I wonder where the football is?

Yes, it seems a tad bizarre to break down pigskin futures in the month of May. The National Football League should be out of our collective consciousness; Major League Baseball is in full swing while the NBA and NHL playoffs are reaching their respective boiling points.

Really, there should be no reason whatsoever to get excited about the NFL when football is in its offseason. But then I point to what the league's signature network continually rams down our throat in its numerous advertisements:

There is no offseason.

Now that free agency and the entry draft are in the books, we can begin to accurately assess the NFL Futures in the Bodog Sportsbook. Today, we'll start with the odds to win Super Bowl XLIII.

What a fall from grace for the Jets, who just two years ago were a 10-6 playoff team and one of the promising young units in the league. Now, they're coming off a 4-12 campaign, traded Jonathan Vilma for 25 cents on the dollar and remain undecided between the mediocre QB of the past (Chad Pennington) and the mediocre QB of the future (Kellen Clemens).

If there's one team in here that could probably make some noise, it's Buffalo. After a 7-9 season decimated by injuries, the Bills return a young, talented core of Trent Edwards, Marshawn Lynch, Paul Posluszny, Donte Whitner, Langston Walker and Lee Evans. Too bad they play in the AFC East, where you're basically playing for second place.

Atlanta and Kansas City will probably battle for the worst record in the league. Oakland and Miami could each win six games, a successful season for both. Hopefully Jon Kitna doesn't predict another 10-win season for Detroit, because it's not going to happen.

St. Louis has offensive talent in a weak defensive division, so the biggest optimist could say that the playoffs are within reach. I am not the biggest optimist, however.

The trick with Super Bowl futures betting is to 1) aim big and 2) look as far ahead as possible without being unrealistic.

Given the landmines in the AFC - to get to the dance, you'll presumably have to go through one of New England, Indianapolis or San Diego - the best futures bets are laid on NFC teams.

Of this lot, you can write off Arizona (fate lies in the hands of Matt Leinart), Carolina (window closed two years ago), Chicago (not until they solve the Rex Grossman problem) and Washington (ridiculously tough schedule). That leaves...

Tampa Bay.

The Buccaneers are the defending NFC South champs and loaded up with some key veteran free agent signings. DE Marques Douglas should add a new dimension to the pass rush while C Jeff Faine comes over from division rival New Orleans to anchor the O-Line. But the biggest addition might be a familiar face - Warrick Dunn.

Dunn returns to Tampa - the team that drafted him out of Florida State 12 years ago - after spending the last six seasons in Atlanta. While he's got some tread on the tires at 33, he still went for 958 all-purpose yards last season in a putrid Falcon offense. He'll slide in nicely to the Bucs' RB rotation alongside last season's surprise Earnest Graham and the oft-injured Cadillac Williams.

The team also gave QB Jeff Garcia some more short-to-intermediate passing options by picking up TEs Ben Troupe and John Gilmore. They're better fits for the West Coast (although in Tampa, it's more dink-and-dunk) offense that Jon Gruden uses.

These are the "pitfall" teams - they're just good enough to make you consider a wager, but the odds aren't tasty enough to lay down the cash. What's throwing their seasons (and, wagers) arrears is the AFC North-NFC East crossover. Pittsburgh looks like a great deal at 25/1 until you realize the only time the Steelers face a team with a losing record is when it plays four games against division rivals Cincinnati and Baltimore.

The Steelers' opponents' .598 combined winning percentage is the toughest in recent memory and one of the toughest in NFL history. Overall, the Steelers play 12 games against teams that didn't have losing records in 2007.

That also messes up the Browns and Eagles, both of whom have decidedly tougher schedules than a season ago.

While Green Bay, Minnesota and Seattle fit within the pick-a-NFC-team philosophy, Aaron Rogers, Tarvaris Jackson and the Seahawks anemic ground game keep them from being legit.

Of the lot, New Orleans and its new-look defense is probably the most intriguing. The team completely revamped a weak LB core by adding Vilma and Dan Morgan; Randall Gay comes over from New England to bolster a shaky secondary. Seventh overall draft pick Sedrick Ellis should be slotted into the starting DT position.

You know the Super Bowl jinx is alive and well when the defending champs are at 16/1 while Philly - who didn't make the playoffs - is 20/1. Dallas continues to get a lot of love despite the fact they gave away a productive LB in Akin Ayodele and brough in notorious headcase Pacman Jones.

Taking one of Indy, New England, Jacksonville or San Diego is a crapshoot because they'll have to go through each other to win the AFC.

I do like how Jacksonville played a season ago, especially in the postseason. A win in Pittsburgh and playing the Pats close in New England showed this is a team ready to make a splash. Can the additions of Jerry Porter and Drayton Florence push them over the top?

We've only got a few months to go before we find out. Who says football can't be exciting in the spring?

*****

Four Daily WSOP Seat Giveaway Qualifiers at Bodog

Bodog is running four WSOP Seat Giveaway Qualifiers every single day in May! These qualifiers start at 3 a.m., 9 a.m., 3 p.m. and 9 p.m. ET. The buy-in is only five Bodog Poker Points which means that every new signup gets 10 free tries at a WSOP seat!

Each tournament caps at 5,000 players and the top 25 will be invited to participate in the WSOP Seat Giveaway Finale that will be hosted on June 7. The first place finisher of each qualifier will also receive T$29 to participate in a “Main Event Cheap Seat” tournament.

Check out the Bodog WSOP qualifying schedule for more details.