Femi's Five Bold Statements about the 2010 NFL Season

The NFL offseason has provided us with many storylines. From holdouts, to off-the-field issues, to key acquisitions, etc. In less than a month, the regular season will be underway when the defending Super-Bowl champion New Orleans Saints take on the Minnesota Vikings on Thursday night football. With that being said, I'm going to give you my boldest statements about the upcoming NFL season.

5. At the end of the season Dez Bryant will be one of the most feared receivers in the NFL.

In college Dez Bryant was arguably the best wide receiver in the country. He scored 19 TD's in his sophomore season at Oklahoma State. He would've been the leading candidate for the Biletnikoff Award (best WR in Div-I football) his junior season had he not been suspended for the entire campaign for lying to the NCAA. I believe this kid is far and away the best WR prospect to come out of the draft since Calvin Johnson. He has a boat load of talent and would have been a top 5 pick in the draft if it wasn't for his character being questioned. Mark my word, he will win Offensive Rookie of the Year and will be regarded as one of the top 5 most feared receivers in the league, along with Larry Fitzgerald, Andre Johnson, Calvin Johnson and Brandon Marshall.

4. The Colts and the Saints will not get past the Divisional playoff round.

The two teams that participated in last season's Super Bowl will not make the NFC or AFC Championship game this postseason. The Saints didn't get that much better and I feel like they weren't even the best team in the NFC last season. The Vikings and the Cowboys in my opinion were the two best teams in the NFC and I feel like nothing has changed except that the Cowboys got even better. The Saints were lucky that the Vikings turned the ball over like crazy in the NFC title game last January because they had no business winning that game. The Colts didn't improve either and their competition did. The Jets got extremely better and gave the Colts all they could handle last season. Also, the Steelers are getting healthier, so you can only expect their defense to play to the level that they did when they won the Super Bowl two seasons ago. The Ravens and Bengals got better as well adding Anquan Boldin and Terrell Owens respectively. There is just too much competition for those teams to make it back to championship weekend.

3. Al Davis and the Raiders will be in the playoff hunt this season.

This bold statement may have a lot of people scratching their heads, but I feel good about it. The Raiders, led by head coach Tom Cable, will be in the playoff hunt in December this season. I love the addition of Jason Campbell for them. He is a major upgrade at the quarterback position from Jamarcus Russell. He brings a calmness to the huddle which will be essential for such a young team. Also, second-year wide receiver Darrius Heyward-Bey has been looking real good in camp. He is an explosive weapon who can really stretch the field. The Raiders running game is always good so that should help out Jason Campbell as well. Most importantly, they play in probably one of the worst divisions in the league. I expect the Raiders to be better than the Chiefs and Broncos by default this season. Look for them to finish second in the AFC West with a 8-8, maybe 9-7 record.

2. Brett Favre will retire for his 5th and final time at the end of the season.

Some of you may think this is an obvious bold statement, but with the way Favre has conducted himself the past few offseasons, nothing is ever certain with this guy. At last, I feel like the 2010 season will be the last ride for the ageless one. His body isn't getting younger and will not be able to do the things he's done for almost two decades. I'm also predicting this because I hope it happens, I'm sick to my stomach about hearing about Lord Favre and will jump with joy the day that he finally retires.

1. The Dallas Cowboys will be the first team in NFL history to play in the Super Bowl on their home field.

This is my boldest statement about the 2010 NFL season. The Tony Romo led Dallas Cowboys will make it to the Super Bowl and will play on their home field at Cowboys Stadium. Although they are a very good team, this is a bold statement because no team in NFL history has ever played a home game for the Super Bowl. I feel like Dallas has all the right pieces in place to get to the Super Bowl. They have a franchise quarterback, a great running game, numerous weapons at the wide receiver and tight end position. What might be the best part of the team is their defense. They are bringing one of the best front seven's in all of football and are very athletic in the secondary. They finally got over the playoff-win hump last season and are looking to take the next couple steps and finally make it to the Super Bowl since the 1995 season. If this team focuses on the little things and just gets better week by week, they will be representing the NFC in the Super Bowl.