Fernando Gallo:

Baltimore Ravens

Picking a Super Bowl winner in September is kind of like trying to predict that you’ll marry someone after your first date: It’s way too early to tell, and you’ll more than likely be wrong. But I’m going to go ahead and throw a team out there so at least if they do end up winning the Super Bowl, I’ll look like a genius, which will be a nice change.

My pick to win the Super Bowl is the Baltimore Ravens. It’s not that the Ravens are unstoppable; it’s just that everyone else has too many problems to be the Super Bowl champions. We can start by eliminating last year’s champs, the Colts, because a quarter of their team is gone. It was like a quick jewelry store robbery – everyone grabbed a ring and ran for the door. The reigning NFC Champions, the Bears, have the same problem they had last year. A lot of people love the Patriots, but their defense has lost too many people over the last two or three years, and it’s about to catch up to them. The Chargers are a popular pick to win, but they have to deal with their new coach, Norv Turner. If you don’t think that’s going to be a problem, just ask any Raiders fan how good of a coach he is (although you might want to do it from a safe distance). The Saints? They can’t stop anybody. The Eagles’ hopes rest with Donovan McNabb, but he spends more time in the doctor’s office then he does in the huddle. Tony Romo is still learning in Dallas, and with T.O. on the team, there will be too much drama and distraction in Big D.

So that leaves us with Baltimore. The team has all of the qualities that you look for in a Super Bowl champ: great defense, tough offensive line and a veteran quarterback with playoff experience. Steve “Air” McNair may not be as capable as he was when he led the Titans to the Super Bowl in 1999, but thanks to new running back Willis McGahee, he won’t have to be. McGahee will run wild behind that big offensive line. And the defense, led by the NFL’s most fearsome madman/linebacker Ray Lewis, will keep other teams in check and allow the offense to eat up the clock and control the game.

Galen Kusic:

Marshawn Lynch

The Buffalo Bills lost relentless star running back Willis McGahee to the Ravens this offseason. They look to fill that major void with the 12th overall pick in the draft and second running back taken overall in Marshawn Lynch.

As an Oakland native and star at Cal, Lynch was a semifinalist last year for the Doak Walker award, which is given to the best running back in the country. Additionally, he was named first team All-American by the NFL Draft Report and the American Football Coaches Association.

Lynch is an excellent pass receiver and solid pass blocker. It is essential to have a solid all-around back that can excel at all three aspects of the position to have a truly successful team. Lynch provides all of that with one of the biggest intangibles – heart.

Everyone seems to expect Adrian Peterson or Calvin Johnson to be the rookie of the year this season, and rightfully so, but don’t sleep on No. 23.

Lynch will be running behind enormous 6’8” 370 pound offensive tackle Langston Walker, which should give him enough space to break some nice runs.

Lynch is known for his ability to break tackles and turn a for-sure loss into a first down. Even though he isn’t as quick as a Barry Sanders, he has that same start-stop style that makes defensive backs look foolish when all they can tackle is grass.

The biggest difference is, Lynch runs people over like a Mack truck.

I have faith in the Bay Area star to come through and tear it up this season. Don’t let his less-than-stellar preseason stats fool you – once it is game time, Lynch always comes to play 110 percent. I hope he shows those other 11 teams that passed on him what they’re missing.

Plus, Lynch likes to “go dumb” while joyriding injury carts – as he did after a victory against Washington in college. That’s what it’s all about – having fun and scoring touchdowns while you do it.

Justin McCall:

Dallas Cowboys

If your team is the Dallas Cowboys, then you need to start preparing your Super Bowl Party, because that trophy will have a new home with the Dallas organization at the end of the season. Yes, the Cowboys will win the Super Bowl because they will be great in every aspect of the game.

For those who just read that last paragraph and said something along the lines of “You’ve got to be kidding me,” I’ll give you three reasons the Cowboys’ roster will be wearing Super Bowl rings. Those reasons are Dallas’ QB Tony Romo, WR Terrell Owens and new coach Wade Phillips.

Since the retirement of Troy Aikman, the Cowboys have been in search of a QB who could lead them down field and lead them to another Super Bowl. Romo put on his Superman cape last year when he took the starting spot from Drew Bledsoe and helped lead the Cowboys to the postseason. Sure, Romo had the missed snap in the final seconds of last year’s playoff game against the Seattle Seahawks, but Romo brought that winning mentality to the team that got them there in the first place after not beginning the season as the starting QB. He knows he’s the true starter this year and knows he’ll have to prove that last year was no fluke season for him. That is why he will have one of the best years of his career this year. Moreover, Romo knows his teammates believe in him. He has an elite group of weapons on his side of the ball that will make his job easier.

I know the T.O. haters are just waiting for me to say something positive about Owens now that I mentioned him. I mean sure, the man can become a distraction to his team at times and get in the face of his QB, but let’s face it, he can help his team win by playing and making plays that no other receiver can. The reality is Owens does what’s needed to reach that championship level. This will be the first full season Romo and Owens will play together, so expect an unstoppable offense from the beginning of the season to the end.

The Dallas defense had question marks surrounding it last year. Expect those question marks to turn into exclamation points with the coaching of Phillips. Phillips is a defensive-minded coach and will fix the problems Dallas had on defense last year, mainly their secondary coverage on the long ball. Without a doubt, Dallas’ “D” is going to drastically change for the good and will be the opposition’s worst nightmare.

Well, what happens if you are the Dallas Cowboys and have both excellent offense anddefense? I’ll tell you. A Super Bowl championship happens.

Alicia de la Garza:

Lance Briggs

After crashing his new 2007 Lamborghini into a light pole and a concrete bridge support, Lance Briggs of the Chicago Bears fled the scene. What a great role model for our kids. This is the man who refused to play for a team that labeled him their “franchise” player because he didn’t like the role placed upon him.

The man fled the scene of an accident. And to make matters worse, he reported the car stolen after he left. In an article in USA Today, Briggs said that “when it happened, the first thing I did was, obviously, I panicked … I didn’t want there to be a big scene there. And so I left the scene. When I left, I called the tow truck. I also was startled, and I called to report that my car was stolen. Within probably 10 minutes, I called back and accepted responsibility for what I did because it was ridiculous in the first place.”

I don’t know about you, but I find that hilarious. If he wants to be taken seriously as a role model for young athletes, he needs to start setting a better example.

It has yet to be determined if alcohol was involved, and for some reason, Illinois police aren’t actively looking into it. “We’re not pursuing that at this point,” Master Sgt. Luis Gutierrez said in an article on ESPN.com.

It seems to me that Briggs must have known he had done something wrong if he decided to flee the scene and not notify police about his accident.

Briggs told reporters that he had called the police around 8 or 9 a.m. to report his vehicle being stolen, but Illinois police have no record of this. All they have is a 911 call placed by Briggs around 4 a.m.

Just a few too many details are missing from this story. The weird thing is that Briggs got out of the car without any injuries, but take one look at that car and you would think he would have at least received a bruise.

Oh well. I guess when you’re a linebacker and a highly popular person in the NFL, even a car crash doesn’t really phase you anymore.

Andrew Eggers

Adrian Peterson

A future superstar that you might not know is Minnesota Viking’s rookie running back Adrian Peterson. College football fans know his name because he wore out opposing defenses in the Big 12 Conference for the last three years while playing at Oklahoma University. In Peterson’s freshman year at OU, he set the school rushing record with 1,925 yards, was named to the Associated Press First Team All-American, and was runner-up in the Heisman Trophy voting behind Matt Leinart. I think Peterson will burst on the scene and make an impact right away in the National Football League like he did in college. Peterson was exceptionally talented at OU. He finished as the third leading rusher in school history with 4,045 yards in only three years.

The 6-foot-1, 218 pound Peterson has the ideal size and speed to be an elite rusher in the NFL. Scouts at the NFL drooled over his highlight tapes in college because of his quickness and ability to make tacklers miss. He was the first running back to be drafted and the 7th overall selection in the 2007 draft, selected over players such as Notre Dame’s Brady Quinn and University of California’s Marshawn Lynch.

Peterson is the second running back on the Viking’s depth chart behind veteran Chester Taylor. Although he and Taylor will be sharing time in the backfield, Peterson will get plenty of touches and end up with the starting job by midseason. The Viking’s offensive line is improving; as a team they ran for 1,820 yards last year, bettering their 2005 total of 1,467 yards. Brad Childress, the Viking’s head coach, likes to run the ball, calling running plays 43 percent of the time while veteran Brad Johnson was starting at quarterback last year. I think the Vikings will run the ball even more this year to take some of the pressure off Tarvaris Jackson, who is in his first year as the Viking’s starting quarterback this year.

In college, Peterson showed excellent big play ability. In his 31 career games at OU, Peterson ran for over 100 yards in 22 games, and six of those games he rushed for over 200 yards. Peterson broke his collarbone last year, causing him to miss seven games before returning to play in the Fiesta Bowl against Boise State. He broke his collarbone in a freak play in which he scored on a long touchdown run. Don’t think he is injury prone though — he has proven in the past that he can stay healthy. In the 2004 season, he ran the ball 339 times, setting the NCAA record for freshmen.

In his last preseason game this year against the New York Jets he carried the ball eight times for 70 yards including a 43-yard touchdown run. He is an explosive runner who will remind Viking fans of Herschel Walker. His nickname from his college days is “AD,” which stands for Adrian “All Day” Peterson. Look out for this stud to run over NFL defenses “All Day” on Sundays in the near future.

The State Hornet staff can be reached at [email protected].