If there was one thing that I was sure of going into this year’s playoffs, it was that Bill Belichick would not get outcoached. One final personal truism of mine fell by the wayside. Belichick did get outcoached.

And the Patriots got outplayed. Plain and simple. When you can’t control the offensive line you can’t win the game. The Patriots lost this one in the trenches, like the legions of Super Bowl also rans before them.

The team that couldn’t be beat got beat. And they got beat bad.

The final score was not really indicative of the dominance displayed on the field. Truth be told, the Giants pretty much controlled the game from the start. The Patriots got outplayed.

Even so, in true Patriot fashion they still managed to keep the score close enough for the usual Tom Brady game winning touchdown drive in the closing minutes. The Giants defensive front, though shifting players in and out the entire game finally got tired from ramming full speed into the chest of Tom Brady all day long. And the Patriots were finally able to give Brady just a sliver of breathing room.

But in my opinion, the Patriots made a huge tactical error late in the game that probably cost them the game. A game they did not deserve to win, but in true Patriots fashion, still could have won.

When they drove to inside the Giants 10 yard line with about 2:30 left on the clock, I was stunned to see them throwing into the end zone to Randy Moss on first and goal. The Giants had time outs. They had clock. And the Patriots had a relatively fresh Laurence Maroney. I just wonder how the game would have turned out had the Patriots let Maroney carry the ball on first and goal, run the clock down to the two minute warning. Then run Maroney again on second down, forcing the Giants to use a time out. Then go for the touchdown pass on 3rd down. Even if they didn’t make it, they still have an easy field goal for the tie, and they have used up more of the clock, and taken at least one of the Giants time outs away. The Patriots score a touchdown on that 3rd and goal and it is probably game over.

Belichick made the same mistake so many others have made against him in these big games. He gave them one last chance.

Some will say my logic is flawed here, you score when you can score. But with the momentum the Giants had the Patriots should have seen what was coming. There is no way they should have left the Giants with 2 1/2 minutes and a handful of time outs.

Instead, the Giants did to the Patriots what the Patriots have done to others so many times over these last 7 seasons, especially in the Super Bowl. The last second heroics were not Brady’s this time. Eli was the star of this show. Tom Brady got outplayed by Eli Manning.

Raise your hand if you saw this one coming back in week 7.

My blog last week was entitled “The Harsh Super Bowl Reality.” Reality is a shifting and evolving thing. As it turned out, the actual harsh Superbowl reality was that the team I predicted would pull themselves together and administer an October-like beating on the Giants didn’t show up. I have never seen an offensive line get decimated like that. Not since the 2000 Ravens or maybe even the ‘85 Bears have I seen a performance like that in the big game. And I certainly give the Giants all the respect in the world for that. The Patriots offensive line was inpenetrable through most of the season. They were completely and utterly destroyed by the Giants. A virtual jailbreak on every play.

What seemed the Patriots ultimate trump card and strength early in the season proved to be an illusion. The Giants defensive front was the best unit in the game at seasons end, and absolutely the final and deciding factor in this game, and every playoff game the Giants won. They have my ultimate respect. They won the Superbowl. Eli got the MVP, and props to him. But we all know who made the run possible. They negated the Moss factor by spending the day pummeling Tom Brady. And that is the one thing the Patriots absolutely could not allow in the game.

Yes Virginia, any given Sunday still applies. And after what we have just witnessed, I think that term applies more now than ever. I fell on the knife. I bought into the Patriots. I proclaimed their dominance to the world time and time again. I sold my soul and professed my admiration in ways that made me sick on a weekly basis. But in the end I guess it was all worth it.

It is hard work taking down an evil empire my friends. It is hard work.

What a tremendous Super Bowl. Aside from those in the greater Boston area, the result of yesterday’s game had to be viewed as one of the best Super Bowls of all-time. Hands down. It was everything that we hoped for and nothing like we expected. America loves pulling for the underdog and there had never been a more clear cut case for it before. The Pats were undefeated and unbeatable. No team had brought them down – not one. And on Sunday the Pats had two weeks to prepare for their final stamp of invincibility while playing in ideal conditions against a team that they had already beaten barely a month prior. It was all a great set-up for Patriot fans who were ready to watch their team claim history in so many ways.

Yeah, but…

America loves the underdog. Perhaps that’s a strange quality for a country that has been sitting at the head of the “Big and Bad” table for the better part of a century now but we do. It’s a testament to the personality of our society that wants to believe anything is possible not matter how tough the odds. It’s ironic that the Patriots had become the juggernaut since their mascot had been the original underdog in our history. But anything is possible and suddenly we have to sift through nineteen weeks of Patriot praise to decide what remains true. More than anything, we have to get comfortable with how we view the New York Giants that have won the Super Bowl after turning into a new team starting in week 16.

Unfortunately for the Giants, the win cements the loss of defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo. It should. The performance of the Giants defense was nothing short of awe-inspiring. While the MVP trophy was held aloft by Eli Manning, there is no refuting that it was the play of the entire defense that heralded not only the Super Bowl win but made possible reaching the game in the first place. Not to take anything away from Manning, but the defensive unit just throttled perhaps the best offense to ever take the field in NFL history.

And now we have to rethink Manning. After a month of playing like he truly is an elite quarterback, he no longer stands as Peyton’s goofy little brother who caves late in every season. Let’s be serious here – he just won a Super Bowl and did it with far less receivers than either Peyton or Tom Brady had to work with this year.

It was a tremendous way to conclude the 2007 NFL season. Instead of twiddling our thumbs for the next seven months listening to Pats fans refine their well-earned arrogance, we can still discuss the 2007 season and the Super Bowl at least until the NFL draft rolls around in April. Here’s some of the topics we have to consider -

- Were the Pats hurt by having too many aging veterans? Long season that ended in a game that needed fresh legs and the ability to hold up in Arizona heat.

- Why didn’t the Pats run more? Maroney was stuffed often, but he also had several nice runs.

- What will Randy Moss be like? He was rarely used in the playoffs and wasn’t a factor much in the biggest game of all.

- Is Steve Smith becoming a fantasy factor soon? The USC rookie certainly looked great on Sunday.

- Will the Pats weather this monumental set-back or will it play into the 2008 season?

- Can the Giants defense hold up after Spagnuolo is gone?

- When we draft our fantasy teams in August, is it possible to hear someone ask – “which Manning is that?”

Just a tremendous game, a wonderful ending to the season and above all, a shot of energy into the American psyche that still wants to believe.

Anything is possible.