NFL Picks Week 12: New England Patriots and Teams That Will Dominate Competition

As we enter Week 12 in the 2011 NFL season, teams are starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel. 

For some, that light is the end of the season and their ticket back to the offseason.  For others, it is the light of the playoffs. 

Some teams look at the rest of the schedule and, although no game in the NFL is a guarantee win, picture the future and where they stand in the next few weeks. 

This is either due to their lackluster schedule or the confidence that they are just going to demolish every team they play. 

Here are a few teams that will continue to dominate their competition en route to the playoffs and potentially the Super Bowl.  

New England Patriots

The New England Patriots have one of if not the easiest schedule left in the NFL. 

This is good for any team but especially the Patriots who have some major defensive flaws they need to correct before the postseason. 

Luckily for this squad, Tom Brady and Bill Belichick will not let off the throttle.  If they are beating a team by 20, they will try to make it 30.  That is just the way Belichick coaches. 

Brady leads a talented group on the offensive side with tight ends that are playing great, as well as a receiver core who although are not physically big, know how to find the open areas to gain big yards. 

The Patriots rank second in pass offense and have averaged 26.6 points per game.  This means that no team can really play a “wait-it-out” style of play.  If they do not put up big points on the board, it will be difficult to win. 

With the easy lineup for the Patriots in the coming weeks, it looks like they will be able to steamroll through the regular season and get an automatic bid to the playoffs for winning the AFC East.  

Green Bay Packers

This team is pretty interesting.  Although they give up big yards on defense, the offense is so good it does not really affect the outcome of the game.

The Packers have this ability to just win which is obvious from their undefeated record thus far.

Regardless of the teams they have to face, they have an otherworldly aura around them.  They feel invincible and are looking to repeat as Super Bowl champs. 

From the looks of their schedule, it will not be an easy road to an undefeated season.  They most likely won't steamroll past their opponents, but there is no evidence to suggest that they will lose to any of them either. 

Detroit and Chicago pose interesting matchups, however, the edge still has to favor the undefeated Packers. 

If the Packers maintain their level of play and average 32.3 points a game like they have been, it will be tough for any team just to simply keep up with this team.  

San Francisco 49ers

These bay area natives are in arguably the worst division in the NFL with a combined record of 9-21 (excluding the 49ers 9-1 mark).

San Francisco is steamrolling past their opponents and are poised to make it to the playoffs and maybe even the Super Bowl. 

The most surprising part about this is their record last year was an abysmal 6-10 record and the year before that it was 8-8. 

They have shown the most improvement and more impressively are doing it with their defense. 

With the exception of Baltimore and Pittsburgh on the horizon,they have a fairly easy schedule and are most likely going to take care of business against Seattle, Arizona and St. Louis. 

Even if they were to lose the two games against the Ravens and Steelers, they could still go .500 with the rest of their schedule and take first place in the NFC West. 

Aside from the impressive play of the Green Bay Packers this year, the 49ers are showing that they are a serious contender for the Super Bowl trophy.  

Pittsburgh Steelers

Mike Tomlin and the Pittsburgh Steelers are a force to be reckoned with.  After starting off slow with Ben Roethlisberger struggling, they have managed to pick up their play and become the league's seventh-ranked passing attack. 

The Steelers are ranked third in opponents passing yards as well as sixth in opponent rush yards. 

Being in the same division as the Ravens, their schedules are fairly similar.  This being said, it will be a tight race to the end to see who wins the AFC North. 

In order for the Steelers to win, it looks like they will need to win out and hope that the 49ers beat Baltimore. 

Pittsburgh has picked up their pace in all facets of the game and are plowing through their schedule. 

They will be tough to stop and it does not look like any team besides the 49ers have a good shot at taking them down.  

Baltimore Ravens

Luckily for the Ravens they have already played the Steelers twice, so until the playoffs, they will not have to deal with Tomlin’s squad. 

Aside from their weekend battle with the San Francisco 49ers, the rest of their schedule looks like it will tip in their favor. 

The Ravens and Steelers are in close contention to win the AFC North, but regardless of who wins, both are most likely making the playoffs either as division winners or wild cards. 

Baltimore looks forward to games against teams such as the struggling Chargers, the Browns (twice) and the winless Colts. 

The defense still ranks among the league's best, but quarterback Joe Flacco and the offense remain a question mark.  If they can mange to put up a decent amount of points on the board, they will be nearly impossible to stop or even slow down. 

The Ravens will finish off this regular season with a bang and make their way forward into a deep playoff run.