NFL Preview, 2013 Style - The Picks

Having identified the postseason participants for the AFC and NFC, it's time to predict which teams will emerge to play in the Super Bowl and which players and coaches will outperform their peers this season.

Super Bowl
There are almost too many good teams in the NFC, and too few in the AFC. The trendy picks would be either the Broncos or the Patriots against either the 49ers or the Seahawks. Sometimes trends are good, and sometimes trends are to be avoided.

Reaching the Super Bowl is, above all else, about toughness. It takes extreme mental and physical toughness to advance through the NFL playoffs to the marque sports event of the year. Peyton Manning and the Denver Broncos may finish with the best record in the league this year, but history suggests that he and they will lack the toughness to advance in the postseason. Tom Brady and the Patriots will likely win their division and be a formidable team by season's end, but recent outcomes cast doubt that they have the toughness to make noise in January. Instead, there will be a tougher, less flashy team representing the AFC in the Super Bowl.

In the NFC, there are no such reasons to go against the trends. The Seahawks and 49ers are the two toughest teams in the league, and will likely be so for the foreseeable future. It's conceivable that they alternate representing their conference in the championship game for the next 5-7 years, which means that this year is Seattle's turn.

photo by Kevin Casey/Getty Images

Super Bowl XLVIII: Cincinnati Bengals vs. Seattle Seahawks
Winner: Seattle

Seattle Head Coach Pete Carroll is revolutionizing professional football in the same vein as Chip Kelley, just without the frenetic pace. His approach has instituted an air of positivity, energy, and success in the Seahawks' organization. The team rallies around and supports each other in a manner not often seen in professional sports, and that will pay off this year with a Super Bowl championship.

The Bengals may fly under the radar during the regular season. But once the postseason begins, they possess the strongest combination of talent and toughness in the AFC, and that will carry them through the playoffs.

MVP: Peyton Manning
Offensive Player of the Year: LeSean McCoy
Defensive Player of the Year: Richard Sherman
Offensive Rookie of the Year: Kyle Long
Defensive Rookie of the Year: Alec Ogletree
Coach of the Year: Marc Trestman