OK. Who rates on your top five NFL teams of all time?
Just curious. Here a few for ya.
5. '76 Steelers. This is the only team on my top five list that did not win a championship. 9.9 pts per game. Five shutouts. 22 qtrs in a row no TD's allowed. 17 scoreless quarters on D in a row. Harris and Bleier 1,000 yards each. Only reason they didn't three-peat was that Harris and Bleier were injured on the sidelines as the Raiders moved on to SB XI.
4. 07 New England Patriots. These guys were nigh unstoppable. Cruising through the playoffs in the North East winter conditions like there was no tomorrow. Brady and company dominated the league this year and a couple of years on either side but this was the year.
3. 72 Miami Dolphins. The No Name Defense. Csonk and Morris with 1,000 yards each on the ground. And, yes, undefeated. That means something. This team should be on every single list out there. Because there haven't been many more like them, before or since.
2. 85 Chicago Bears Da Bears. The Super Bowl Shuffle. The Fridge. Sweetness. Not to mention, tough-as-nails Mike Ditka leading the second most effective modern defense, second only to 76 Pittsburgh by just six points. One less touchdown and one less extra point and they would have been the best. 165 points allowed in 16 games to 139 in 14. Close. And then there was Payton. I mean, man. Love them or hate them. They were one of the best and this is undeniable.
and number one . . .
1951 Cleveland Browns. 11-1. Four shutouts. After opening with a loss to the 49ers they marched through the next 11 games like they were playing the Little Sisters of the poor. Otto Graham completed 55 percent of his passes to the likes of Dante Lavelli and Mac Speedie. Lou Groza was both paving the way for Marion Motley and plowing 10 FG's and a perfect 43 XP's. Recovering a league leading 29 fumbles on D (eight better than Halas' Bears), the Cleveland defense proved to be as much a weapon as the offense, both products of the mastermind that was Paul Brown.
Didn't see that one coming, didja.
What's your top five?