Who Will Stop the Evil Empire That Is the New England Patriots?

Everyone wants to dethrone a champion. There's no greater feeling than defeating somebody or something that has already risen above challenges and expectations to become the ultimate victor. Now that the summer of 2008 is coming to an end and the trials and tribulations of Brett Favre are concluded, now we can all focus what is really important: the 2008 NFL Season.

Lucky for us fans, 31 teams have been preparing since the end of last season to get to the promise land and become this year's champion. Each and every team is gunning for last year's champion. The league enemy. The evil empire. The Patriots? But wait, what exactly did the Patriots win last year? Not a championship, that's for sure.

They won eternal damnation in NFL folklore as the team that was perfect but then wasn't. They were the real life Goliath taken down by David. Yet they are still the enemy. Bill Belichick is still the Darth Vader of the sports world and that isn't going to change any time soon.

So who's going to defeat the Pats this season? Can they run the table again? I don't see why not. There are not many suitable contenders on their schedule. They open with four of the leagues worst teams: the Chiefs, Jets, Dolphins, and 49ers. Three games of interest are road visits, which all take place on Sunday nights in San Diego, Indianapolis, and Seattle, all of whom have legitimate shots at beating the Patriots.

The AFC's next best teams will have their shots but who's to say whether of not they will have success. The Pats didn't lose on Sunday night last year despite being tested by the Eagles and Ravens. They also didn't succumb to any team on the road last year. Although the Pats lost last season's finale to the Giants, it has to be recognized by all fans that the Patriots are still the team to beat in the NFL.

They have the league's most dominant player (Tom Brady) and by far it's best coach. They have a tough defense and plenty of playmakers. The Patriots quest at perfection (a second time) has to be the story of the 2008 NFL season.

Because if the road games don't trip up the Pats then what can? If Belichick is truly Darth Vader than is it plausible that Brett Favre is Luke Skywalker? Sent from Green Bay to get two opportunities with a revamped Jets team (noteworthy offseason signings and draft picks) to defeat the evil empire once and for all and once again shine his white light back on the league.

If it won't be Favre in all of his new glory with the Jets then our NFL fans' eyes must turn on one other hopeful contender: the Dallas Cowboys. The Cowboys are chock full of charismatic players and are motivated to revenge the loss the Giants served them last season.

Thanks to that motivation and some big offseason moves, which included landing troubled cornerback Adam Jones, the Cowboys have made themselves the NFC top team for the second year in a row. The problem lies that unlike last year the Cowboys are not slated to play the Patriots in the regular season.

This means that the team best equipped to take down the Patriots (besides the Giants) won't see the Patriots until maybe it's too late. If the two conference title winners from a year ago were to match up in the Super Bowl it might mean that the Pats have marched through the regular season and post season unscathed. That would mean 36-1 in 37 games.

But before all that potentially happens the Patriots will have to get back to a place they never really left: the top of the NFL. If 18-0 was possible last season, who is to say it might not happen again? That is why when the season kicks off in less than a month, my eyes will be in one place and one place only: New England. As they say, history has a way of repeating itself.