The 2012 NFL season is finally upon us with Wednesday night’s Giants/Cowboys match-up to finally kick things off.
Since two NFC teams are going to start the season we'll start our Super Bowl odds feature with that conference beginning with the least likely team to win. Odds are the opinion of this writer of course, as are the predicted records.
Minnesota Vikings; 2-14 projected record, 175:1 Super Bowl odds—The Vikings fallen pretty quickly from the fun 12-4 team they were in 2009 with Brett Favre under center. Last year with rookie Christian Ponder at quarterback the team took another step back and went 0-4 down the stretch without the injured Adrian Peterson.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers; 4-12 projected record, 150:1 Super Bowl odds—Tampa Bay has a new coach in Greg Schiano, which is a good start towards contending, but it always takes time for coaches not named Harbaugh to turn things around. Quarterback Josh Freeman threw 22 picks last season and no receiver had 800 yards through the air.
Arizona Cardinals; 4-12 projected record, 135:1 Super Bowl odds—The Cardinals somehow won eight games last season despite the quarterback team of John Skelton and Kevin Kolb which combined for 22 interceptions vs. 20 touchdowns. They need an upgrade at the position before being taken seriously as a contender.
Seattle Seahawks; 5-11 projected record, 130:1 Super Bowl odds—The Seahawks are another team with a question mark at the quarterback position. Though they think they’ve found their quarterback of the future in Russell Wilson, success with a rookie under center in this league is very rare.
St. Louis Rams; 6-10 projected record, 100:1 Super Bowl odds—The Rams are one of the few bottom-feeding teams with a good quarterback—or so most pundits think. Sam Bradford regressed last year but he’s too good not to bounce back this season. Should they get a better defense and some more play-makers on offense this year, they could move on up this list.
Washington Redskins; 7-9 projected record, 90:1 Super Bowl odds—Mike Shanahan has proven that he can get a running game going with anyone at running back, but this year his schemes will be put to the test with his running back by committee of Evan Royster, Roy Helu, and Alfred Morris. Robert Griffin’s development will be key for them this season.
