It’s September, and we all know what that means in the sports world: WNBA finals! But for those of you who are not into women’s basketball, the NFL will be cooking up 17 weeks of gridiron goodness starting this Thursday. Here’s a primer on what to expect from the AFC this season:

East:

Miami: The key to the season will be the success of new quarterback Daunte Culpepper. Will he be able to stay focused with the plethora of boats in Miami Harbor?

New England: Keeping up with Boston tradition, they mishandled the Adam Vinatieri situation and lost him to their biggest rival. That’s going to come back and bite them. (Wild Card)

Buffalo: Solid on both sides of the ball, but do they seriously expect to contend with J.P. Losman running the show? Yeesh.

New York Jets: Sorry Jet fans, it’s gonna be another long season on the turnpike. But hey, Brady Quinn’s going to look great in the white and green.

North:

Cincinnati: With a healthy Carson Palmer, no one will stop this offense. The only other hurdle will be keeping the rest of the team out of jail.

Pittsburgh: Ben Roethlisberger has looked great in the pre-season, but the champs are playing a ridiculously tough schedule and will go through the entire season with a target on their back. (Wild Card)

Baltimore: Something new in Raven Town — an actual QB! Steve McNair instantly turns the Ravens into contenders, but the division is just too tough.

Cleveland: Some potential to contend a few years down the road with Braylon Edwards and Kellen Winslow, but not here, not now.

South:

Indianapolis: The running game will suffer without Edgerrin James, but opposing teams could line up 15 cornerbacks against Peyton Manning and he’d find a way to score.

Jacksonville: Anchored by the front seven, this is one lethal defense. The offense will determine whether the Jags are a legitimate playoff team or just an also-ran.

Tennessee: Interesting quarterback situation with Kerry Collins, Billy Volek and Vince Young, but whoever starts, make no mistake: this is Young’s team.

Houston: Mario Williams could break the sack record, and fans still probably wouldn’t forgive the team for passing on Reggie Bush.

West:

San Diego: The Philip Rivers era begins in San Diego, but the team will go only as far as LaDainian Tomlinson’s legs can carry it.

Denver: I think the Broncos are planning on trotting out Baxter the Bearcat as their running back this year. Scary thing is, he’ll probably rush for 1,000.

Kansas City: Larry Johnson and Tony Gonzalez are really good. So they have that going for them … which is nice.

Oakland: It’s too bad Oakland didn’t draft Vince Young. That would be the most gangster jersey in NFL history.

AFC Championship: Indianapolis over Pittsburgh

Check out Pipe Dream’s NFC preview in Friday’s Issue