Duane Starks celebrates his 49-yard interception return with Chris McAlister. The touchdown gave the Ravens a 17-0 third-quarter lead.

The first was a touchdown pass to wide receiver Brandon Stokley that saw Dilfer hit Stokley perfectly in stride as he carried Jason Sehorn into the end zone. He then connected with Qadry Ismail, again showing perfect touch and accuracy. This helped to set up a Matt Stover field goal.

The rest of the way, Dilfer stayed away from the crucial mistake, confidently directing the Ravens' offense even though he was hit hard on several occasions by Michael Strahan and company. While he wasn't always picture-perfect or tremendously artistic, Dilfer galvanized this football team, providing the necessary leadership, energy and enthusiasm. Folks, there isn't anyone out there who can find fault with his 11-1 record as the Ravens starting quarterback.

Early in the fourth quarter, with the Ravens leading 24-7, I started thinking about who would be the Super Bowl MVP. Guess what, 10 players drew strong consideration. That's the way it's been all year. Sure, the Ravens have a number of marquee names and future Hall of Famers, but this incredible season was a total team effort by the Ravens.

Against the Giants, Ray Lewis again proved why he is fast becoming the top middle linebacker ever to play the game. His instincts, intensity and passion for the game are unmatched. He has no weakness. Lewis was most deserving of MVP honors against the Giants, but so were wide receiver/return man Jermaine Lewis, Dilfer, Stokley, defensive end Michael McCrary, linebacker Jamie Sharper, safety Kim Herring and punter Kyle Richardson.

In addition to those individuals, rookie running back Jamal Lewis rushed for 102 yards and cornerback Chris McAlister came through with a key interception as the Giants were looking to get on the scoreboard right before the half. At the other cornerback spot, Duane Starks returned an interception for a touchdown, giving the Ravens a 17-0 lead. Right tackle Harry Swayne was beaten some by Giants defensive end Michael Strahan, but competed hard the entire way and did a commendable job overall. While tight end Shannon Sharpe wasn't a factor, veteran Ben Coates made some nice contributions. And how about Corey Harris and Billy Davis on special teams. Both where outstanding.

Speaking of special teams, Ravens punter Kyle Richardson outperformed the Giants' Brad Maynard, allowing the Ravens to pin the Giants deep in their own territory on several occasions while always providing a boost in the field-position battle.

Defensively, what the Ravens accomplished this season was definitely one for the books. Now, though, after a totally dominating effort in the Super Bowl, Ray Lewis and the Ravens can argue and substantiate the fact that they may be the best defense in NFL history. Not only did they completely put the clamps on a Giants offense that scored 41 points against the Vikings two weeks ago, but the Ravens allowed just one touchdown in their four postseason games.

Just one TD, and that was on the Titans' first drive of the game. Denver, Tennessee, Oakland and the Giants managed just one TD in 16 quarters of action. That's incredible!

While I agree that Ray Lewis was most deserving of MVP honors, the key play in the game was the kickoff return for a TD by Jermaine Lewis. After Giants rookie Ron Dixon answered Duane Starks' interception return with a coast-to-coast scamper, the Giants' defense was ready to take the field with more energy, emotion and momentum than at any point in the game. As they anticipated taking the field, Lewis had an answer for their answer, all but driving a final nail in the coffin.

However, what really propelled the Ravens to such heights was a wise approach on how to prepare this team for the long, marathon-like season. Unlike the old-school coaches and NFL fraternity in general that believes in tough, intense practices and an incredibly demanding training camp, Billick realizes that keeping your players at full strength is of paramount importance.

Even during the five-game stretch when the Ravens were held without a touchdown, Billick never wavered in his philosophy. In the end, this approach paid huge dividends. Outside of rookie wide receiver Travis Taylor, every starter, key contributor and top reserve who was on the depth chart in July and August was available for action against the Giants.

Billick realizes better than anyone in the game today that physical practices don't make physical players. The time to go to war is on game day during the regular season when the games count. Folks, if you have physical players, you have a physical team. True grit and tenacity isn't created on the practice field. In future years, it will be interesting to see how many head coaches in the NFL change over to Billick's winning philosophy.