Rather than devoting our time to studies, outdoor pursuits or even (heaven forbid) religion, our Sundays will be spent on a couch or barstool watching football.

And with the recent explosion of fantasy football, now everyone has a reason to watch each game, even if your team has a bye week.

You know you’ve reached a new low when your backpack has sat in the corner since Friday, and you still decide to watch a Sunday night Bears-49ers game in hopes of witnessing a Justin Gage TD catch. I’m here to tell you now which teams will surprise and disappoint, and some of the things to look for this season.

The Jets are the Rodney Dangerfield of the AFC.

With the Patriots already having established a dynasty, and an up-and-coming Buffalo squad in the AFC East, it seems a lot of people are picking the Jets to miss out on the playoffs.

What’s not to like about this team? They have a coach who has led them to the playoffs three out of his four seasons, a much-improved receiving corps and offensive scheme and a top-10 defense that added one of the NFL’s marquee cornerbacks: Ty Law.

Did I mention that they were a mediocre kicker away from beating the 15-1 Steelers and making it to the AFC championship game? And believe me, I saw last week’s beatdown at KC, but I think this team will make the necessary adjustments to succeed.

All four AFC West teams will be in contention come January.

I really have no idea who to pick in this division. I don’t think Drew Brees is really good enough to lead the Chargers to 12-4 again, and their defense wasn’t exactly lights out last season.

Every year, I want to pick against the Broncos because of Jake Plummer, but Mike Shanahan’s squad always seems to do enough to have the privilege of losing to Peyton Manning and the Colts by 30 points in the playoffs.

Every single Chiefs fan I know tells me that this is the year their defense will carry their weight, but they’ve also said that the last two years.

Last week’s performance, while impressive, can be attributed to the Jets beating themselves as much as the Chiefs defense shutting them down.

Part of me wants to pick the Raiders, who have high (I’m sorry, I couldn’t resist) hopes for Randy Moss and LaMont Jordan, but let’s not forget about that sieve-like defense and that Kerry Collins isn’t the most accurate QB in the world.

Remember the Titans.

Sure, they looked abysmal against the Steelers last week, but then again, Pittsburgh made a mockery of New England, Philadelphia and every other team in the league in the ’04 regular season.

Last year’s 5-11 team was ravaged with injuries and inconsistency. When Steve McNair is healthy, he will keep them in every game. Billy Volek isn’t a bad insurance policy if McNair can’t stay on the field.

I think Chris Brown, who rushed for 1,000 yards in 11 games last season, is poised for a monster year-even if Travis Henry waits in the wings. Coach Jeff Fisher knows what it takes not only to reach the playoffs, but to win once he is there.

I see this team in the hunt to the end, narrowly beating out Baltimore and Jacksonville for the last playoff spot. The only major concern I see is the inexperience at cornerback.

AFC Playoff Picks:

Division Winners-Patriots, Steelers, Colts, Chiefs

Wild Card-Jets, Titans

The Vikings will be worse without Randy Moss.

Everyone thinks that the loss of the tumultuous Moss will be a classic case of addition by subtraction. Prognosticators also point to the revamped defense as a reason to pick this team as a true contender.

However, I do not think this will be the case. Without Moss, Marcus Robinson and Jermaine Wiggins won’t have all that room underneath coverage to operate.

For those who think Nate Burleson will be the second coming of Moss, I have trouble believing the six-foot Burleson will command the same type of coverage as Moss, who would often draw double teams and take a safety out of the box.

The team lacks a true feature running back and still has the inept Mike Tice running the sidelines.

As for that defense-Pat Williams, Fred Smoot, Napoleon Harris and Sam Cowart have a combined zero Pro Bowl appearances, while Darren Sharper has left his tackling skills somewhere in the 2003 season-as Packers fans can attest. I honestly believe that the Packers, who haven’t had a losing season since 1991, and despite their defensive woes and the loss of Javon Walker, or maybe even Detroit, can keep up with the Vikings and steal this division.

The New Orleans Saints will give Louisiana and the nation something to cheer about.

Either bad starts or bad finishes have plagued this club for the last four years. While their home-field location will be unstable in light of the hurricane, I have always thought this team had impact players on both sides of the ball. Deuce McAllister seems ready to join the elite backs in the league, while Joe Horn has been a top-five receiver in the league the past four seasons.

Aaron Brooks, for all his mental mistakes, still has more playoff wins under his belt than Matt Hasselbeck or Trent Green.

I think that Jim Haslett will get his defense, led by talented bookends Charles Grant and Darren Howard, playing up to a level good enough to make the playoffs. The New Orleans Saints, at least for a year, will be America’s team.

NFC Playoff Picks:

Divison Winners-Philadelphia, Green Bay, Carolina, St. Louis

Wild Card-New Orleans, Atlanta

And finally, who wins Super Bowl XL (on another note, I don’t know about you but I’m not looking forward to the barrage of “extra large” Superbowl jokes come playoff time).

I believe this is the year the Colts finally exorcise their demons and beat the Patriots.

I do not believe New England will be considerably worse than last year, but I think the Colts will raise their game to a new level and gain the critical home-field advantage in the postseason. The NFC will, unfortunately, go to the Eagles again, and we will be subjected to more Terrell Owens headlines.

In the big game, I’d like the Colts to get the job done this year behind an improved defense and the NFL’s best player: Peyton Manning.