Amid all the uncertainties at the start of the NFL season, let's go for some guarantees.

In 1969, Joe Namath made an epic one before leading the New York Jets into Super Bowl III versus the Baltimore Colts: "We're gonna win the game. I guarantee it." Final: Jets 16, Colts 7.

In 2007, safety Anthony Smith, then with the Pittsburgh Steelers, guaranteed they'd beat the New England Patriots. Final: Patriots 34, Steelers 13.

Smith did add qualifiers: "Yeah, I can guarantee a win. As long as we come out and do what we got to do. Both sides of the ball are rolling, and if our special teams come through for us, we've got a good chance to win."

In the spirit of Namath and with some Smith-like hedges, here are 10 guarantees for 2010:

1. Tweets will fly; #NFL controversy will follow

If Namath were playing now, his Super Bowl post on Twitter might be something like: "We win the game! I guarantee it! GO JETS!!!" (Namath actually does tweet these days. Except from one of his recent RealJoeNamath posts: "Jets and Revis come to terms and boy am I happy! ... GO JETS!!!") This preseason, the NFL fined Chad Ochocinco of the Cincinnati Bengals $25,000 for tweeting at a league-prohibited time the night of a Bengals' game. New NFL policy on social media bans players and coaches from using cellphones, handhelds and other such electronic devices from 90 minutes before a game until after the game following media interviews. There are plenty of other hours. Last season, running back Larry Johnson was released by the Kansas City Chiefs following controversy that included postings on his Twitter account that included slurs of homosexuals and jabs at his coach.

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2. Dallas will host Super Bowl XLV but the Cowboys won't be in it

Cowboys Stadium is a wonder. The team, coming off a division title, looks loaded with Tony Romo, DeMarcus Ware and more. ESPN analyst Trent Dilfer calls them the best team in the NFC with a "legit opportunity" to become the first team to play in the Super Bowl in its home stadium. He picks them. But even though Cowboys Stadium is home, it will be a long road to get there on Feb. 6. Never mind 10 Super Bowls have been played in South Florida without the Miami Dolphins. Never mind nine have been played in New Orleans without the Saints. In the NFL, it's about the here and now. The two reasons the Cowboys won't be in the Super Bowl: the Saints and the Green Bay Packers. Here is ESPN analyst Tom Jackson"s admittedly "out of the box" pick to represent the AFC in the Super Bowl: the Houston Texans. How 'bout them Texans?

3. Brett Favre will show his age

When he starts at quarterback Thursday night for the Minnesota Vikings in the season opener (a rematch of last yaer's NFC title game) Favre will begin his 20th season. He already has has started 285 consecutive games, 309 including playoffs. Last season, he had maybe his best season ever, throwing for 4,202 yards and 33 TDs with just seven interceptions. Amazing. Dilfer calls Favre the "Rubber Band Man" because he seen him be "contorted and twisted and tweaked" and keep on playing. But he'll be 41 on Oct. 10. He is coming of his third ankle surgery. Dilfer likens it to a rubber band you might use to wrap your cash and credit cards. It eventually gets cracked and worn — and it breaks. "That's kind of how I see Brett this year," says Dilfer. "I just cannot see how he can last the season." In that overtime loss to the Saints in the NFC title game, Favre lost a fumble and was intercepted twice, one late in regulation. But he also threw for 310 yards and a TD. Says Favre: "It seems like at age 40 and soon to be 41, that I am the easy target to pick on like, 'It's only a matter of time.' Yet I continue to outlast all these guys."

4. Tennessee Titans RB Chris Johnson won't run for more than 2,000 yards

Johnson, displaying laser speed and durability, ran for 2,006 yards and 14 touchdowns and 14 TDs last season. Eric Dickerson of the Los Angeles Rams ran for a record 2,105 in 1984. The next year, after missing the first two games in a contract dispute, he ran for 1,234. Dickerson was a 6-3, 220-pounder. Johnson, a 5-10, 200-pounder, averaged 5.6 per carry last season. His average on 19 carries this preseason was 2.1 Never mind that. As coach Jeff Fisher notes, Johnson averaged 3.1 in the '09 preseason. "I'm not concerned about his numbers," Fisher says. " … We obviously have to be productive in the regular season, but I think he's shown the last couple of years he can do that." But it's too much to expect him to do what he did in 2009. And if QB Vince Young continues to emerge, he won't have to.

5. New Orleans Saints won't repeat

With quarterback Drew Brees, wide receiver Marques Colston and much more, last season's top-ranked offense will be high-octane again. Jackson on Brees: "I expect him to play lights out." But with the NFL's 25th defense in yards allowed last season, the Saints made up for it with takeaways in bunches: 26 interceptions and 13 fumble recoveries. The Saints led the NFL with seven defensive TDs. Ultra-aggressive defensive coordinator Gregg Williams preached takeaways from the moment he joined the Saints before last season. The five New Orleans forced in the NFC title game were huge. But living off takeaways is too tough to do two seasons in a row. Safety Darren Sharper, nine interceptions for three TDs last season, starts out on the physically unable to perform list (knee).

6. T.O. & Ocho won't light it up for Cincinnati

Wide receivers Terrell Owens and Chad Ochocinco have their own TV talk show on Versus. But Owens, 36, had five touchdown catches last season with the Buffalo Bills after piling up 38 in three seasons with the Cowboys. Ochocino had nine TD catches last season, but he's 32. Of course, Owens was with the Bills last season. He's now receiving end of passes from Carson Palmer. And if Owens & Ochocinco do prove to be a dynamic duo, you can read all about it by following Ochocincos' Twitter posts. He's already tweeted that should he score in the opener at the New England Patriots, he will shoot off one of the muskets used by the Minutemen in the endzones at Patriots' games.

7. Donovan McNabb and Kevin Kolb will take their lumps

In 11 seasons as quarterback of the Philadelphia Eagles, McNabb took them to five NFC championship games and a Super Bowl. He was traded within the division to the Washington Redskins. Kolb, successor in Philadelphia, is unproven. He's had two starts in three seasons with four touchdown passes and seven interceptions. He threw for more than 300 yards in both of his starts last season. But now he's the man. "I don't know if the volume of work that he has shown in the NFL justifies his status right now," says Dilfer. " …Andy Reid (Eagles coach) has forgotten more football toady than I'll ever know, but he made that decision and I think it's very risky." McNabb, 33, will open for the Redskins against Dallas Sunday night after being sidelined in preseason by an ankle injury. Coach Mike Shanahan said McNabb is "ready to go."

Dilfer: "Mike will maximize what Donovan does well. But at the end of the day ... I just don't think the Redskins have enough ammunication. .... People forget how bad that offensive line is in Washington."

8. Revival in the Bay Area

The San Francisco 49ers haven't made the playoffs since the 2002 season. Ditto for the Oakland Raiders, who were Super Bowl finalists that season. But coach Mike Singletary has the 49ers on the rise after an 8-8 finish last season. After going 5-11 last season, Oakland replaced QB JaMarcus Russell with Jason Campbell. Dilfer sees Campbell having "tremendous influence" in Oakland. "They underachieved monumentally as a football team (with Russell)," he says.

9. Hard knocks in the Big Apple

Coach Rex Ryan's New York Jets made a surprise wild card run to the AFC title game last season. They were the HBO stars of this summer's Hard Knocks. Ultimate cornerback Darrell Revis is back. The defensive figures to be oustanding. But quarterback Mark Sanchez is in just his second year. "The problem is that the sophomore year for many quarterbacks is usually a regression year," says Dilfer. "Expectations get too big." The New York Giants are coming off an 8-8 year but they're still in the same division with Dallas, Philadelphia and improved Washington.

10. Packers win the Super Bowl

Quarterback Aaron Rodgers, once Favre's understudy, is more than ready. He's coming off two big seasons and heading into his prime at 26. The confetti will fall on the champion Packers in Dallas. Then we'll move onto the next season, provided there is a resolution to thorny bargaining between the NFL and the players union. When that will happen is not guaranteed.