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by John Czarnecki
FOX Sports on MSN
Before the Patriots rolled along, Miami coach Don Shula always complained whenever another team was mentioned as the league's best ever. But running the table and going unbeaten is often the result of a fortunate break (the schedule) or a determined team relying on focus.
To me, domination is only complete when the playoffs are finished and the best team wins. Every team's best season is when it hoists the Lombardi Trophy. For the legendary Packers team, it was when they actually hoisted Vince Lombardi onto their shoulders.
Bill Belichick's Patriots are as focused as he is. Every one of his players, starting with MVP Tom Brady, is in lock step with his direction. But I can think of several teams in the history of the NFL that were better. To me, winning every game isn't everything. To me, championships are everything, including the playoff run.
The Patriots are undoubtedly the best team ever in the free-agency era. I hate to say this, but there are too many bad NFL teams these days — teams without quarterbacks, teams with too many personnel holes. Before Eli Manning found himself in Week 17, the two quarterbacks that gave New England the most trouble this season were A.J. Feeley and Kyle Boller, two perennial backups.
The Patriots have the fewest holes, but their defensive age has begun to show lately based on their inability to dominate in their final three games. Fans in San Diego still believe last Sunday's outcome might have been different had the Chargers had a healthy LaDainian Tomlinson and Antonio Gates.
With apologies to Belichick and Shula, here are my top eight single-season rankings:
1. 1984 San Francisco 49ers: Bill Walsh had two great teams in this decade, but this one finished the regular-season 15-1, outscoring opponents by 248 points. In the playoffs, the 49ers dominated two of the NFC's very best teams — future Super Bowl winners — in the Giants and the Chicago Bears. Granted, this team didn't have Jerry Rice yet, but it had a super defense — better talent than New England's today — with a secondary led by Hall of Famer Ronnie Lott that included Eric Wright, Dwight Hicks and Carlton Williamson. The front line had Fred Dean, Gary "Big Hands" Johnson and Dwaine Board. These 49ers throttled Dan Marino, who had thrown a then-record 48 touchdowns in the regular season, in Super Bowl XIX. They sacked him four times and intercepted him twice. On the 49ers side, Joe Montana passed for three touchdowns and a young running back named Roger Craig scored three times.
2. 1992 Dallas Cowboys: This was the first of Jimmy Johnson's back-to-back Super Bowl teams. Yes, they lost three games during the regular season, but they were super impressive in the playoffs, whipping a 14-2 Niners team in San Francisco for the NFC title, and then demolishing Jim Kelly and the Buffalo Bills 52-17 in Super Bowl XXVII. These Cowboys were powerful on both sides of the ball, and offensive tackles Mark Tuinei and Erik Williams (maybe the best lineman of his generation not in the Hall of Fame) protected Troy Aikman and opened holes for Emmitt Smith. Cornerback Kevin Smith had the talent to shut down Jerry Rice, too.
3. 2007 New England Patriots: We're assuming they whip the Giants and go 19-0. My only reservation with calling them the best ever is that they were fortunate to play six games in a woefully weak AFC East. Unlike the 49ers and Cowboys, who had quality division foes and strong conference opponents, the Patriots whipped their division foes by a margin of 153 points, with a league-record 589 points. Heck, the best quarterback they faced in the AFC East might have been Bills rookie Trent Edwards. The Patriots' greatest accomplishment was beating six playoff teams during the regular season while unleashing a passing offense featuring Randy Moss, Wes Welker, Jabar Gaffney, Ben Watson, Donte' Stallworth and Kevin Faulk. If you think the Chargers beat up on Brady last Sunday, both the 49ers and Cowboys had better defenses. The Patriots haven't seen a back seven as talented as San Francisco's in 1984.
4. 1985 Chicago Bears: When you think of characters, you think of this team. It was full of great talkers and one of the greatest football players ever in Walter Payton, who didn't score in the Super Bowl because Mike Ditka had this thing for Refrigerator Perry. This was a very unique team in that Ditka was the head coach, but a lot of the defensive players followed Buddy Ryan because of what his innovative 46 defense allowed them to do. Yes, they went 15-1 and demolished the out-numbered New England Patriots in the championship game, but they really didn't face a lot of great quarterbacks that season and the ones they did, they simply destroyed. Yes, they beat Montana and Phil Simms (although windy conditions in Soldier Field has something to do with that), but they faced someone named Dieter Brock in the NFC title game.
5. 1989 San Francisco 49ers: This was the team emboldened by Montana and Lott that wanted to show the league it could win without Bill Walsh. It went 14-2 during the regular season, but really displayed its muscle in the postseason, outscoring three opponents by a total of 100 points. The '85 Bears blanked two teams in the playoffs, but their total domination was by only 81 points. Granted, the 49ers were helped when the Rams upset the mighty Giants, and then Jim Everett took that dive when he felt imaginary pressure and the rest was history. This team thoroughly embarrassed the Broncos in the Super Bowl, owning a 42-3 lead at one point.
6. 1975 Pittsburgh Steelers: This was probably their most complete team of their four Super Bowls clubs during a six-season span. They won 11 straight games in the regular season before resting a lot of key players in the regular-season finale. In the playoffs, they defeated archrival Oakland in the championship game and then America's Team, the Dallas Cowboys, in the Super Bowl. The defense was amazing in that game, sacking Roger Staubach seven times and intercepting him three times. Others may say that the '78 edition was the best Pittsburgh team, but this group had exceptional depth and several played hurt in the playoffs.
7. 1972 Miami Dolphins: This is the NFL's lone unbeaten team, going 17-0. But they are downgraded for playing one of the easiest schedules (opponents had a combined winning percentage under .400) and the Steelers might have beaten them in the playoffs if Bradshaw hadn't suffered a concussion. Also, despite an unbeaten record, Las Vegas didn't believe in the Dolphins, making them underdogs against Washington in one of the ugliest Super Bowls ever. They won 14-7 in a game that was all defense and that silly Garo Yepremian pass.
8. 1962 Green Bay Packers: Believe me, the 1996 Packers, Brett Favre's Super Bowl team, ranks pretty close to this bunch, considering Brett's team won all three playoff games by at least two touchdowns. But this Lombardi team held opponents to less than 11 points a game while running over teams with Paul Hornung and Jim Taylor. Bart Starr was a tremendous leader at quarterback. Counting the six-game exhibition schedule (can you believe that?), these Packers actually won 16 consecutive games before losing to the Lions on Thanksgiving in Detroit. The Packers whipped Y.A. Tittle in the NFL Championship game and, counting preseason games, finished 19-1. They outscored opponents by 267 points in a 14-game season; conversely, the Patriots this season owned a 315-point edge.
FOX Sports on MSN
Before the Patriots rolled along, Miami coach Don Shula always complained whenever another team was mentioned as the league's best ever. But running the table and going unbeaten is often the result of a fortunate break (the schedule) or a determined team relying on focus.
To me, domination is only complete when the playoffs are finished and the best team wins. Every team's best season is when it hoists the Lombardi Trophy. For the legendary Packers team, it was when they actually hoisted Vince Lombardi onto their shoulders.
Bill Belichick's Patriots are as focused as he is. Every one of his players, starting with MVP Tom Brady, is in lock step with his direction. But I can think of several teams in the history of the NFL that were better. To me, winning every game isn't everything. To me, championships are everything, including the playoff run.
The Patriots are undoubtedly the best team ever in the free-agency era. I hate to say this, but there are too many bad NFL teams these days — teams without quarterbacks, teams with too many personnel holes. Before Eli Manning found himself in Week 17, the two quarterbacks that gave New England the most trouble this season were A.J. Feeley and Kyle Boller, two perennial backups.
The Patriots have the fewest holes, but their defensive age has begun to show lately based on their inability to dominate in their final three games. Fans in San Diego still believe last Sunday's outcome might have been different had the Chargers had a healthy LaDainian Tomlinson and Antonio Gates.
With apologies to Belichick and Shula, here are my top eight single-season rankings:
1. 1984 San Francisco 49ers: Bill Walsh had two great teams in this decade, but this one finished the regular-season 15-1, outscoring opponents by 248 points. In the playoffs, the 49ers dominated two of the NFC's very best teams — future Super Bowl winners — in the Giants and the Chicago Bears. Granted, this team didn't have Jerry Rice yet, but it had a super defense — better talent than New England's today — with a secondary led by Hall of Famer Ronnie Lott that included Eric Wright, Dwight Hicks and Carlton Williamson. The front line had Fred Dean, Gary "Big Hands" Johnson and Dwaine Board. These 49ers throttled Dan Marino, who had thrown a then-record 48 touchdowns in the regular season, in Super Bowl XIX. They sacked him four times and intercepted him twice. On the 49ers side, Joe Montana passed for three touchdowns and a young running back named Roger Craig scored three times.
2. 1992 Dallas Cowboys: This was the first of Jimmy Johnson's back-to-back Super Bowl teams. Yes, they lost three games during the regular season, but they were super impressive in the playoffs, whipping a 14-2 Niners team in San Francisco for the NFC title, and then demolishing Jim Kelly and the Buffalo Bills 52-17 in Super Bowl XXVII. These Cowboys were powerful on both sides of the ball, and offensive tackles Mark Tuinei and Erik Williams (maybe the best lineman of his generation not in the Hall of Fame) protected Troy Aikman and opened holes for Emmitt Smith. Cornerback Kevin Smith had the talent to shut down Jerry Rice, too.
3. 2007 New England Patriots: We're assuming they whip the Giants and go 19-0. My only reservation with calling them the best ever is that they were fortunate to play six games in a woefully weak AFC East. Unlike the 49ers and Cowboys, who had quality division foes and strong conference opponents, the Patriots whipped their division foes by a margin of 153 points, with a league-record 589 points. Heck, the best quarterback they faced in the AFC East might have been Bills rookie Trent Edwards. The Patriots' greatest accomplishment was beating six playoff teams during the regular season while unleashing a passing offense featuring Randy Moss, Wes Welker, Jabar Gaffney, Ben Watson, Donte' Stallworth and Kevin Faulk. If you think the Chargers beat up on Brady last Sunday, both the 49ers and Cowboys had better defenses. The Patriots haven't seen a back seven as talented as San Francisco's in 1984.
4. 1985 Chicago Bears: When you think of characters, you think of this team. It was full of great talkers and one of the greatest football players ever in Walter Payton, who didn't score in the Super Bowl because Mike Ditka had this thing for Refrigerator Perry. This was a very unique team in that Ditka was the head coach, but a lot of the defensive players followed Buddy Ryan because of what his innovative 46 defense allowed them to do. Yes, they went 15-1 and demolished the out-numbered New England Patriots in the championship game, but they really didn't face a lot of great quarterbacks that season and the ones they did, they simply destroyed. Yes, they beat Montana and Phil Simms (although windy conditions in Soldier Field has something to do with that), but they faced someone named Dieter Brock in the NFC title game.
5. 1989 San Francisco 49ers: This was the team emboldened by Montana and Lott that wanted to show the league it could win without Bill Walsh. It went 14-2 during the regular season, but really displayed its muscle in the postseason, outscoring three opponents by a total of 100 points. The '85 Bears blanked two teams in the playoffs, but their total domination was by only 81 points. Granted, the 49ers were helped when the Rams upset the mighty Giants, and then Jim Everett took that dive when he felt imaginary pressure and the rest was history. This team thoroughly embarrassed the Broncos in the Super Bowl, owning a 42-3 lead at one point.
6. 1975 Pittsburgh Steelers: This was probably their most complete team of their four Super Bowls clubs during a six-season span. They won 11 straight games in the regular season before resting a lot of key players in the regular-season finale. In the playoffs, they defeated archrival Oakland in the championship game and then America's Team, the Dallas Cowboys, in the Super Bowl. The defense was amazing in that game, sacking Roger Staubach seven times and intercepting him three times. Others may say that the '78 edition was the best Pittsburgh team, but this group had exceptional depth and several played hurt in the playoffs.
7. 1972 Miami Dolphins: This is the NFL's lone unbeaten team, going 17-0. But they are downgraded for playing one of the easiest schedules (opponents had a combined winning percentage under .400) and the Steelers might have beaten them in the playoffs if Bradshaw hadn't suffered a concussion. Also, despite an unbeaten record, Las Vegas didn't believe in the Dolphins, making them underdogs against Washington in one of the ugliest Super Bowls ever. They won 14-7 in a game that was all defense and that silly Garo Yepremian pass.
8. 1962 Green Bay Packers: Believe me, the 1996 Packers, Brett Favre's Super Bowl team, ranks pretty close to this bunch, considering Brett's team won all three playoff games by at least two touchdowns. But this Lombardi team held opponents to less than 11 points a game while running over teams with Paul Hornung and Jim Taylor. Bart Starr was a tremendous leader at quarterback. Counting the six-game exhibition schedule (can you believe that?), these Packers actually won 16 consecutive games before losing to the Lions on Thanksgiving in Detroit. The Packers whipped Y.A. Tittle in the NFL Championship game and, counting preseason games, finished 19-1. They outscored opponents by 267 points in a 14-game season; conversely, the Patriots this season owned a 315-point edge.
