The NFL season marches in

Statistically, the Vikings thoroughly outplayed the Saints when they last met – except for five turnovers. The Saints took advantage of those miscues and rode them all the way to Super Bowl XLIV, where they knocked off Indianapolis to claim their first Lombardi Trophy.

Can the Brett Favre-led Vikings get it right this time? Or are Drew Brees and the Saints on their way to another fleur-de-glee?

Those are but two of the budding story lines in a season filled with them.

Will Pete Carroll prove he can be a consistent winner in the pros?

Will the Dallas Cowboys be the first team to play a Super Bowl on their home field?

Are the Hard-Knocking New York Jets for real again, or just a made-for-TV contender?

And what were the Philadelphia Eagles doing trading a six-time Pro Bowl quarterback within the division?

A look at what's new around the league this season:

Five best kickoff weekend records:

Dallas 34-25-1.694W-3

Denver 32-17-1 .653W-3

NY Giants 48-32-5.600W-2

Jacksonville9-6.600L-3

Chicago50-35-5.588L-1

And five worst:

New Orleans15-28.349W-2

Seattle12-22.353W-1

Houston3-5.375L-2

Tampa Bay13-21.382L-4

(tie) Buffalo20-30.400L-1

Carolina6-9.400L-1

Uneasy lies the crown – Turnovers are a huge part of the game, and not just those that happen on the field. There's no guarantee that a team can stay atop its division. In fact, over the past two years, there have been 11 new winners of their respective divisions – a record-setting six in 2008, and five last season.

New division winners in 2009 – New England, Cincinnati, Indianapolis, Dallas and New Orleans.

Whistle stop – There are several new rules and points of emphasis this season:

Unnecessary roughness – There are enhanced safeguards for "defenseless" players who have just completed a catch – and long-snappers – from blows to the head or neck.

Helmet removal – If a ball carrier's helmet comes off during a play, the ball will be blown dead immediately.

Dead ball fouls – If there is a dead-ball personal foul by either team following the end of the second or fourth quarter, the penalty yardage will now be enforced on the second-half or overtime kickoff.

Instant replay – Two adjustments have been made: 1) Of there is not an on-field ruling that a ball strikes a video board, guide wire, sky-cam or any other object, the replay assistant may now initiate a booth review, even if the event occurs prior to the two-minute warning; and 2) If a replay review inside of one minute of either half results in the on-field ruling being reversed, and the correct ruling would not have stopped the game clock, then there will be a 10-second runoff before the ball is put back in play.

Jersey numbers – In addition to Nos. 60-79, defensive linemen are now permitted to wear Nos. 50-59.

Position of umpires – Umpires will move from the defensive side of the ball, to the offensive backfield, opposite the referee for all plays except field goals, extra-point tries, and inside the two-minute warning of the second and fourth quarters.

Fit to be untied – Starting this season, new overtime rules will be in place for postseason games.

The new rule says gets the ball at the start of overtime can win on the opening possession only with a touchdown. If that team kicks a field goal, the other team gets a possession with a chance to either win with a touchdown or tie with a field goal. If the score is tied after that, it would be sudden death from that point on.

If neither team scores on its first possession, the game would continue on a sudden-death basis.

Don't I know you? – The blockbuster trade of the offseason had the Eagles trading McNabb to NFC East rival Washington. There were a lot of other noteworthy transactions too.

Position Player (New team/old team)

WR Anquan Boldin (Baltimore/Arizona) – Boldin's first stop after stepping out of Larry Fitzgerald's shadow? Revis Island.

DE Alex Brown (New Orleans/Chicago) – The Saints, who let go of Charles Grant, picked up a quick pass rusher to pair with Will Smith.

CB Antonio Cromartie (New York Jets/San Diego) – With Darrelle Revis on the other side, Cromartie figures to see lots of passes coming his way.

LB Karlos Dansby (Miami/Arizona) – The Cardinals weren't going to franchise Dansby three years in a row, so they had to let him go.

QB Jake Delhomme (Cleveland/Carolina) – Can the Browns reboot a quarterback who had eight touchdowns and 18 interceptions last season?

G Alan Faneca (Arizona/Jets) – Faneca was a key component in a Jets offense that led the NFL in rushing last season. Good guards are vital.