It was touch and go, whether this day would come.

After one of the most controversial summers which threatened to wreck havoc to the forth coming season, American Football has finally kicked off.

Last year’s winners Green Bay faced New Orleans late last night as they took the first steps on the long road to defend their crown.

The Colts open the 2011 campaign in the same place they started last season, and that is in Reliant Stadium in Houston against the Texans. Last year we saw Arian Foster become a household name, rushing for 231 yards and three TDs on their way to a 34-24 fairly easy win to open the season. We saw Manning get beat up by the Texans Front Four, and throw the ball 57 times for 433 yards.

But we also saw that losing in Week 1 on the road within the division doesn’t mean the season is over. The same can apply for 2011 too, no matter what anyone will say if the Colts happen to start the season 0-1.

The biggest difference for the Texans this season is new Defensive Coordinator Wade Phillips, who stepped down as the Head Coach in Dallas last season. With him comes a brand new 3-4 scheme, which the Texans have switched to for 2011. That means you’ll see Mario Williams standing up to rush the QB, rather than have his hand on the ground. You may also see him drop into coverage, but I doubt it happens very often. The lockout certainly makes the transition much tougher to do, but they’ve had a month now in it, so they can’t be nearly as bad as last year, right?

In some ways, the online sports book experts find it easy to predict the AFC East standings each year. As long as quarterback Tom Brady is playing for head coach Bill Belichick in New England, that will be your division favorite. But the online casino wagering community is starting to think that there may be more than one wild card to come from the AFC East if there is a 2011 season.

The sportsbook promo experts assume that the New York Jets will take a wild card spot just behind the Patriots in the division. But could the NFL picks for the playoffs also include the Buffalo Bills or Miami Dolphins?