Authoring the proper final verses to his career has been on Michael Strahan’s mind for some time, so it is no surprise he walked away from the game on Monday, a little more than four months after the Giants won Super Bowl XLII. 

Even at age 36, Strahan still ranked among the best defensive ends in the NFL. We never saw him in serious decline, consistently pushed around by inferior offensive tackles. He was not going to let that happen.

“Winning the Super Bowl would definitely be a fairytale ending,” he said in the week leading up to what was his final NFL game, “but also walking away from the game when people think you can still do it. Not walking away when everybody says, ‘Well, he used to be a good player.’ ”

Strahan could beat his opponent in any number of ways. He was sudden. He was savvy. And he was very strong.

“Oh man, he’s got that bull rush,” Patriots ORT Nick Kaczur was saying before Super Bowl XLII. The Pats were favored by almost two touchdowns vs. the Giants on the strength of an offense that had almost scored at will for 18 games. Why, New England had just put up 38 points on New York almost five weeks earlier. With two weeks to prepare, the Patriots appeared a mortal lock.

But a New England offensive line universally praised all season for its skill, technique and cohesion cracked under an onslaught of Giants pass-rush pressure. Helping to lead the way was Strahan, who notched a sack and two hits on QB Tom Brady, who was more uncomfortable than he had been all season. And with good reason: Kaczur’s worst fears were coming to fruition. And on the other side, Justin Tuck and Osi Umenyiora were wearing out OT Matt Light and OG Logan Mankins.

So, worry not for the pass rush of the defending Super Bowl champions, even with Strahan no longer in the fold. Tuck is one of the game’s rising stars at any position. Umenyiora can take over a game. And third-year pro Mathias Kiwanuka has a bright future whether at linebacker or end. The Giants have been preparing for Strahan’s departure for years, and the proof lies in a D-line depth chart that impresses even when his name is erased.

Were we to have had a similar discussion about Strahan and the Giants’ defensive ends a year ago, there would have been more questions than answers about the young players. And Strahan’s résumé might not have been enough to get him to Canton. He owned the single-season sack record (22½, 2001), but that will forever be shrouded in controversy after Packers QB Brett Favre’s trip-and-fall in the ’01 season finale gave Strahan the record. And he had no title yet to his credit.

Michael Strahan

“There is a time when I said, ‘Man, can I go back to retirement without having everybody hate me?’ ” he joked at the Super Bowl.

He stuck it out, and the Giants turned their season around. And Strahan capped his career on his terms.

He will almost certainly be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame; he can first be considered for the Class of 2013. Don’t underestimate the power of how he ended his career when assessing Strahan’s Hall credentials. One Hall voter, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the Super Bowl title is likely to give Strahan’s candidacy a boost. “It’s going to carry some weight,” the voter told PFW.

Another factor that could work in Strahan’s favor: the impressive list of pass rushers already up for Hall consideration is likely to be winnowed by the time he gets on the ballot. Former Bills DE Bruce Smith is likely to be a first-ballot inductee next winter. The late Derrick Thomas has been a finalist for the last four years; his lofty credentials (more sacks than any other player in the 1990s; awarded All-AFC honors seven times) would seem to merit induction for the former Chiefs linebacker sooner than later.

Beyond Smith and Thomas, Hall voters will again have to judge the merits of several other impressive pass rushers, including Richard Dent, Kevin Greene and Charles Haley. All have been on the ballot for several years and may still be on the ballot when Strahan becomes eligible.

So how does Strahan stack up? The Super Bowl ring helps, certainly, as does the single-season sack record. He notched 141½ sacks, more than Dent or Haley. He was also an asset vs. the run, something that will be considered when his all-around play is discussed.

You can’t pencil him in for the Class of 2013 yet, a la Favre, but you can’t really see him waiting too many years for his Hall call, can you?

And no matter what you think of his body of work, you can't fault him for his exit strategy.