The 76 Raiders being 8th is as bad if not worse than the 72 Fins being first. If not for Ben Dreith that team is one and done and lost to the ages. It took 25 years but FU the tuck rule was karmic justice.
Also the 99 Rams being higher than the 03 and especially 04 Patriots is a joke. You couldn't beat the 01 Patriots with essentially the same team, you barely beat a Titans team that was a Music City Miracle away from being one and done. They are so overrated.
Regarding the 07 Patriots eliminating all the things that had to go perfectly down the stretch for the Giants IE, Samuel dropping an easy INT, the Tyree catch, no in the grasp, no holding on the Giants OL including a choke hold, Dan Pees calling cover zero and putting a 5'9" corner on a 6'5" receiver........the thing everybody forgets about is that game changed when Stephen Neal went out. They had driven the field for a TD before he got hurt. Once he went down that totally changed the balance of power between the two lines. All it would have taken was one or two more sustained drives to wear out that Giant's DL and it's a totally different game.
If he doesn't get hurt there's no question the Patriots are #1 and then the list changes because the voters aren't compelled to put the 72 Fins #1. I think they easily drop out of the top 5 at that point.
I also think when comparing these teams you can't just look at dominance for that one season. You have to pit them against each other. For example the 46 defense was so effective because it took people by surprise. Yes they were dominant a few other years but never to that degree as the league caught up. I think any of the Pats 6 championship teams plus the 07 team beat the Bears minus perhaps 01 and 18. I also think the 84 and 89, 49ers, the 91 Redskins, the 92 or 93 Cowboys also beat them.
Using those other teams that I think would beat the Bears how would the Patriots 04 team do against them? I'm not sure if they would win or not but man those would be some epic games.
