Final Thoughts...Posted By Jim E. Gleason |
well...it`s the big day...and i see where, if the Pats win, some are saying that they`ll be the best team of all time...wish i had a dollar for every time i`ve heard this phrase/kind of hype...best season of all time?...maybe...but best team?...more about that in a moment...
i also see where some are trying to back this by pointing out all the records the Pats tied/broke.
if i may give the other side/opinions on this...this is what i hear from those old enough to have seen the NFL dynasties of the 50`s and since...and, after hearing all their great points, and then seeing what i`ve seen over the past 40 yrs. and so on and so forth, etc., i`m not so sure that they`re wrong.
1st, how many of these records do the Pats still tie or break without running up the score so many times...fattening up both their team and individual stats?...
or, to put it another way, how many are broken if every great team ran up the score every chance they got, also?...other than the obvious ones that would not have been broken, for ex., would Brady still have broken the TD Pass record by only the slimmest of margins?...would Moss still have broken the TD Rec. mark?...would certain starters have even still been on the field to get a chance to break another record or 2?
and i won`t bring up cheating to get these records
...since it really hasn`t been proven...yet!...
best team of all time?...honestly...how many Pats starters would you take over the starters on those great Steeler teams of the 70`s...it`s a bit close on off...but on def., that, 'Steel Curtain', def., which consistently finished at the top of several statistical categories, was far better at almost every pos. than these no. 12 ranked Pats. in the modern watered-down NFL...because of expansion, many of these players wouldn`t even be playing in the NFL 40 yrs. ago.
heck, they barely have the Giant def. beat...if at all...according to many experts...
in the opinions of many, several of the same things stated about the Steelers could be said about the 72 Dolphins who finished the yr. breaking numerous rushing records...and without running up the score on anyone...and with the no. 1 def., the Packer, etc., dynasty of the 60`s, 49er, etc., dynasty of the 80`s, and the Cowboy/49er dynasties of the 90`s...at each pos., who`d you rather have - the Pats player or the player when comparing to one of these teams?...
also, please note that each of these dynasties had better teams to beat, sometimes in the form of other dynasties at the same time, to get to and win as many SB`s as they did.
for ex., the 70`s Steelers had not only the Raiders, bur Cowboys, Vikings, Rams, etc, to beat out...
all were winning dynasties who made the playoffs almost every yr. that decade...and they/most had outstanding defs...with the , 'Purple People Eaters', of the Vikes, 'Fearsome Foursome', of the Rams, and, of course, the Dallas Doomsday Def...
the Steelers, (or any team from this group), had to beat or beat out all these other teams during the reg. season, in the playoffs, or in 4 SB victories...in the case of the Steelers...
these days, all i see is a few good teams, a bunch of around ave. teams and a bunch of crappy teams making up the NFL.
the Pats simply took advantage of the system the most, drafted smarter than everyone else, picked up just the right free agents, etc., to build a team that`s a little better than all the rest...hence, the undefeated season...but with several close calls/games, especially in the 2nd half of the season, etc...
up to now...because of the way it`s going and, the NFL`s, 'copycat', nature, i predict another undefeated season by someone in the next 5 yrs. or less...maybe even the Pats again...unless it`s revealed they cheated far more than anyone realizes right now...
but all this really means very little as far as today`s game goes...throw out all those Pat records...because once they step on that field, all that matters is who wants it more, who executes better, and who makes less costly mistakes...my only guarantee is that whoever`s motivated enough to do this combination of things better will win the game...to the extent they do it better is to the extent it will be a blow-out...
now, for anyone who thinks it`s impossible for the Giants to win, just take a look at how easy the Giants could win,
http://msn.foxsports.com/nfl/story/7723716?MSNHPHCP>1=10937
still just hoping for a good game,
8)
Jim
i also see where some are trying to back this by pointing out all the records the Pats tied/broke.
if i may give the other side/opinions on this...this is what i hear from those old enough to have seen the NFL dynasties of the 50`s and since...and, after hearing all their great points, and then seeing what i`ve seen over the past 40 yrs. and so on and so forth, etc., i`m not so sure that they`re wrong.
1st, how many of these records do the Pats still tie or break without running up the score so many times...fattening up both their team and individual stats?...
or, to put it another way, how many are broken if every great team ran up the score every chance they got, also?...other than the obvious ones that would not have been broken, for ex., would Brady still have broken the TD Pass record by only the slimmest of margins?...would Moss still have broken the TD Rec. mark?...would certain starters have even still been on the field to get a chance to break another record or 2?
and i won`t bring up cheating to get these records
...since it really hasn`t been proven...yet!...best team of all time?...honestly...how many Pats starters would you take over the starters on those great Steeler teams of the 70`s...it`s a bit close on off...but on def., that, 'Steel Curtain', def., which consistently finished at the top of several statistical categories, was far better at almost every pos. than these no. 12 ranked Pats. in the modern watered-down NFL...because of expansion, many of these players wouldn`t even be playing in the NFL 40 yrs. ago.
heck, they barely have the Giant def. beat...if at all...according to many experts...
in the opinions of many, several of the same things stated about the Steelers could be said about the 72 Dolphins who finished the yr. breaking numerous rushing records...and without running up the score on anyone...and with the no. 1 def., the Packer, etc., dynasty of the 60`s, 49er, etc., dynasty of the 80`s, and the Cowboy/49er dynasties of the 90`s...at each pos., who`d you rather have - the Pats player or the player when comparing to one of these teams?...
also, please note that each of these dynasties had better teams to beat, sometimes in the form of other dynasties at the same time, to get to and win as many SB`s as they did.
for ex., the 70`s Steelers had not only the Raiders, bur Cowboys, Vikings, Rams, etc, to beat out...
all were winning dynasties who made the playoffs almost every yr. that decade...and they/most had outstanding defs...with the , 'Purple People Eaters', of the Vikes, 'Fearsome Foursome', of the Rams, and, of course, the Dallas Doomsday Def...
the Steelers, (or any team from this group), had to beat or beat out all these other teams during the reg. season, in the playoffs, or in 4 SB victories...in the case of the Steelers...
these days, all i see is a few good teams, a bunch of around ave. teams and a bunch of crappy teams making up the NFL.
the Pats simply took advantage of the system the most, drafted smarter than everyone else, picked up just the right free agents, etc., to build a team that`s a little better than all the rest...hence, the undefeated season...but with several close calls/games, especially in the 2nd half of the season, etc...
up to now...because of the way it`s going and, the NFL`s, 'copycat', nature, i predict another undefeated season by someone in the next 5 yrs. or less...maybe even the Pats again...unless it`s revealed they cheated far more than anyone realizes right now...
but all this really means very little as far as today`s game goes...throw out all those Pat records...because once they step on that field, all that matters is who wants it more, who executes better, and who makes less costly mistakes...my only guarantee is that whoever`s motivated enough to do this combination of things better will win the game...to the extent they do it better is to the extent it will be a blow-out...
now, for anyone who thinks it`s impossible for the Giants to win, just take a look at how easy the Giants could win,
http://msn.foxsports.com/nfl/story/7723716?MSNHPHCP>1=10937
still just hoping for a good game,
8) Jim
