The New England Patriots are the AFC favorite to win the 2013 Super Bowl XLVII.  According to bovada.lv, the Green Bay Packers are the NFL favorite to win next year’s Super Bowl at 6/1 odds.  Right behind them are Patriots at 7/1 odds.

The way we see it here at The NFL This Week, the Patriots are positioned perfectly to at least get back to the Super Bowl based solely on the number of picks they have in the upcoming 2012 NFL draft. The first round of the 2012 NFL draft will be held on Thursday, April 26, 2012.

While the early Super Bowl favorite Green Bay Packers have the 1 first round (28th) and 1 second round pick, the Pats have 2 first round picks (27th & 31st) and 2 second round picks.

The Patriots landed a second first round pick in the 2012 NFL Draft when they traded the 28th pick overall in the 2011 draft to the New Orleans Saints for a 2012 first round pick (27th) and a 2011 2nd round pick.

Here are the early betting odds for the 2013 Super Bowl XLVII as of February 10, 2012:

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Who could have predicted the Buffalo Bills being undefeated (3-0) and the AFC East leader going into week 4 of the 2011 NFL season. Even more surprising, they overcame a 21 point deficit against Tom Brady and the New England Patriots in week 3 to remain undefeated.

That was a hard loss for Brady and the Patriots. You can bet the bank that the “Brady bunch” are anxious to redeem the loss this Sunday against the Raiders in Oakland. That’s why the Patriots are our 2011 week 4 NFL pick of the week.

Current betting odds for this 4:15 pm ET matchup have the Patriots 4.5 point favorite. The over/under is 55 points. The game will be aired nationally on CBS.

The Pats (2-1) opened the season with two wins. They beat the Dolphins 38-24 in Miami and the San Diego Chargers 35-21 at home before losing to the Bills in Buffalo, 34-31.

The Raiders are also 2-1. They beat the Broncos in Denver, 23-20, lost to the Bills in Buffalo 38-35, then beat the New York Jets at home, 34-24.

This AFC features the NFL’s top passing offense, led by Tom Brady’s 442.3 yards per game, against the No. 1 rushing attack with Darren McFadden, who leads the league with 131 yards per game.

Against the Bills, Brady completed 30 of 45 passes for 387 yards and four touchdowns. But he also threw four interceptions, matching his total for all last season, with one returned for a touchdown.

He should do better against the Raiders, who have allowed more yards passing than all but four teams.

Here’s why the Patriots are our NFL pick of the week:

• Although Brady threw 4 interceptions against the Bills last week, he threw a total of 4 in all of the 2010 season.
• Tom Brady seldom has two bad weeks in a row. The last time was in 2009 when they lost to the New Orleans Saints (11/30/09) 38-17 and the Miami Dolphins (12/6/09) 22-21.
• The Pats are hungry after last week’s loss.
• The Patriots defense against the run is ranked 10th best (91 yards per game) — and should have success against a run-oriented attack like Oakland’s.
• Patriots are ranked 1st overall in passing yards (437) and the Raiders defense is ranked 28 overall against the pass (289).
• Oakland’s QB Jason Campbell has thrown only 82 passes in the Raiders’ three games.

Prediction: Patriots 31 Raiders 14

In the latest NFL news, New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick won the Associated Press 2010 NFL Coach of the Year, for the third time this decade. Belichick also won the coveted award back in 2003 and 2007. He is only one shy of Hall of Famer, Don Shula, who has won the award four times.

Coach Belichick received 30 of the 50 votes from a committee consisting of media members who regularly cover the NFL. Behind Bill were Buccaneers coach Raheem Morris who received 11 ½, and Chiefs Todd Haley who got 4 ½ . 4 other NFL coaches received one vote each, including: Falcons Mike Smith, Eagles Andy Reid, Bears Lovie Smith, and Rams Steve Spagnuolo.

Bill Belichick was heralded for making a successful transition of the New England Patriots to a much younger team. He led the Patriots to a 14-2 regular season record. His starting QB, Tom Brady was voted AP Offensive Player of the Year earlier this week.

“I will say the foundation of the Patriots organization, which starts with Mr. Kraft and Coach Belichick, has not changed since the day I arrived,” Brady said. “They have and will always do what is in the best interest of the team, and they will continue to find selfless players that love to work hard, compete and strive to be the best they can possibly be.”
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