It’s time for some

bold predictions.The NFL season kicked off (from the 35 yard line) last night. It was an event that seemed doomed just two months ago when the owners and players were intrenched in a dangerous game of chicken.Luckily for us, frothing-at-the-mouth football fans, cool heads prevailed and the season was saved.Now, we can get on with the business of trying to predict how this crazy season will unfold.It’s hard enough to figure out this league when there is no work stoppage, let alone a 130-plus-day one that condensed free agency into the time it usually takes for Albert Haynesworth to pass a conditioning test.The common perception is the teams that are mostly intact from last season will do the best this year. Why is that? These are professional players. They’ve probably either ran every offense or defense or prepared for every offense or defense before. It shouldn’t be so difficult to pick it up with a new team.This isn’t rocket science. They aren’t trying to map the human genome. As complicated as announcers and analysts try to make it, there are roughly three different kinds of offenses and two kinds of defenses run by the 32 teams in the NFL.With that logic in mind, I’m going to (try) to predict some of the things that will happen this year.•

Who will get “Luck”y? The prevailing thought is Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck will be the first dude off the board in the April 2012 draft and that every stinky team that needs a quarterback, which is pretty much every stinky team, will be positioning themselves in December to get the No. 1 pick to land Luck.Things change quickly, though. At this time last year, everyone had Jake Locher as the No. 1 pick. He went 10th to the Titans in what pundits called a “reach.” Then it was Clemson defensive end Da’Quan Bowers as the can’t miss top pick. He slipped into the second round.No team is going to tank. Who will get the No. 1 pick, though? If Peyton Manning misses the season, I say the Colts.•

Over/under on Tampa Bay Buccaneer arrests? I say three. Troubled corner back Aquib Talib is good for at least two. It’s never good when people refer to you as “troubled” on the first reference.•

Division winners? New England, Baltimore, Houston, San Diego, Philadelphia, Green Bay, Tampa Bay (unless the arrests are over three), St. Louis.•

Wild cards? Pittsburgh, N.Y. Jets, Dallas, Atlanta.•

Super Bowl? Everyone naturally wants to pick the defending champion to get back to the big game. News flash: It almost never happens.That’s why I think it will be San Diego vs. Atlanta with the Chargers winning it all.•

NFL MVP? Aaron Rodgers, and not because of last night.Mike Kilroy is a staff writer for the Butler Eagle.