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Thread: Which team was the greatest non-Steelers team? '85 Bears? '72 Fins? etc.

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    Which team was the greatest non-Steelers team? '85 Bears? '72 Fins? etc.

    Many of us, and rightfully so I may add, feel that the Steelers of the '70s, '75, '76 or '78, was the greatest NFL team of all time. But what team that wasn't a Steelers team would you consider the best non-Steelers team?

    The '85 Bears? The '72 Dolphins? The '84 49ers? The '89 49ers? etc?

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    Re: Which team was the greatest non-Steelers team? '85 Bears? '72 Fins? etc.

    '84 49ers were literally 6 inches away from going 19-0, by doinking the game-winning field goal off the upright (against the Steelers, no less). But I think the '88-'89 team was better.

    The '85 Bears get way more attention, but people forget the 49ers did the same exact thing as them the year before and curbstomped basically the same Bears team in the playoffs. The only guy the Bears didn't have yet was Fridge Perry (49ers didn't have Jerry Rice). Having the greatest QB of all time doesnt hurt the Niners' cause either.

    People also forget about the Giants from the '80s. Between them, the 49ers, and the Bears, that may have been the most intensely competitive era in the history of the league. Any one of those teams, if the others weren't around, could have probably gone to three more Super Bowls and been in the conversation for most dominant team of all time.
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    Re: Which team was the greatest non-Steelers team? '85 Bears? '72 Fins? etc.

    84 niners hands down. 2 playoff games and SB won be double digits , and Miami was 12-4 and dominated playoffs. 1 loss to we all know who. Plus I don’t think they cheated.

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    Re: Which team was the greatest non-Steelers team? '85 Bears? '72 Fins? etc.

    Can't compare teams from pre-90's to the 2000's and beyond when all these rule changes were made protecting the QB and receivers and really reducing the ability of the defense to hit these guys.

    Its basically almost touch football for the QB's these days.

    for the older era...84 niners, 85 bears and 77 cowboys are up there....any of those three are good answers

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    Re: Which team was the greatest non-Steelers team? '85 Bears? '72 Fins? etc.

    94' 49ers was the best team I've personally witnessed. Stacked on both sides of the ball (just glancing over their roster you could probably point out more than a handful of guys who made the HoF), nobody was gonna beat them that year.

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    Re: Which team was the greatest non-Steelers team? '85 Bears? '72 Fins? etc.

    84 Niners

    Averaged nearly 30 pts per game (29.7)

    Defense gave up 14 per game

    Barely lost to a Steeler team. Dominated all 3 teams in the playoffs including Dan Marino and that Dolphin offense.



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    Re: Which team was the greatest non-Steelers team? '85 Bears? '72 Fins? etc.

    Either of Hue Jackson's Browns teams. They were so far ahead of their time it just appeared like they sucked.

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    Re: Which team was the greatest non-Steelers team? '85 Bears? '72 Fins? etc.

    1972 Dolphins won every game and the 1973 Fins repeated the Super Bowl. The 84' 49ers were more dominant over more seasons. The Fins did it with superior coaching and execution while the 49ers had more player talent. A tough question.
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    Re: Which team was the greatest non-Steelers team? '85 Bears? '72 Fins? etc.

    Even though people mention Miami's undefeated season in '72, I think they're '73 team was better. I've heard some of their players and read Shula thought so too. In the '72 playoffs, each game was within a touchdown. In the '73 playoffs, they easily defeated their opponents.

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    Re: Which team was the greatest non-Steelers team? '85 Bears? '72 Fins? etc.

    Quote Originally Posted by tube517 View Post
    84 Niners

    Averaged nearly 30 pts per game (29.7)

    Defense gave up 14 per game

    Barely lost to a Steeler team. Dominated all 3 teams in the playoffs including Dan Marino and that Dolphin offense.
    I forgot it was the Steelers that were their only loss that year. Makes me feel good remembering that. I would have to agree with Fire Goodell as well. The 1994 Niners were damn good and DESTROYED the Chargers in the Superbowl we should have been in. The 1994 Niners lost 3 games though which to me tips it to the 1984 Niners over them.

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    Re: Which team was the greatest non-Steelers team? '85 Bears? '72 Fins? etc.

    Quote Originally Posted by EzraTank View Post
    I forgot it was the Steelers that were their only loss that year. Makes me feel good remembering that. I would have to agree with Fire Goodell as well. The 1994 Niners were damn good and DESTROYED the Chargers in the Superbowl we should have been in. The 1994 Niners lost 3 games though which to me tips it to the 1984 Niners over them.
    The 94 team had more talent. I couldn't remember the names on the 84 defense but they made the really great Dolphin offense look like an average offense and shutout the Bears in the NFCC game.



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    Re: Which team was the greatest non-Steelers team? '85 Bears? '72 Fins? etc.

    Also some of those Cowboy teams that steam rolled the Bills twice in the early 90's were really really good. Their offensive line in 92 and 93 was just insanely good. I remember them opening holes for Emmitt Smith that he could drive a golf cart through. Imagine if a guy like Barry Sanders played behind that line?

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    Re: Which team was the greatest non-Steelers team? '85 Bears? '72 Fins? etc.

    Quote Originally Posted by EzraTank View Post
    Also some of those Cowboy teams that steam rolled the Bills twice in the early 90's were really really good. Their offensive line in 92 and 93 was just insanely good. I remember them opening holes for Emmitt Smith that he could drive a golf cart through. Imagine if a guy like Barry Sanders played behind that line?
    Barry would've broken the 3k mark lol. I always thought Emmitt was overrated, it's not hard to rush for 100 yards when there's no defender even within 3 yards of you by the time you already ran 15 yards down the field. That entire OL probably belongs in the HoF

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    Re: Which team was the greatest non-Steelers team? '85 Bears? '72 Fins? etc.

    By the mid-90s, the 49ers and Cowboys were basically putting together NFL All-Star teams every year. They were definitely some of the most talented in history, but also filled with a ton of mercenaries trying to win a championship on short-term below-market deals. It was hard to feel like all those guys were really part of a "team" in the usual sense, although they certainly made a difference. In hindsight, that kind of arms race probably wasn't good for the game either, although the current salary cap goes too far the other direction if you ask me. Anyway, take your pick of any of the 49ers-Cowboys squads from those few years and they're probably the most talented. I'd say the '88 Niners were the most talented "team," and the '84 Niners had the most dominant performance.

    Talent-wise, the main difference was the '84 Niners had a monster defensive line and the '88 team had a merely good one ... then again, the '88 team had Charles Haley, and possibly a better secondary (same group of guys led by Ronnie Lott, except Tim McKyer replaced one of them, I think Carlton Williamson). And of course the offense with Jerry Rice and John Taylor was miles better. So the talent battle definitely goes to that team IMO.
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    Re: Which team was the greatest non-Steelers team? '85 Bears? '72 Fins? etc.

    For me,this is the 1989 49ers.Outscored the opponents 126 to 26 in their playoffs run and 14-2 in the regular season

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    Re: Which team was the greatest non-Steelers team? '85 Bears? '72 Fins? etc.

    2007 New England Patriots

    I’d argue this is the best of the greatest teams in NFL history. Unfortunately for them, they had performance issues when it mattered most. Losing to a flukey New York Giants team in the Super Bowl doesn’t help their case for the most outstanding team ever. However, their offensive output alone almost matches the overall dominance of the top three teams relative to the mean.

    Their offense scored 69.7% more points than league average. For reference, the 1972 Dolphins were better than the mean 75.5% of the time between their offense AND defense. The Patriots’ defense was also 21% better than the mean. That gives them a staggering 90.7% total better than the scoring mean for 2007. The next-highest scoring offense was 134 points behind.


    Unfortunately, that three-point loss to the Giants due to the right arm of Eli Manning and the earhole of David Tyree ruined the Patriots’ chance at immortality. It’s a shame, too. This team was the most dominant force ever assembled, and it happened AFTER THE INTRODUCTION OF THE SALARY CAP! It would take a miracle for this to ever happen again.

    https://www.profootballnetwork.com/g...eams-all-time/

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    Re: Which team was the greatest non-Steelers team? '85 Bears? '72 Fins? etc.

    Quote Originally Posted by willy View Post
    2007 New England Patriots

    I’d argue this is the best of the greatest teams in NFL history. Unfortunately for them, they had performance issues when it mattered most. Losing to a flukey New York Giants team in the Super Bowl doesn’t help their case for the most outstanding team ever. However, their offensive output alone almost matches the overall dominance of the top three teams relative to the mean.

    Their offense scored 69.7% more points than league average. For reference, the 1972 Dolphins were better than the mean 75.5% of the time between their offense AND defense. The Patriots’ defense was also 21% better than the mean. That gives them a staggering 90.7% total better than the scoring mean for 2007. The next-highest scoring offense was 134 points behind.


    Unfortunately, that three-point loss to the Giants due to the right arm of Eli Manning and the earhole of David Tyree ruined the Patriots’ chance at immortality. It’s a shame, too. This team was the most dominant force ever assembled, and it happened AFTER THE INTRODUCTION OF THE SALARY CAP! It would take a miracle for this to ever happen again.

    https://www.profootballnetwork.com/g...eams-all-time/
    2 years later,the colts were 14-0 before benching their starter for most of the last 2 games

    Also, if the pats didn't want to lose on a miracle play, they just had to be much better in the first 58 minutes...The Giants D-line had destroyed the pats o-line in this SB

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    Senior Member Array title="willy has a reputation beyond repute"> willy's Avatar

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    Re: Which team was the greatest non-Steelers team? '85 Bears? '72 Fins? etc.

    Quote Originally Posted by polamalubeast View Post
    2 years later,the colts were 14-0 before benching their starter for most of the last 2 games

    Also, if the pats didn't want to lose on a miracle play, they just had to be much better in the first 58 minutes...The Giants D-line had destroyed the pats o-line in this SB

    "TOP 10 best nfl teams of all time

    1. 1962 Green Bay Packers – won NFL Champions – 11 Half of Famers

    The 1962 Packers are the best football team of all time. The 1962 Packers made a big impression when they started their 1961 season with 109-14 for four games.
    The best players of the Green Bay Packers teams are:

    • Vince Lombardi.
    • Jim Taylor.
    • Willie Davis.
    • Bart Starr.
    • Ray Nitschke.


    1962 Green Bay Packers and Giants
    The Packers started the 1962 season as defending champions. They also later won many NFL championship wins. The Green Bay Packers have dominated the NFL for years. But their best period was 1962.
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    2. 1972 Miami Dolphins – won Super Bowl VII


    Miami Dolphins 1972 is the only team who won a Super Bowl without losing a single point in NFL history. Their final score was 17-0. And no words can describe this perfection.
    The Miami Dolphins won three postseason games with a combined score of 17 points. It came with a rough regular-season schedule.

    1972 Miami Dolphins

    3. 2007 Patriots – lost Super Bowl XLII


    The Patriots 2007 is the greatest NFL team in NFL history. "

    https://www.scottfujita.com/best-nfl-team-of-all-time/

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    Senior Member Array title="willy has a reputation beyond repute"> willy's Avatar

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    Re: Which team was the greatest non-Steelers team? '85 Bears? '72 Fins? etc.

    Quote Originally Posted by polamalubeast View Post
    Also, if the pats didn't want to lose on a miracle play, they just had to be much better in the first 58 minutes...
    I agree with that.

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