Cowboys 27, Chargers 13

I know it's a little early to be predicting the result of Super Bowl 43, but why wait until the last minute?  Football season starts next month, and I didn't want any meaningless pre-season games coloring my judgment.  Dallas wins because they have so much talent that not even Wade Philips will be able to mess this up.  In short, Tony Romo shows he's ready for prime time, and Philip Rivers shows he isn't.  That's not to say Rivers won't win a Super Bowl some day; he just has to do some growing up before he becomes a good quarterback.

What about last year's combatants?  This is what New England considers a transitional year.  For anyone else it would be a rebuilding year, but the Pats never rebuild.  They keep playing at a high level as they bring in younger players.  They're still a good team, but they have some age, and they won't make it past San Diego this time, as the Chargers finally exorcise some demons.

And the defending champions themselves?  I expect the New York Giants will stagger through a 9-7 season, which in this Age of Parity may get them into the playoffs, but not for long.  Why such a decline in their fortunes?  First of all, the Giants were not the most talented team in the NFL last year.  Far from it.  The Pats were better, and the Cowboys, and the Colts, and the Chargers, and at least a few more teams besides.

Having said that, I think the 2008 Giants will actually be more talented than the 2007 version.  But as the Giants elder statement Amani Toomer said, some of the most talented Giant teams he played on were the worst Giant teams.  They underacheived throughout the early 2000's and it wasn't just the matter of growing pains as they developed a new quarterback.

This was a team whose stars thought they were more important than the team.  Shockey works out by himself, Strahan showed up for camp if and when he felt like it, Burress showed up the quarterback, and so on.  Now in the off season, a bunch of Giants went out and wrote books and ate more than they should have on the banquet circuit.  The hungry team that out-played everyone in the playoffs last year has become fat, dumb, and UNhappy.

Justin Tuck was given the huge contract he deserves, so now Osi (the only Pro Bowler) wants more money.  Shockey is angry because people are saying the team won the Super Bowl without him,and he got in a shouting match with the GM, Burress is unhappy with his contract (that still runs through 2010) and Ahmad Bradshaw is serving 30 days in jail.  At least it was only a parole violation, not a new offense.  This does not inspire confidence in the Giants ability to repeat as Super Bowl champions.

So it will be the Cowboys, the team that least deserves another championship, with the worst owner this side of George Steinbrenner, that wins the Super Bowl.