The NFL 2012 season should be full of excitement, but that should be no surprise. Unpredictability is the norm in today's NFL.

In 2011, Scoring was at a 46-year high … comebacks galore … new teams made the playoffs and won divisions...consistent teams excelled once again … passing records fell … rookies made their mark … and so much more!

"One year to the next, anything is possible," says 49ers quarterback ALEX SMITH.

"That is the great thing about the NFL."

The NFL is never short on surprises, and the 2011 season was no different:

A record 11,356 points were scored, with games averaging 44.4 points, the highest average in 46 seasons (46.1 in 1965).

2011 marked the first season in NFL history in which three different teams scored at least 500 points -- Green Bay (560), New Orleans (547) and New England (513). Those three clubs finished with a combined record of 41-7 (.854).

A record-tying six teams won 12+ games -- Green Bay (15), New England (13), New Orleans (13), 49ers (13), Baltimore (12) and Pittsburgh (12). Six teams also won at least 12 games in 2003.

Last season, six teams -- Cincinnati, Denver, Detroit, Houston, the Giants and 49ers -- made the playoffs that were not in the postseason the year before. It marked the 16th consecutive season in which at least five teams (out of 12) accomplished the feat.

The NFL 2012 season promises more of the same. Every team enters the new year with hope!

Houston (AFC South) and Denver (AFC West) both rebounded to win their respective divisions after finishing in last place or tied for last in 2010. This marked the NFL-record ninth consecutive season that at least one team went from "worst-to-first" in its division.