NFL 2012 Preview: How the Top Teams will Fare in 2012

The online betting crowd has turned its attention to Super Bowl XLVI and is anticipating the kickoff for the big game. There were several teams in the NFL that saw vast improvements this year over last year. It can be difficult to maintain that kind of play every year, but some of the improved teams have elements that will insure that they will at least be competitive for many years to come. But which of those improved teams will show sustained improvement and be around when the playoffs start in 2012?

While the Super Bowl betting continues for the Super Bowl XLVI, lets look at some of the teams that were top performers in 2011 and should be top performers again in 2012.

San Francisco 49ers

The roster for the 49ers changed very little from 2010 to 2011. The most significant change for the 49ers from 2010 to 2011 was the hiring of head coach Jim Harbaugh. When he played in the NFL, Harbaugh was an energetic quarterback. He is now a very energetic NFL head coach. He has turned the San Francisco defense into one of the best units in football and has turned a mediocre quarterback into an excellent game manager. The price per head sportsbook experts agree that this team is too talented and too well-coached to just disappear. There is a very good chance that the 49ers will be in the 2012 NFC Championship game with much different results.

Baltimore Ravens

Ray Lewis believes that the Baltimore Ravens are Super Bowl material. The future hall of fame linebacker must believe that or else he would have no other reason to come back for a 16^th season in 2012. People like to point at listless Ravens’ quarterback Joe Flacco as the reason why Baltimore lost in the AFC Championship game to New England. A 5 dimes review of the game shows that it was not Flacco who forgot to call a timeout to calm the Baltimore special teams unit down just before the field goal at the end of the game. The Ravens do need more out of its quarterback to win big games, but the AFC Championship game was a combination of bad coaching and bad play-calling. If the Ravens’ coaching staff can tighten up its approach, then Baltimore can be a Super Bowl contender next year.

Detroit Lions

The Detroit Lions are teetering on either being a dynasty or a bust. The entire team needs to mature significantly if it is going to make a run at the Super Bowl in the near future. Even the veterans on the team were getting caught up in bad penalties after the whistle in the playoffs in 2011. The Lions can put up impressive NFL scores when it wants to, but there needs to be a collective effort to help the team grow up if Detroit wants to be considered one of the top Super Bowl contenders in the NFC.

Houston Texans

A healthy Houston Texans team could have made a much deeper run in the playoffs than the injured 2011 team did. If the Texans can keep its key players healthy in 2012, then this team is definitely a contender for Super Bowl XLVII.