Super Bowl XLVI Win Doesn't Make the New York Giants a Dynasty Yet

The New York Giants are not a dynasty.

Congratulations on the 2012 Super Bowl win. Congratulations on proving all of your numerous doubters—this writer included—incredibly wrong. Congratulations on sustaining a ridiculous rash of early-season injuries and making it through a murderer's row of playoff opponents en route to a championship.

The New York Giants were the best team of 2012—they're just not a dynasty.

Dynasty Is a Word Too Easily Thrown Around

What constitutes a dynasty? Is it just winning multiple championships? What time frame do the rings need to be won in? How long does a dynasty need to last to be called a dynasty?

Anytime a team wins multiple championships, the media starts throwing this word around.

The New England Patriots under Bill Belichick and Tom Brady have won 10 or more games in all but one season and numerous championships and MVP awards to boot. Are the Patriots a dynasty? I'm not so sure.

Were Ben Roethlisberger's Pittsburgh Steelers a dynasty? What about John Elway's Denver Broncos?

Are those dynasties, or are those just teams that had a good run?

Let's look at the teams we know are dynasties—the San Francisco 49ers under Bill Walsh, the Dallas Cowboys with Troy Aikman, Emmitt Smith and Michael Irvin, the Chuck Noll Pittsburgh Steelers.

Those teams didn't just have a couple of championships in a couple of years; they dominated decades' worth of NFL play. Each of those teams redefined the way the game was played.

Have Eli Manning and the New York Giants done that?

Not yet.

Who Are the New York Giants?

Not to take anything away from the Giants, but would anyone have said they were the best team of the 2011 NFL season before tonight?

I don't think so.

Of course, none of that matters this year, because Eli is a Super Bowl MVP and the Giants are bringing home the Lombardi Trophy on their team jet.

Those other dynasties? No one ever questions they were the best.

Pittsburgh's Steel Curtain defense scared the living hell out of opponents. Bill Walsh's West Coast offense confused coaches a decade later. The Dallas Cowboys lined up with more 300-plus-lb offensive linemen than anyone had ever seen and just ran down people's throats.

What do the Giants do?

The Giants have great quarterback play and a nice wide receiver tandem. The Giants defense is strong up front and bends but doesn't break. Tom Coughlin is a good coach.

Yet the Giants don't have the best quarterback or receivers. Their defense is hardly among the league's all-time elite, and no one is stumping for Coughlin's immediate Hall of Fame inclusion.

Super Bowl Wins a Trend or Independent/Unrelated Events?

Giants fans who are searching for a team trait might be tempted to echo the late Al Davis—"Just win baby!"

However, does anyone think the Giants are a dynasty defined by winning Super Bowls after winning two in four years?

Seriously?

Again, congrats on the second trophy. It is a remarkable feat—it just doesn't make the Giants a dynasty.

What did the Giants do before the 2008 Super Bowl? They lost to the Baltimore Ravens in 2001 and then floundered as an average/above-average football team while they benched Kurt Warner and waited patiently for Eli Manning to mature.

After 2008? The Giants missed the playoffs three times.

Dynasties don't fall off from championships and rebuild. That discredits them from being a dynasty. Dynasties build on success with more success, and the New York Giants haven't done that. 

The Giants won a Super Bowl in 2008 and won another in 2012. The two teams may have shared a common opponent and some common names, but they are not as connected as the short span of time would cause you to believe.

If the Giants want to become a dynasty, they need to build on the success of 2012. Down the road, 2008's championship will simply be a prologue while this season's masterful performance is the first chapter.

Can the Giants Become the Next Great NFL Dynasty?

This question, to me, is much more interesting than prematurely assuming the Giants already are a dynasty. It is also more measured in this era of knee-jerk opinion-mongering and preserves the term for more lofty standards.

Do the Giants have the makings of a dynasty? Sure!

Eli Manning is 31, in the prime of his career and could easily play another 10 years. Tom Coughlin is only 65 and could easily coach another five or more years. The Giants defense is young—built around under-30 stars like Jason Pierre-Paul, Prince Amukamara and Justin Tuck. Also, the Giants won this Super Bowl with a number of key young players on injured reserve—Marvin Austin, Clint Sintim, Will Beatty, et al.

Entering 2012, the Giants should be expected to compete for another championship.

The problem is, the Giants have a lot of talented teams standing in their way.

Like the Giants, the Green Bay Packers have the makings of a nice, young dynasty and aren't going to be an easy out as long as Aaron Rodgers is under center. The San Francisco 49ers did remarkable things in Jim Harbaugh's first year. The New Orleans Saints expect to get Drew Brees back and have built the most explosive, multifaceted offense in the league.

Dynasty status in the NFL isn't just handed away. If the Giants really want to be considered a dynasty, they have to take it.

That means the New York Giants need to build on this year's success and not take a multi-year playoff hiatus like they did last time. Eli Manning needs to continue his high level of play and make sure he's consistently mentioned alongside Brady, Peyton Manning, Brees and Rodgers. The Giants defense needs to stay healthy and committed to the high level of play they achieved this season.

None of that is impossible. It just hasn't happened yet. Being a dynasty is something the New York Giants should certainly aspire to and certainly can be—they just aren't because of this win.

Not yet.

Michael Schottey is an NFL Associate Editor for Bleacher Report and an award-winning member of the Pro Football Writers of America. He has professionally covered both the Minnesota Vikings and the Detroit Lions, as well as NFL events like the scouting combine and the Senior Bowl. Follow him on Twitter.