Congratulations to the New York Giants for a masterfully played Super Bowl. Your coaching, game preparation, execution, and heart were all truly admirable. I hope that all the Giants fans and players will enjoy the next 5 months before the next season begins.

The Giants season of 2007-2008 really demonstrates how the NFL is a week-to-week league. NY began the year with losses to Dallas and Green Bay. If the NFL was run like NCAA Football, 0-2 would mean no chance at a championship. But in the NFL, if you can somehow reach the play-offs, the game that matters to you is the one in front of you - take care of business and win, then remain alive for another week. The Giants were amazing at being able to focus one game at a time.

The Patriots have had a season of infamy and continuous scrutiny. First came "Spygate" then came the "Perfect Season" - talk of which began after week two. Among the many distractions were charges of "running up the score" after blowing out Washington, Don Shula claiming the Pats deserved an asterisk if they went unbeaten, a restraining order against Randy Moss, a rumored filming of the Rams final walk-through practice before the Patriots first Super Bowl victory, and so on.

Opponents geared up to play the Patriots. Teams like Philadelphia and Baltimore brought their "A" games. Even the Giants in week 17, with nothing to play for except professional pride and duty, gave the Pats their best shot and made them earn finishing the regular season 16-0.

The stress of the perfect season had to be enormous on New England. Five months of building pressure - perhaps it took its toll. When it came down to the biggest game of the year and all the inner strength and energy a player could muster was required, it seemed the Giants had more. The Patriot offensive line looked flat-footed, unable to cope with NY's defensive speed and schemes.

There may never be another team get this close to 19-0 again and perhaps no coach would want to because of the pressure it brings with it.

19-0 would have been good for the NFL fan base of the future. The Dolphin's perfect season of 17-0 in '72 has already been 35 seasons ago. The players who played then are now old feeble-bodied men. What percentage of fans ever watched the '72 dolphins play except for the Super Bowl highlights. The number of fans who witnessed that season will continue to die out.

Baseball fans can relate to their past. The strike zone and distance between bases was the same in 1908 as now. Some dude hitting .350 in 1897 must have been a pretty good batter.

Football is an ever-evolving sport and one era hardly resembles another. Names like Red Grange, Otto Graham, Sam Huff, Y.A. Tittle, have meaning to a smaller, and smaller number of fans. It is hard to compare QBs and RBs from different eras. Experts contend that Jim Brown was maybe the best RB ever. he played before my time and he looks like a helluva athlete on film busting through arm tackles of plodding, white, 200-lb. linebackers and 220-pound defensive linemen.

The grins with missing teeth, the beer-bellies, the lumbering gaits from old NFL films don't impress me much.  How many players from the '72 Dolphins could make an NFL roster today? Perhaps Paul Warfield? We won't know because 35 seasons is like comparing apples and oranges.

A 19-0 Patriot team would have been a good modern benchmark for the younger fans today to compare future teams to. A sport needs benchmarks &comparisons to remain relevant.

The comments circulating the day after SB-42 are amazing: "The Patriots are a finesse team, the Giants punched them in the mouth and they couldn't respond. The Best team won last night. Belichick was outcoached. Brady was rattled."  Ad nauseum.

It was a great Super Bowl that could have gone either way. I hope the Patriot fans will recover soon and grow to apreciate the great season you had. You are the modern day benchmark. A 16-0 regular season has never been done before and future teams will be compared against you. The Patriots might be the first Super Bowl losing team to be re-membered longer than the winner. All other Super Bowl losers were quickly forgotten.

Congratulations New England Patriots on a Fascinating 2007. Good luck in 2008.

Best wishes and Be Well.