The Giants are the defending Super Bowl champions, having disposed of the New England Patriots in the big game for the second time in five seasons last February, winning by a 21-17 score.
There are many questions looming of course, as the 32 NFL squads compete in training camps and the pre-season games during the month of August.
Can the Giants win it all again? How about the Patriots, can they bounce back? How will the "bounty gate" impact the New Orleans Saints, who lost several players as well as Head Coach Sean Payton to suspensions for the 2012 season? Will all the moves by the Chicago Bears be enough to get them past the vaunted Green Bay Packers in the NFC North division?
Or will the Baltimore Ravens, despite an aging defense, continue to thwart nature and go deep in the AFC playoffs once again? How about Denver with quarterback Peyton Manning now running the offense?
The Pittsburgh Steelers, like their rivals in Baltimore, with an aging defense and questions surrounding running back Rashard Mendenhall (coming off knee surgery) and holdout wide receiver Mike Wallace... will that have an impact on their offense?
Every season brings new questions and this year is no different as the teams get it going once again.
The Giants came out of nowhere to win the Super Bowl last season, as QB Eli Manning delivered once again in the clutch. The defense rose up once the post-season got going, knocking off the mighty Packers in the NFC playoffs (on the road) and then did it again a week later as they traveled to San Francisco and beat the upstart 49ers in the NFC title game to reach the Super Bowl.
In fact, when you look back at the past six or seven seasons, the NFL has crowned "unlikely" champions who rose up when the playoffs got going.
In 2005, the Pittsburgh Steelers were the sixth seeded team in the AFC and won the whole thing by taking three straight games on the road in the playoffs before throttling the Seattle Seahawks in the Super Bowl.
The 2006 season saw the Indianapolis Colts finally get the Super Bowl ring by beating the Chicago Bears in rainy Miami. The Colts limped into the playoffs, but their defense, which was ranked last against the run during regular season, came alive and helped secure the title.
The 2007 Giants, yet another sixth seeded playoff team, beat the undefeated Patriots, 17-14 in a memorable Super Bowl after winning on the road against Dallas and Green Bay, which still had Brett Favre at QB at the time.
In 2008, the Steelers did it again over the Cinderella like Arizona Cardinals, who caught fire in the playoffs after going just 9-7 in the regular season. In fact, the Red Birds nearly won the game as they stormed back in the finals seven minutes of the game before Santonio Holmes made a memorable touchdown catch in the closing moments to give the Steelers their record sixth Super Bowl trophy.
The exception to the NFL post-season trend was in 2009 when the favorites, New Orleans and Indianapolis, played in the big game where the Saints, led by QB Drew Brees, won 31-17. The game was close until Tracy Porter raced for a touchdown after intercepting Peyton Manning in the final minutes of the game.
The Green Bay Packers were the NFC's sixth seed at 10-6 in 2010 and then steamrolled their way into the Super Bowl behind solid defense and the play of QB Aaron Rodgers on their way to a Super Bowl win over Pittsburgh.
It just shows that the regular season doesn't mean a whole lot once the playoffs start.
Who will be this year's upstart team?
The Kansas City Chiefs come to mind in the AFC as they are looking to bounce back with a new coach and renewed hopes after finishing in last place in the AFC West while seeing several key players sit out most or all of last year with injuries, including star running back Jamaal Charles.
The Philadelphia Eagles are another team looking to atone once the new season kicks off. Michael Vick and company finished 8-8 and narrowly missed the playoffs in the NFC as they watched the division rival Giants (9-7) go all the way.
There are many dark horse teams along with "favorites" to choose from for the 2012 season. The questions remain to be answered.
One thing is certain in the NFL for 2012 ... unpredictability will abound once again.
Looking forward to the return on NFL football.
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