With the National Football League's 2012 playoffs set to begin Saturday, many of us are pondering one of the deepest and most significant questions in American life: Which team am I picking to win the Super Bowl?

If you're intent on making a serious wager on the outcome, there are lots of intelligent criteria you can use to make your choice. Words like "quarterback rating," "yards per pass attempt" and "Rob Gronkowski" may come to mind, here. But if you're like most of us, you'll want to incorporate some thinking into your...