The new NFL season is almost here and I’m excited. In a couple of weeks, the New Orleans Saints will take on the Pittsburgh Steelers in the Hall of Fame Game to kick off the preseason.

I’m not one to do much betting in the NFL preseason, but I still take a look at the football odds.

To me, the big game in week one will be the New Orleans Saints at Indianapolis on September 6. Both of these teams will be tested early.

I’ll be heading down to the Red Rock Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas to get my NFL football picks in. My first play will be a futures wager. I do one just about every year.

There’s not too much profit to be had. For the AFC Championship, the New England Patriots are 5/2 and the Indianapolis Colts are 3/1—so are the San Diego Chargers.

Over in the NFC, the Chicago Bears at 3-1 are the favorites to win the NFC Championship. The Saints and Seattle Seahawks are right behind them.

The interesting future bet of the season is the Oakland Raiders under/over 5 wins. Have they improved enough? How will the loss of Moss affect them?

Last season I predicted—and bet—that they wouldn’t win five games and I walked away a winner—a real nice winner.

The Raiders won two games last season. Doing some “quick capping,” I spotted three games that fall into the moderately winnable category—Detroit, Cleveland and Houston. Could this be another 2-14 season?

Get ready for some football.