The 2010 NFL season is almost upon us. Training camps are starting up and soon my dear wife must don the black of a football widow for about 6 months as she mourns my passing -succumbing to the grinds of a 17 week regular season and then the playoffs. I love it.

Don't hold me to any predictions, but I'll take a stab at a few guesses.

1. I doubt the Saints will repeat. Super Bowl repeats are seldom. Too many intangibles stack up against the champs. In their favor, the Saints are not in a very strong division even though the division has a history of the team finishing last the previous year winning the NFC South the next. It won't happen this year. Tampa Bay probably won't climb out of the cellar. Atlanta and Carolina have nice teams but I can't see either overthrowing New Orleans. The Saint's offense, led by Drew Brees has too many weapons and Sean Payton is an outstanding coach. Though their defense has some holes, it is quite capable and opportunistic and their defensive coordinator is one of the best in the league.

2. Green Bay, Minnesota and Dallas should be the other favorites in the NFC. Of the three, Minnesota, though loaded with weapons, is most likely to fall off from last year. Last year they gambled and won by casting their fate on Brett Favre. I could be wrong, but I can't imagine Brett, even if does come back, having the kind of year he had last year. Green Bay looks very good on offense and if their defense picks it up they could very well beat out Minnesota for the NFC North. Every year, everyone declares the NFC East the toughest division in football. I'm not so sure. Dallas certainly should be the team to beat. Donovan McNabb no longer leads the Eagles and will be slinging for the Redskins and New York fell off last year. In a year when the Super Bowl will be played in their stadium, it is tempting to make Dallas the favorite to win it all. I'm not sure Tony Romo can lead them to the championship and I still have doubts about Wade Phillips as a head coach but the Cowboys have talent to spare and may be the team to beat.

3. A number of teams can claim favorite status in the AFC. Our Indianapolis Colts return most of the team that won every game until they took their foot off the gas and coasted into the playoffs then accelerated to the Super Bowl and crashed into a Saints team that put it all together. As usual the Colts didn't go after any big name free agents but they return Anthony Gonzales and hopefully Bob Sanders. Both missed most of last season hampered with injury. Kelvin Hayden should be back healthy. Who needs free agents when you can "add" players to the roster like these. In addition the Colts have been one of the best teams at drafting year in and year out in spite of a low draft position every year. This, of course is due to the genius of Bill Polian. It looks like he did it again this year. The Colts may have gotten the steal of the draft by selecting Defensive End, Jerry Hughes who will remind everyone of Dwight Freeney. This is a position the Colts have been trying to fill for some time and as seen last year and in previous years, when Freeney or Robert Mathis are out of the lineup teams can help out more against the other slowing down our vaunted pass rush which is what ignites the Colts speedy defense. Re-signing Gary Brackett and Antoine Bethea also showed the Colts commitment to their up and coming defense.

Offensively, with the departure of Ryan Lyja, the Colts made some changes on the offensive line, adding some much needed size with hopes to improve a weak running game and provide Peyton Manning better protection. Too bad Howard Mudd retired; he is one of the best offensive line coaches in football and his teaching would have been welcome as the new group will be relied upon. Show me a good offense and I'll show you a good offensive line. Last year's most pleasant surprises were Austin Collie and Pierre Garcon at receiver. Add pro-bowler Reggie Wayne, the return of Anthony Gonzales and, dare I mention, pro-bowler Dallas Clark at tight end and one wonders if Peyton will be able to throw enough passes to keep everybody happy. Maybe Joseph Addai can return to pro-bowl form behind a bigger stronger line and Donald Brown who showed plenty of promise last year can provide a needed punch to the running game, particularly in short yardage situations. Of course 4 time MVP Peyton manning will lead the Colts and as long as he quarterbacks this team the Colts will be a contender.

The AFC South should again be a war. Year in and year out it is one of the toughest divisions in football. Houston, Tennessee and Jacksonville are all capable of making the playoffs. The Colts's records for consecutive 12 win seasons is even more daunting when you consider the division rivals.

Elsewhere in the AFC, the Ravens, the Jets and San Diego appear to be getting the most attention but I wouldn't count out New England. Last year was a transition year for their defense and Brady was coming off injury. Baltimore looks pretty good. They always have a great defense though it is beginning to age and now their offense has caught up to the defense. San Diego will have little competition in the AFC west and if they can prevent getting off to a poor start they could have a banner year. I hate to say it, but Philip Rivers (don't like his cocky attitude) has made the Chargers one of the better passing teams in the league. Everyone's darling the J.E.T.S Jets- Jets- Jets will be an interesting team to watch. Last year everyone drooled over their defense until Peyton carved them up in the playoffs. They have the best shut down corner in the league and they strengthened the corner position in the off season. I'm not sure about the offense. Mark Sanchez proved to be a capable quarterback but he isn't great. The running game is good behind a really good offensive line. We'll see. At least with Rex Ryan coaching we can be assured of some pretty good quotes.

Just read the Cincinnati Bengals signed Terrel Owens to a contract. WHAT ARE THEY THINKING? Last year, the Bengals finally cleaned up their image and swept away the trouble makers and lawbreakers from the ranks. Owens isn't a lawbreaker but he may be the NFL's greatest troublemaker. Controversy surrounds him and the consequences for having him on your team aren't worth the talent he brings. He is also aging and not the player he once was. Ownes' only flirtation with bringing a ring to his team was his first year with Philadelphia, when they lost in the SuperBowl. Owens was terrific and played an inspiring game on a bad leg, but the next year he was poison and he has been poison everywhere he has gone.

5. As a nurse who has been working in the brain injury field for over 17 years, I am glad to see the NFL making progress in concussion awareness. Posters will now hang in locker rooms with tough language warning players of the danger of concussion and the steps to take when experiencing symptoms. These precautions can literally save lives and help players live better lives after retirement.

6. I guess I'm going to have to break down and upgrade my cable TV service in order to get High-Def for football season. The past couple of years, Comcast hadn't upgraded to an all digital system and I ran the cable directly into my TV. The cable acted like an antenna and I was able to get the local High Def signal over the air. With Comcast's change now I'm forced to use one of their cable boxes which forces their signal through channel 3. The over the air signal isn't strong for my TV to pick up where I live. I tried purchasing an antenna and A-B switch but the antenna wasn't strong enough. I would probably have to spend quite a bit on a sufficient antenna and I really would rather not clutter up my entertainment center with any more equipment and wires anyway. I'm spoiled. Watching Football in standard def just doesn't cut it anymore. On the bright side, when I upgrade I think I'll automatically get the NFL network. At least I won't pursue Satellite and Direct TV. (The lay out of trees in our yard would probably hamper the signal.) The temptation with direct TV to purchase the NFL Sunday ticket might be to hard to resist.

LET THE GAMES BEGIN!