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The NFL season is practically upon us - in fact, it opens Thursday night for all of you fans of the defending world champion New York Giants (and I'm sure that still pains most New Englanders to read that). The game against the Washington Native Americans kicks off on your TV sets sometime after 7 p.m., with Mr. Do-You-Believe-In-Miracles and the video game guy handling the broadcasting duties on NBC.

What better time is there, therefore, to run through the Farinella's Fearless Forecast for the entire NFL season?

Each year at this time, I put on my prognostication togs and go through the NFL schedule one game at a time, making pick after pick until all 17 weeks are completed. The results are what you'll read below. But I have to admit, I don't set any of these picks in stone; in fact, I've already forgotten which picks I made for what teams, and even the first week's selections may not match what I've set down in black and white for this Sunday's first installment of the weekly picks.

Scientific, huh? More like dumb luck, with the emphasis on the first word.

In any event, here's how I see the season on its eve: AFC EAST: New England 12-4, N.Y. Jets 9-7, Buffalo 6-10, Miami 4-12.

I don't think there's much doubt that the Patriots are still the class of this motley crew. But I do get the sense that they could fall a little closer to the pack with three of their toughest games being on the road and a great deal of uncertainty still existing in the secondary. The Jets should take at least a small step up if they can keep Brett Favre healthy. I've devalued the Bills' record by 25 percent to take into account the exchange rate of playing a game in Toronto, and the Dolphins have a very, very long way to go.

AFC NORTH: Pittsburgh 11-5, Baltimore 5-11, Cleveland 4-12, Cincinnati 4-12.

What a vast wasteland this division has become. The Steelers aren't that good of a team, but with a decent offense, should be able to mop up six easy victories within the division. Baltimore's starting Joe Flacco at quarterback (Go, you Blue Hen!) and Cleveland appears poised to enter the season without a defense. As for Team Felony, who said the NFL isn't a forgiving place? Certainly not Chris Henry.

AFC SOUTH: Indianapolis 13-3, Jacksonville 11-5, Tennessee 11-5, Houston 11-5.

Bad as the East and North may be, the South is loaded - to the point where the poor Texans will have the best season of their existence and lose out on the playoffs because of a tiebreaker. The Colts are close to the end of their window of opportunity for this group (and remember, Peyton Manning didn't play a down of the preseason, either). Jacksonville may also be on the decline of a much shorter window but have the playoff experience, while the Titans and Texans are teams on the rise.

AFC WEST: San Diego 13-3, Denver 9-7, Kansas City 5-11, Oakland 2-14.

The Chargers are absolutely loaded, but you have to question the wisdom of Shawne Merriman playing through two ligament tears in his knee. Without him, they might come down to the rest of the pack. In Denver, Mike Shanahan continues to be the league's most overrated coach (but I think he'll find a way to beat the Patriots in Foxboro). Herm Edwards isn't overrated in the slightest, and that's why the Chiefs will be 5-11. And in Oakland? Al Davis is beginning to think that John Madden is still his coach. Sad.

NFC EAST: Dallas 13-3, N.Y. Giants 10-6, Philadelphia 8-8, Washington 7-9.

The Cowboys are the darlings of the country again, given that Tony Romo is seen as a regular guy living his dream and Jessica Simpson is much more approachable (and less frightening) than Gisele Bündchen. They're also pretty good. The Giants aren't anywhere near as good as they looked on Super Bowl Sunday (and they will dearly miss Osi Umenyiora), but Philadelphia (McNabb's clearly on the downside of his career) and Washington (worst team money can buy) are little more than mediocre. NFC NORTH: Chicago 8-8, Minnesota 7-9, Green Bay 5-11, Detroit 3-13.

Really, I have no feel for this division. Benching Rex Grossman may be the best thing to happen to the Bears since they made it to Super Bowl XLI. People have been trying to sell the Vikings to me for months, but besides their running attack, what makes them stand out? Green Bay is in for a very long winter as Aaron Rodgers bears a season's worth of comparisons to that No. 4 guy, and despite indications that Detroit may be primed for improvement, I want to see it in person before I start picking the Lions in tough games.

NFC SOUTH: Tampa Bay 10-6, New Orleans 9-7, Atlanta 8-8, Carolina 7-9.

Again, my database for this division is a little weak. The Bucs always look like gangbusters against the Patriots in the preseason, but that may not be a valid judge. The Saints have some good individual talent but have already gone through their yearly weather-related disruption that will keep them off-kilter for the first month. Atlanta can't help but improve with Matt Ryan helping to bury the Michael Vick legacy, and the Panthers? I can't name more than five. I may have to take a mulligan for them.

NFC WEST: Seattle 12-4, Arizona 9-7, St. Louis 7-9, San Francisco 3-13.

For top-to-bottom balance, I'd have to say that the Seahawks are almost by default the team to beat in the West. The Cardinals are the flavor of the month in a lot of the national media, but did you notice that Kurt Warner is still their starting quarterback? The Rams are almost a total mystery to me, but their former coach, Mike Martz, is the Niners' offensive coordinator, more than enough reason to pick them last.

AFC PLAYOFF SEEDING: San Diego, Indianapolis, New England, Pittsburgh, Jacksonville, Tennessee.

AFC CHAMPIONSHIP GAME: San Diego over New England.

NFC PLAYOFF SEEDING: Dallas, Seattle, Tampa Bay, Chicago, N.Y. Giants, Arizona.

NFC CHAMPIONSHIP GAME: Dallas over Seattle.

SUPER BOWL XLIII: Talk to me in February.

MARK FARINELLA may be reached at 508-236-0315 or via e-mail at mfarinel@thesunchronicle.com. Read Farinella's blog "Blogging Fearlessly," at thesunchronicle.com/farinella.