NFL Predictions 2012: 7 Teams That Will Surprise This Season

The NFL season is right around corner, which means everyone is preparing their fantasy leagues and making their predictions. Every player has been given projected stats and the favorites have been pegged.

If predictions were a certainty, though, then there would be no reason to even play the season. What makes football so great is that any team can win on any given night. Any player can be the hero on any given day. 

Every season there are surprises, both good and bad. Sometimes a team comes out of nowhere, and sometimes a team inexplicably collapses. 

Here are picks for who will defy the odds this season. 

1. Denver Broncos

Between all the media attention Peyton Manning and Tim Tebow have gotten over the past six months, it's easy to forget the Broncos won a playoff game last year.

Manning has yet to take a meaningful snap since returning from injury, but it's pretty safe to assume he'll be a better passer than Tebow was last season. Willis McGahee also leads a running game that led the league in rushing last season. To help that aspect of the offense, Demaryius Thomas and Eric Decker provide solid targets for Eli's older brother.

The defensive line has a lot of work to do, but the Broncos are sure to surprise more than a few people by actually winning some games the old-fashioned way. 

2. New Orleans Saints

No matter what happens this season, the New Orleans Saints will surprise people. 

The defensive unit is depleted from the bounty scandal and the team will have to do without their emblematic coach Sean Payton for the year. To make matters worse, Robert Meachem has left town.

All of those things will work against the Saints, but that doesn't change the fact that Drew Brees is still their quarterback. He is an amazing leader, and perhaps an even better passer. Marques Colston, Lance Moore and Jimmy Graham are still around and combine for an extremely dangerous offense.

It all depends on how much Brees can keep this team together, and if the team sees this season as lost or not. No matter what their final record is though, people will be surprised. 

3. Chicago Bears

It seems like the Chicago Bears have been on the brink of being elite for some time now, but the reality is this team is already among the league's best. They made the NFC Championship game two seasons ago and were 7-3 before Jay Cutler went down with an injury last year.

Jay Cutler isn't the most dynamic figure in football, but he is extremely solid and can lead this offense with disconcerting ease. He now has Brandon Marshall and Alshon Jeffery to throw to as well as the fantastic Matt Forte to run the ball. To make the team even scarier, Devin Hester can score at any moment and the defense has been terrifying for years. 

The Chicago Bears may get lost playing in the same division as the Green Bay Packers, but this could be the year they get revenge for that NFC Championship game loss. 

4. Dallas Cowboys

Actually, it may not even be a surprise anymore if Dallas underachieves this season. It seems every year Tony Romo is expected to lead the Cowboys to the promised land, and yet it never quite pans out.

Unfortunately for America's Team, that trend may continue this season.

Demarco Murray is a great running back, but he will need plenty of help from an offensive line that has yet to play together. ESPN reports that tight end Jason Witten has yet to be medically cleared to play. Miles Austin has become a permanent injury risk. Tony Romo has yet to truly live up to expectations.

Dallas has plenty of talent on paper, but the skepticism some show when Dallas is pegged as a contender is warranted until they show they can put it all together. 

5. Indianapolis Colts

Much like the Saints, the Indianapolis Colts could surprise us in many ways. The team was atrocious last year and let their star quarterback Peyton Manning go.

The defense will be switching to a 3-4 system under Chuck Pagano so it is yet to be seen how the unit transitions. However, for the first time in a while, there is hope. That hope is named Andrew Luck.

Luck was touted as one of the best quarterbacks coming out of college ever, and he has looked the part during the preseason. He is still a rookie and can't be expected to be an immediate savior (after all even Manning went 3-13 his first season) but he can begin to lead the team back to the top.

Indianapolis won't be winning the title this year, but they will surprise people with just how steep their margin of progression will be. 

6. New England Patriots

The New England Patriots narrowly missed out on their fourth Super Bowl title in a decade last season, so no one expects them to be anything but good. Where they will surprise, however, is exactly how good they will be.

Bill Belichick has made a career of getting the most out of his players, and this group may be the most talented he's ever worked with.

Brandon Lloyd and Wes Welker are fantastic complements at wide receiver and will give Tom Brady plenty to work with. Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez are the best tight end duo in the league. Tom Brady is Tom Brady. 

The Patriots still don't have an elite defense, but this team will be scary good this season. 

7. New York Giants

The New York Giants won't be surprising anyone opening week, but rather come playoff time. It seems difficult to imagine the defending Super Bowl champions surprising people in crunch time, but the Giants have such an astoundingly difficult schedule that they are likely to be written off by January. 

In the second part of their schedule, Big Blue will face the Steelers, Bengals, Packers, Saints, Falcons, Ravens and Eagles. Coming out of that stretch alive will be an accomplishment by itself, but the losses on their resume will lead to being forgotten.

That's when Tom Coughlin's team will try to pull off exactly what has led them to win two Super Bowls in the last five years. Eli Manning is an elite quarterback, the defensive line is fantastic and the wide receivers are superb.

The running game is weak and the offensive line may be a problem, but if we've learned anything, it is to never count out the Giants.