We're just a few weeks away from NFL preseason, and then the regular season will eventually begin. Pat yourselves on the back, football fans, it's been a long wait.

With a new NFL season about to start up, it's time to start making predictions on each and every division, and more importantly, on both conferences. While the Seattle Seahawks are the favorites to "three-peat" in the NFC, many are picking the Colts to conquer all over in the AFC.

And rightfully so.

In the Andrew Luck era, the Indianapolis Colts have improved every year. In 2012 (Luck's rookie year) the Colts made the playoffs, but lost in the first round to the Baltimore Ravens. In 2013 they defeated the Kansas City Chiefs in the wild card round, but lost in the second round to the New England Patriots. And of course, it was last season that they were bounced by (again) Tom Brady and Bill Belichick's crew, this time in the conference championship.

If this trend continues, the Colts will make it to the fourth round (yes, that's the Super Bowl) this upcoming season.

There's honestly no excuse for the Colts not to win the AFC this year. Luck has proven he is more than capable of playing the quarterback position at an elite level. After all, he did lead the NFL in passing touchdowns last season with 40, one ahead of Peyton Manning. Luck is also the most underrated mobile quarterback in the game today.

Playing in the AFC South should guarantee the Colts a 6-0 divisional record, like last season, right off the bat. As much as people do criticize the Colts defense, it is fair to mention that they did rank 11th overall in the league last season in yards allowed.

The additions of Andre Johnson and Frank Gore provided the Colts with arguably the best offseason of any team. Reggie Wayne remains a free agent, but Johnson can easily fill his void. Johnson had 936 receiving yards last year on a Houston Texans team that had huge passing issues. The Colts ranked 18th in rushing yards last season, but adding Gore will give the Colts a stable running game. Gore has rushed for over 1,000 yards in eight of the last nine seasons.

Not only did the Colts get better, but the rest of the AFC got worse.

The Patriots still haven't received word on Brady's four game suspension, and more than likely he'll be out for some time. The Patriots will also be without defensive stars Darrelle Revis, Brandon Browner and Vince Wilfork. The Denver Broncos, who have had a bye week in the playoffs the last three years, recently fired their head coach and no longer have Julius Thomas on the roster.

The Pittsburgh Steelers no longer have an elite defense, and Jason Worilds' shocking retirement won't help them. We may be in for a Ravens vs. Colts AFC Championship game. The Colts used to be based in Baltimore, so this matchup would be somewhat ironic.

With so many great additions and other teams falling apart in AFC, the Colts have no excuses not to win the conference this year.

Follow Damon Salvadore on Twitter @DamonSalvadore1