Time for a little 'what if?'

If you're into "what if?" games - and frankly, with two weeks of Super Bowl hubbub upcoming, it's more fun than listening to the blather - here's a "what if?" to begin the festivities:

What if the Giants win?

Specifically: What if Tom Coughlin and Eli Manning beat Bill Belichick and Tom Brady again on the grand stage?

Wouldn't that, you know, change a few circumstances?

I mean, could you still call Belichick a "genius" if he's 0-2 in the Super Bowl against Coughlin?

Would Coughlin get promoted to exalted status of "best Parcells protégé?"

Would Coughlin become a "genius," too?

Or would we stop calling Belichick a "genius?"

I know. So many questions. So much time. Here's another:

If Brady is a first ballot Hall of Famer, what would that make Manning? He'd be 2-0 against the Brady and the only quarterback in the history of the NFL to win five road playoff games.

A more cynical fellow would point out that Manning's routes to two Super Bowls - through Dallas (13-3 at the time), frigid Green Bay, through Green Bay again with Aaron Rodgers and against a rock 'em, sock 'em 49ers' defense at windy, rainy Candlestick - is a mite harder than Brady's recent paths: Jacksonville and the immortal David Garrard in Foxborough, soft San Diego in Foxborough, Tim Tebow in Foxborough and Joe Flacco in Foxborough.

But then, that would be a more cynical fellow.

It wouldn't be fair, of course, to dismiss New England's three Super Bowl wins. Belichick and Brady will always have that, sort of like Rick and Ilsa always had Paris. It's just that some of Patriot Nation - or perhaps it's Patriot Media (one and the same?) - tends to dismiss Super Bowl XLII as a fluke, what with David Tyree's catch and all.

As if the "Tuck Rule" was some scholarly strategy passed down from a higher order.

Perhaps we should agree they've both received a bounce or two along the way.

Still, I'd like to think it's time, especially if the Giants win, that their quarterback and coach are afforded the proper historical assessments. It's harder than you think. Because neither are self-promoters.

We've watched Coughlin take Boston College from four wins in 1991 to denying Notre Dame a national championship in 1993. He took expansion Jacksonville from nothing to the AFC championship game in a few years. He arrived in New York after a 4-12 season and has won the NFC East three times, the NFC twice, a Super Bowl and made the playoffs in five of eight years.

And to this day, his principles are unwavering, all the way to this season when he benched Ahmad Bradshaw for a half of the first Dallas game in December, a game the Giants needed more than a lung.

In a sporting era where excuses made in the name of winning are boundless, Tom Coughlin stands for what's right. And he has tied Tom Landry with seven road wins in the playoffs, most in NFL history.

No one's ever called him a "genius," though.

Manning, meanwhile, could be the victim of a firecracker exploding in his left nostril and his facial expression wouldn't change. All he's done is beat Brady, Rodgers, Favre and Romo in the playoffs. And yet he's incessantly immersed in the "is he an elite quarterback?" debate.

Now I know that the folks doing the debating aren't spending their free time with the Times Sunday Crossword. But still. The guy is the football Jeter. Of course, the S.G.O.A. (Stat Geeks Of America) think Jeter stinks, too.

All of this makes for a fascinating game. If the Giants win, that's two Super Bowls for Manning and Coughlin against the Genius and his liege. If the Pats win, that's four Super Bowls for Belichick and Brady.

And yet both teams, win or lose, can walk away from this season with a measure of satisfaction.

Can't wait.

This is the opinion of Day sports columnist Mike DiMauro.