Earlier this summer, Shalise Manza Young wrote about the coming battle between the Patriots and the Steelers for the title of "Team of the Decade" -- hey, call them "Team of the Millennium" if you want. The Pats have more Super Bowl titles (3 to 2), but Pittsburgh has won two since the Patriots last won a championship. New England has dominated Pittsburgh in head-to-head meetings this decade, but the Steelers won the last one -- in definitive fashion -- and helped keep the Patriots out of the playoffs last season in the process.

If either team holds up the Lombardi Trophy at the end of this season, expect history to view that team as the best. For the Patriots, four Super Bowl championships in 10 years would put them on even footing with the Steelers of the '70s or the 49ers of the '80s, undeniably a dynasty in an age of supposed parity. If the Steelers win, though, New Englanders should accept the fact that the majority of the country will give the nod to Pittsburgh -- not least because of the Spygate scandal that has (unfairly) tarnished the Patriots' accomplishments in the eyes of many, many fans outside this region.

On the surface, you couldn't get much more different than the Steelers and the Patriots. One team comes into this season hoping to win with an explosive and pass-happy offense that should put up enough points in most weeks to cover up its deficiencies on defense. Thanks to the super abilities of Tom Brady, Bill Belichick has transformed his team from the hard-nosed, defense-first unit that shut everyone down in the first half of the decade to the points-producing juggernaut of the latter half. He has done so as the league has changed the rules to favor offense over defense, partly in response to the aggressive pass coverage that the Patriots' secondary once used to frustrate Kurt Warner's Rams and Peyton Manning's Colts in big games past. The Steelers, meanwhile, have built a defense that is so good it can still dominate in this era of offense.

The Patriots have a quarterback (Tom Brady) whose image is GQ. The Steelers have a quarterback (Ben Roethlisberger) whose image is frat boy.

The Patriots have used trades and free-agent signings to improve their roster, while Pittsburgh drafted almost all of its key players.

What the teams have in common is that they have been able to excel despite the comings and goings of many important individuals over the past decade, and that they have both built strong and disciplined team cultures short on drama.

Former Patriot Rodney Harrison summed it up in a Fox Sports article by Alex Marvez: "I look at the Steelers as almost a replica of the Patriots. They just win games. They're always thinking about team first. They're not flashy. They have talented guys but not a bunch of 'me' guys like T.O. [Buffalo wide receiver Terrell Owens] and Pacman [Jones]."

The best team of the 1990s -- the Dallas Cowboys -- was in some ways the embodiment of the "me-first" world of pro sports that so many fans despise. They had great pros like Troy Aikman and Emmitt Smith, but also some super-talented problem children who had frequent run-ins with the law. The owner and the coach couldn't get along, and an organization that should have had a longer run of greatness ended up disintegrating into the dysfunction that has characterized it so far in the 21st century. You couldn't find a clearer contrast than the Patriots -- or the Steelers -- of this decade.

The Steelers begin defense of their title tonight against the last team to defeat them in a meaningful game: the Tennessee Titans. After that 2008 game, some of the players on Tennessee (which you may forget entered the playoffs as the number-one seed in the AFC) could be seen stomping on Pittsburgh's yellow Terrible Towels. Steelers players all say they are not talking much about that show of disrespect, but I don't believe them. It should just be one more piece of motivation for Pittsburgh to get its season started off right tonight.

Which brings me to this week's picks:

STEELERS over Titans: The defending Super Bowl champion has won on opening day nine consecutive seasons. The last time a defending champ lost on opening day was in 1999, when the Denver Broncos were playing their first game of the post-John Elway era.

FALCONS over Dolphins: Two of the biggest surprise stories of last season meet in Week 1. Miami's 11-5 season was a remarkable accomplishment coming off a 1-15 showing in 2007, but the Dolphins took advantage of some weak competition. Atlanta, a team that kept winning in the tough NFC South, gets the nod.

RAVENS over Chiefs: Baltimore's defense would be too tough a challenge even for a Kansas City team with a healthy Matt Cassel. With the starting quarterback still unknown, this game becomes almost unwinnable for the Chiefs.

PANTHERS over Eagles: There's a lot of talk about the talent on this Philadelphia team, but I see a lot of questions, too. Carolina, which has almost all its starters back from a team that went 12-4, is a tough assignment in Week 1.

BENGALS over Broncos: Let's assume Kyle Orton plays. Cincinnati still looks too strong, which is not encouraging for Denver.

Vikings over BROWNS: Thanks to Terrell Owens, we now know that Brady Quinn will be starting for Cleveland. That the Vikings' defense is too strong for Cleveland, though, has never been in question.

TEXANS over Jets: Houston, which had one of the league's best offenses last year, wants to show that it is finally a legitimate playoff contender, and this is a good opportunity.

COLTS over Jaguars: No problem for Peyton and company.

SAINTS over Lions: Detroit will win a game this year, but not yet.

Cowboys over BUCS: Both of these teams collapsed down the stretch last season, but Dallas appears to be in a better position for a rebound. Tampa Bay's defense -- so dependable for so long -- betrayed the team at the end of 2008, and slowing down the Cowboys' potent offense will be a problem on Sunday.

CARDINALS over 49ers: Life hasn't been kind in recent years to teams that lost the previous year's Super Bowl, but Arizona has all the talent in place to compete for the NFC title again. Playing nondescript NFC West foes like the 49ers six times this season won't hurt.

GIANTS over Redskins: Albert Haynesworth dissed the Giants' vaunted rushing attack this week, and he is right not to be intimidated -- if I were Haynesworth's size, nothing would scare me. This should be a low-scoring, brutal affair reminiscent of old-school NFC East battles, but I expect New York to find the end zone a couple of times, and I'm not as confident about Washington's.

SEAHAWKS over Rams: St. Louis coach Steve Spagnuolo has a lot of work to do to turn around a team that was probably the second-worst in the NFL last year. Seattle plays in front of its tough home crowd, and with Matt Hasselbeck back in charge of the offense.

PACKERS over Bears: With a pair of talented quarterbacks facing off against shaky defenses, Sunday night's game could be one of the more wide-open battles in the history of this ancient rivalry. Some people see the Bears as Super Bowl contenders under Jay Cutler, but he will have to demonstrate that he can play smart and avoid the big mistakes, and the spotlight that comes from this nationally televised game could be a bit too bright.

PATRIOTS over Bills: Someday, Buffalo will find a way to beat the Patriots again. But not this week. The streak reaches an NFL-record 12.

Chargers over RAIDERS: An season-opening date with Oakland should be just the formula for San Diego to reverse its recent history of disappointing starts.