almost 20 former 1st round picks and we missed the playoffs. So this year when no one is looking we will sneak up one everyone. The Pats because of suspensions and injuries will stumble out of the gate. That sound you hear is Donte Stallworth's hamstring popping in a frigid November game. The Jets won't be able to get it done as long as Pennington is the QB and the Bills are simply not ready for primetime yet.

So without further ado, the picks.

AFC Division Champs:
San Diego, Miami, Indy and Baltimore

Wild Cards: Pittsburgh and Cincinnati

1st Round Byes: San Diego and Baltimore
1st Round results: Miami beats Cincinnati, Indy beats Pittsburgh
2nd Round: Mami beats Baltimore, Indy loses to San Diego
AFC CHAMPIONSHIP: San Diego beats Miami

NFC Playoffs:
NFC Division Champs:
New Orleans, Chicago, Dallas, San Francisco
NFC Wildcards: Green Bay, Seattle

1st Round Byes: New Orleans, Chicago
1st Round Results: Dallas beats Seattle, San Francisco beats Green Bay
2nd Round Results: Chicago beats Dallas, New Orleans beats San Francisco
NFC Championship: New Orleans beats Chicago

Super Bowl XLII: New Orleans beats San Diego 31-27

And Saints fans lived happilly ever after.