The Hall of Fame game being played last night can only mean one thing: football has returned! Sure the Canadian Football League season began earlier this summer, but the NFL gets underway and football fans can not be more excited. There are a lot questions that will be answered. Can the Denver Broncos win the AFC West again without Peyton Manning? Was the Minnesota Vikings NFC North title run just a fluke? How will the New England Patriots fare without Tom Brady for the first four games? For the present moment, the questions will be answered, but will just be a matter of opinion for the division by division projections below. Now for moment you all have been waiting for: projections, projections, projections!

AFC East Projected Standings

1. New England Patriots

2. New York Jets

3. Buffalo Bills

4. Miami Dolphins

The New England Patriots will continue its dominance in the relatively weak AFC West, even without Tom Brady for the first four games due to suspension in regards to "Deflategate." The New York Jets re-signed quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick and acquired running back Matt Forte from the Chicago Bears in the offseason, so look to see definite improvement. It certainly is a unique tandem of the Ryan brothers, Rex and Rob, on the Buffalo Bills coaching staff, but the team will most likely miss the postseason yet again. The Miami Dolphins are still a mess, so a .500 record would be considered a great season.

AFC North Projected Standings

1. Pittsburgh Steelers

2. Baltimore Ravens

3. Cincinnati Bengals

4. Cleveland Browns

Ben Roethlisberger will once again lead the Steelers to an AFC North title and should be among the top five league quarterbacks this season. The Baltimore Ravens should improve upon last season, but are not of caliber quality to compete for the top spot in the division. The Ravens-Steelers matchups will definitely be the deciding factor on who wins the division. The Bengals will take a step backwards and not make the postseason, which is a good thing for them, perhaps, because they most likely would not win a postseason game anyway. And I trust I do not have to say anything about the Cleveland Browns that everybody already knows.

AFC South Projected Standings

1. Indianapolis Colts

2. Houston Texans

3. Jacksonville Jaguars

4. Tennessee Titans

The Colts should rebound this season and win another AFC South title as long as quarterback Andrew Luck keeps healthy and there is not a revolving door at the position. The Houston Texans got a much needed upgrade at quarterback with Brock Osweiler who started for the Denver Broncos last season during Peyton Manning's injury, so expect a wild card berth from them. The Jacksonville Jaguars remain terrible, but will not be as terrible this year under center with second year starter Blake Bortles. Although the Titans acquired running back DeMarco Murray in the offseason, Tennessee fans should expect the usual struggles this season again.

AFC West

Projected Standings

1. Kansas City Chiefs

2. Denver Broncos

3. Oakland Raiders

4. San Diego Chargers

There will be a new champion of the AFC West and it will be the Kansas City Chiefs. The Chiefs are loaded with talent and should capitalize on the Denver Broncos' transition period. The Oakland Raiders will improve with third year quarterback Derek Carr, but the team will barely miss the playoffs. Philip Rivers is still a solid NFL quarterback, but him carrying the team on his back is too tall of an order, and the team will meet an embarrassing last place finish in the division.

NFC East Projected Standings

1. Dallas Cowboys

2. New York Giants

3. Washington Redskins

4. Philadelphia Eagles

Yes, you read that correctly, the Cowboys will win the division this season despite a horrendous campaign last year. The Giants should see slight improvement under rookie head coach Ben McAdoo, but it will not be enough to dethrone Dallas. The Washington Redskins will come back to earth and will finish in third place, and Kirk Cousins will not like that. Carson Wentz will not bring instant magic to the Eagles offense that it desperately needs, at least not yet.

NFC North Projected Standings

1. Green Bay Packers

2. Minnesota Vikings

3. Chicago Bears

4. Detroit Lions

The Green Bay Packers will take back its rightful spot atop the division standings after a collapse last season that allowed the Vikings to steal first place. The Minnesota Vikings will have another great season with quarterback Teddy Bridgewater and running Adrian Peterson leading the charge, but will finish one game shy of the Packers in the standings. Da Bears should see improvement under second year head coach John Fox, but its defense has to step up and score points in order to win close games due to Matt Forte's departure hindering the offense. Without Calvin Johnson, quarterback Matthew Stafford has no legitimate targets to throw to, so expect a poor season from the Lions. Not 0-16 terrible, but it will be bad.

NFC South Projected Standings

1. Carolina Panthers

2. New Orleans Saints

3. Tampa Bay Buccaneers

4. Atlanta Falcons

The defending NFC champions will win the NFC South again, but will not be same caliber team compared to last season. Quarterback Drew Brees should have a stellar year with the Saints, and if the defense can pick up the slack, they could challenge Carolina for the division crown. Second year quarterback Jameis Winston should see improvement with the Bucs, but it will not be enough for a playoff push. The Atlanta Falcons could very well see what many consider an impossibility: a last place finish under rookie head coach Dan Quinn.

NFC West Projected Standings

1. Arizona Cardinals

2. Seattle Seahawks

3. San Francisco 49ers

4. Los Angeles Rams

Expect seeing Arizona win the division yet again with quarterback Carson Palmer possibly having an MVP-caliber season. The Seattle Seahawks will remain relevant for the division title, but the defense will still have occasional hiccups that could prove to be the difference between winning and losing games. The 49ers should rebound from last season with quarterback Colin Kaepernick leading the offense, yet the rest of the team has too many question marks going into this season. The move from St. Louis to sunny LA will not help the Rams much as they could see another 7-9 season, which is head coach Jeff Fisher's favorite regular season record for some odd reason.

Playoff Predictions

AFC Wild Card Teams: Houston Texans/Denver Broncos

NFC Wild Card Teams: Minnesota Vikings/Seattle Seahawks

AFC Champion: New England Patriots

NFC Champion: Green Bay Packers

Super Bowl LI Champion: Green Bay Packers