Season picks: Raven-ous AFC, but Pack-ed XLV

Prisco: Colts gallop on but Falcons rising | SI.com predictions

Judge's Predictions: 2010 NFL Playoffs
Wildcard	Divisional	AFC Title	Super Bowl	NFC Title	Divisional	Wildcard
BAL vs. PIT	BAL vs. IND	BAL vs. SD	Green Bay Packers vs. Baltimore Ravens	GB vs. MIN	GB vs. NYG	NYG vs. SF
NYJ vs. NE	SD vs. NYJ				MIN vs. NO	MIN vs. DAL

MVP: Aaron Rodgers,, Packers. He hasn't won a playoff game, yet people already tout him as one of the game's elite quarterbacks. Slow down. You must win something of consequence before you start taking bows, and Rodgers will. My guess is that he produces all sorts of big numbers offensively, and all sorts of big wins and that he leads the Packers to the top of a division that includes two of the best teams in the game. A year ago he couldn't overcome Brett Favre in two starts. This season he will. And he'll jump to the top of the MVP charts.

Are John Harbaugh's Ravens looking super? (Getty Images)

Coach of the Year: John Harbaugh, Ravens. He's been to the playoffs in each of his two years as head coach, and he made an impact there. In his first season he knocked off Tennessee, a club with the home-field advantage, then graduated to the conference championship game. In his second year, he became the first coach to beat Tom Brady and Bill Belichick in a playoff game in New England. So Harbaugh is ready for the next challenge, and getting to the Super Bowl qualifies. This may be his chance. The Ravens are loaded at virtually every position but cornerback, and quarterback Joe Flacco has all the right components to quarterback a Super Bowl contender. Nevertheless, the Jets' Rex Ryan says it is his team -- and not Baltimore or Indianapolis or San Diego or New England -- that is the AFC heavyweight, and maybe he's right. All I know is that we get an early read Monday. No matter what happens, I'll still take Baltimore, with Harbaugh taking the club to the Super Bowl.

Offensive Player of the Year: Adrian Peterson, RB, Vikings. With Sidney Rice out for half the season and Percy Harvin complaining of migraines again, the Vikings may have to tilt their offense more toward Peterson and less toward Brett Favre. Favre was the story a year ago, producing his best season as a pro and passing the Vikings to the conference championship game. But how can you ignore Peterson? All he did was lead the league in touchdowns. I'd expect a repeat performance, only with more scores, more yards and more highlight reels because the Vikes will turn to Peterson out of necessity. He's an elite back, and no one should expect Favre to repeat the season he had a year ago. So get Peterson more involved, and see what happens. I expect plenty will.

Defensive Player of the Year: Patrick Willis, OLB, 49ers. A tackling machine, he finally should get the attention he deserves because San Francisco finally should get attention. Reason? The 49ers look ready to return to the playoffs. I know, I worry about Alex Smith and the offense, too, but I never worry about Willis. He makes a ton of plays, dominates games and overwhelms opponents. He also led the league in tackles in two of his first three seasons. In short, he is the best player on a rapidly improving team, and the more exposure the 49ers get the more exposure Willis gets. He's been on Pro Bowl and All-Pro teams before. Now he should take the next step, and this is it.

Offensive Rookie of the Year: Ryan Mathews, RB, Chargers. He plays for Norv Turner, and Norv Turner loves to run the ball. So he will run Ryan Mathews again, again and again -- and Mathews will respond with big numbers. Look what Turner did with LaDainian Tomlinson in L.T.'s rookie season: He had him carry 339 times, with Tomlinson producing 1,236 yards and 10 TDs. Look for Mathews to approach those numbers this season. He won't get as many carries because the Chargers have Philip Rivers as their quarterback, but I'll take the over on yards and touchdowns. There's a reason the Bolts traded up to get this guy, and you're about to discover it.

Defensive Rookie of the Year: Ndamukong Suh, DE, Lions. OK, so it's a cop out. He was the first defensive player drafted. But it happened for a good reason: The guy is a load. I see what Albert Haynesworth did with Jim Schwartz in Tennessee, and wonder why the same thing can't happen with Suh in Detroit. It can, and skeptics can rewind the videotape to his hit on Cleveland's Jake Delhomme in the preseason. Defensive coordinator Gunther Cunningham said that Suh was drawing double teams early in preseason, which tells you what opponents think of him. He should be a force.

Wes Welker has already beaten long odds. (Getty Images)

Comeback Player of the Year: Wes Welker, WR, Patriots. He's already a finalist for this award, simply by stepping on the field in training camp. Welker wasn't supposed to return this soon. In fact, I know people who considered his knee injury in the 2009 regular-season finale so severe they had it pegged as "career-threatening." I guess they don't know Welker. He's courageous and indestructible, returning this summer as Tom Brady's security blanket out of the slot. I expect New England to throw and to throw a lot, with Welker pulling down another zillion passes and winning this award by a landslide.

Step-back Player: Thomas Jones, RB, Chiefs. It's just bound to happen. He turned 32 last month, and he shares the running-back position with Jamaal Charles. So he won't get the carries he had last season, and he won't run behind the offensive line he had last season. I know, I know, he was the AFC's second-best rusher a year ago and put up 14 touchdowns, but the number that makes the biggest difference to me is 32. Backs that age typically aren't productive, with the Jets' Curtis Martin Exhibit A. At 31, he won the league rushing title; at 32 he was injured and had to leave the game. The Chiefs like Jones for his veteran leadership, and they'll get that from him. What they won't get is 1,000 yards.

Team on the rise: Chiefs. Let's make something clear: I'm not saying the Chiefs challenge San Diego for supremacy of the AFC West, but I am saying those days of 2-14 and 4-12 are over. The Chiefs had a marvelous draft, filled in nicely with free-agent acquisitions and have a chance to make a move on .500. After clearing some of the debris that was holding the club back, coach Todd Haley believes he has a foundation on which to build -- and he might. But he has the schedule to get there, too. Look at Kansas City's opponents after its Oct. 17 date at Houston. Only two of the 11 teams they face had winning records last season. The Chiefs should ride that to respectability.

Team on the decline: Broncos. The Broncos lost eight of their last 10 last season, but that was with the league's top pass rusher and one of its best pass catchers. Now, Elvis Dumervil and Brandon Marshall are gone -- Dumervil lost for the season with a torn pectoral muscle, and Marshall sent to Miami -- and the Broncos are on the next elevator going down. Denver lost its defensive coordinator, too, with Mike Nolan moving to Miami after one season with the Broncos, and I mention that because when I think of the team's six-game winning streak to open the 2009 season I think of its defense. The Broncos surrendered 66 points in those games, including 43 in the first five, with Nolan taking curtain calls. Well, now he's down the road, along with a lot of other guys, and Tim Tebow or not, this team is in trouble.

Best free-agent pickup: Marc Bulger, QB, Ravens. I absolutely love this move. For years the Ravens flew without a safety net, calling on young quarterbacks to produce, with no veteran backup to mentor them. That strategy changed the minute the Ravens signed Bulger, who could start for a lot of teams today. He's smart. He's experienced. He's accurate. And he's won a lot of games. In short, he's the perfect guy to sit behind starter Joe Flacco. Bulger can serve as a second coach for Flacco, but he can step in and win a ballgame or two, if necessary. A year ago, Troy Smith was the Ravens' second option. Now, it's Bulger. That is a big step forward.

Worst free-agent pickup: Adam "Pacman" Jones, DB, Bengals. I'm sorry, I don't want guys who make more appearances on a police blotter than they do in the huddle. Jones was drummed out of football for a reason: He's a bad guy who can't stay out of trouble. I don't care that he has football skills. Eventually, he will get himself ... and his team ... in deep kimchi. Why? Easy: He can't help himself. Jerry Jones thought he could straighten out "Pacman," so he took a flyer on the guy, and you saw how that worked out. But I don't blame "Pacman;" I blame the Cowboys. Adam Jones is who he is, and anyone who thinks he will change is delusional.

Judge's 2010 Predicted Order of Finish
AFC East	AFC South	AFC North	AFC West
1. Jets	1. Colts	1. Ravens	1. Chargers
2. Patriots (wildcard)	2. Titans	2. Steelers (wildcard)	2. Chiefs
3. Dolphins	3. Texans	3. Bengals	3. Raiders
4. Bills	4. Jaguars	4. Browns	4. Broncos
NFC East	NFC South	NFC North	NFC West
1. Cowboys	1. Saints	1. Packers	1. 49ers
2. Giants (wildcard)	2. Falcons	2. Vikings (wildcard)	2. Seahawks
3. Eagles	3. Panthers	3. Lions	3. Cardinals
4. Redskins	4. Bucs	4. Bears	4. Rams