Toughest Pats Super Bowl opponents list

[sb1]

My list
1. Bears
2. Rams 01
3. Packers
4. Seahawks
5. Eagles 04
6. Falcons
7. Eagles 17
8. Giants 07
9. Panthers
10. Giants 11

Rams 18 feels like it might be 5 ahead of Eagles 04.

 

[RobertWeathers]

My list
1. Bears
2. Rams 01
3. Packers
4. Seahawks
5. Eagles 04
6. Falcons 16
7. Eagles 17
8. Giants 07
9. Panthers
10. Giants 11

Rams 18 feels like it might be 5 ahead of Eagles 04.

In theory the ones we lost to are the toughest.

 

[sb1]

Eagles in 17 were better than the 04 team.

I think it looks that way as were just that dominant back then. The 04 Eagles were stacked with great talent everywhere. They’d beat the 17 team imo. Much better running game, QB, and secondary. And of course TO.

 

[maust]

1. Bears
2. Giants 07
3. Rams 01
4. Packers
5. Giants 11
6. Seahawks
7. Panthers
8. Falcons
9. Eagles 04
10 Eagles 17

 

[Steve102]

My list
1. Bears
2. Rams 01
3. Packers
4. Seahawks
5. Eagles 04
6. Falcons
7. Eagles 17
8. Giants 07
9. Panthers
10. Giants 11

Rams 18 feels like it might be 5 ahead of Eagles 04.

It's tough to measure in my opinion. The Bears are easily #1, as they were a historic team in their greatness. I think that you have to measure our teams opposite them for comparison. The 01 Pats wouldn't be #2 on this list, but they got it done, and that drops the Rams down the list IMO, because they should have given the Pats a harder time. Their weakness was Mike Martz. He played right into BB's hands with his ego. If he would have go the ball to Marshall Faulk more than he did, the outcome would've been much different. I like to think how different that would've been if BB coached that team. Faulk would've had more receptions and less targets to Tory Holt, who got killed in that game. But, with that being said, here's how I rank 'em:

1. Bears
2. Seattle
3. Giants 07 just a horrible match up
4. Panthers. The D was underrated. Smith and Muhammad were great.
5. Eagles 17
6. Packers
7. Eagles 04
8. Rams 01
9. Falcons
10. Giants 11

 

[italian pat patriot]

Chicago Bears
Super Bowl XX
simply UNBEATABLE

it was anyway a great run that year for the Pats

 

[sean10mm]

1. Bears - Just a historically overpowering team. 15-1 wrecking machine, #1 defense by MILES (obviously) but also #2 offense in the league, #1 rushing team, #4 in net yards per pass. Outscored opponents 91-10 in the playoffs. Clear-cut #1 team in the league.
2. Packers - #1 offense in the league, #1 defense in the league, peak Favre in his second consecutive MVP season. Scored over 2x as many points in the playoffs as their opponents. Clear-cut #1 team in the league.
2. Rams 01 - Absolutely nuclear offense, but a just-OK defense and oddly turnover-prone (22 picks and 38 fumbles!), and Martz was one of the weaker head coaches of the bunch. That said, they were still the clear-cut #1 team in the league going into the game... until they weren't.
4. Seahawks - Defending Super Bowl champs, dominant defense, great run game and an infuriating QB to pin down.
5. Eagles 17 - Since they immediately crapped out the next season it's easy to overlook how good they fundamentally were. 13-3, top 5 in both offense and defense, solid playmakers all over the field. Went from an MVP candidate QB in Wentz to Foles, who went completely nuclear in the playoffs (6 TD 1 INT 115 passer rating).
6. Falcons - Legit MVP QB and a great offense, but a genuinely bad defense for most of the year.
7. Eagles 04 - A good team top to bottom, but looking back they weren't as dominant as you'd expect a 13-3 Super Bowl contender to be and had a hilariously soft path to the big game, coasting against the Vikings and Falcons
8. Giants 07 - Maybe the Most Triumphant Example of a team getting hot at the right time, they spent most of the year having A grade talent play like C grade schmucks before suddenly getting their act together down the stretch and sacking everyone to death while Playoff Eli impersonated Regular Season Peyton.
9. Panthers - Had a great run to the Super Bowl but were an 11-5 wild card team for a reason - they simply weren't that dominant on either side of the ball and played a very soft schedule to get there.
10. Giants 11 - The crummiest team the Patriots played in the playoffs, only offset by the fact that it was the crummiest Pats team to make the Super Bowl in the first place. #31 in total defense, a crummy running game and a dead Gronk set up a 9-7 Giants team that spent all year being mediocre to squeak into the wild card round and go on another hot streak to a title.

 

[everlong]

I know this will be an unpopular opinion but that Bears defense not even taking into account the rule changes or the player size differences would get shredded in today's NFL. Imagine Brady and the 2014 offense. They would have torched them. Brady would just get the ball out quickly time and time again. Seattle which was much better equipped to deal with that type of offense gave up 28 points.

There's also a reason that team only one once. Teams figured them out. The attrition of guys like Wilbur Marshall added to that down the line.

 

[Shockt327]

I know this will be an unpopular opinion but that Bears defense not even taking into account the rule changes or the player size differences would get shredded in today's NFL. Imagine Brady and the 2014 offense. They would have torched them. Brady would just get the ball out quickly time and time again. Seattle which was much better equipped to deal with that type of offense gave up 28 points.

There's also a reason that team only one once. Teams figured them out. The attrition of guys like Wilbur Marshall added to that down the line.

This is why it's impossible to compare teams from different eras. The 46 Bear was designed for an era of football where every offense regularly kept two backs in the backfield and a TE on the line of scrimmage. The game was, obviously, far more run oriented, but even the pass heavy offenses like San Fran threw the ball out of these formations too (the lone exception being, of course, Miami). So, no. There's no way that 46 Bear defense would work as a base D in today's NFL. But it's not because offenses "figured it out." Defense is inherently reactionary and the 46 Bear was designed to stop what offenses ran in the 80s. That meant putting a NT and two DTs over the Center and both guards, and then having both the SAM and the WILL and over the TE, and finally the SS (i.e. #46) line up in the box to the weak-side. That's what made the 46 Bear what it was. So, when offenses evolved with different personnel groupings and formations, that defensive front was needed less and less.

 

[PatsGirl2011]

I believe people are overeating the Eagles last year. Their defense was awful. The 04 team was easily better.

1. Bears
2. Rams
3. Packers
4 Seattle
5. 04 Eagles
6. Falcons
7. Panthers
8 07 Giants
9 '17 Eagles
10. '11 Giants

 

[Vatahala]

FYI NFL Network is replaying the Pats first Super Bowl victory against the Rams at 9PM tonight.

 

[Ring 6]

I believe people are overeating the Eagles last year. Their defense was awful. The 04 team was easily better.

1. Bears
2. Rams
3. Packers
4 Seattle
5. 04 Eagles
6. Falcons
7. Panthers
8 07 Giants
9 '17 Eagles
10. '11 Giants

Their defense was #4 in points, #4 in yards and #4 in takeaways. They allowed 17 combined points in their 2 NFC playoff games. I have no idea what you are talking about.
They are easily in the top half of this list probably 4th

 

[Gronk]

The ‘85 Bears didn’t even allow any playoff points besides the 10 NE scored in SB 20. 3 on the first drive and the other 7 in garbage time after they were up like 40 pts. Absolute Buzzsaw, that’s #1 with a bullet. The rest are all debatable and mostly interchangeable.

If the TB/BB Pats weren’t so hellbent on playing only stroke-inducing SBs it might make this list easier. I think the ‘01 Rams and ‘14 Seahawks are the easy calls as the “best” teams they faced but they also lost 3 other SBs which means...you know, those teams were good too. Going into it there was nothing overly intimidating about either of the Giants teams. The only thing that made anyone question whether NE should win in ‘11 was that the Giants had beaten them 4 years earlier. As it was it was a great rematch...which NE blew. ‘04 vs Eagles never really felt in doubt though the final was still 3 pts. Maybe this can be the year they just beat the brakes off the Rams and we don’t have to be chewing our nails come 4th qtr but I wouldn’t count on it!

 

[PatsGirl2011]

Their defense was #4 in points, #4 in yards and #4 in takeaways. They allowed 17 combined points in their 2 NFC playoff games. I have no idea what you are talking about.
They are easily in the top half of this list probably 4th

They were not a good defensive unit, but they were definitely good at home. I saw both the '17 and '04 team and '04 team were definitely the better team talent wise all over the field

 

[Biffins]

All this thread has done is pissed me off again about losing to the frickin '11 Giants

 

[everlong]

This is why it's impossible to compare teams from different eras. The 46 Bear was designed for an era of football where every offense regularly kept two backs in the backfield and a TE on the line of scrimmage. The game was, obviously, far more run oriented, but even the pass heavy offenses like San Fran threw the ball out of these formations too (the lone exception being, of course, Miami). So, no. There's no way that 46 Bear defense would work as a base D in today's NFL. But it's not because offenses "figured it out." Defense is inherently reactionary and the 46 Bear was designed to stop what offenses ran in the 80s. That meant putting a NT and two DTs over the Center and both guards, and then having both the SAM and the WILL and over the TE, and finally the SS (i.e. #46) line up in the box to the weak-side. That's what made the 46 Bear what it was. So, when offenses evolved with different personnel groupings and formations, that defensive front was needed less and less.

Points allowed

84: 248
85: 198
86: 187
87: 282
88: 215

To be fair the 86 team was still terrific and what derailed them was Charles Martin's dirty hit on McMahon but they really only had a two year run.

 

[zoostation]

This Rams team can create pressure up the middle from the defensive tackles. The Chargers and Chiefs pressure comes from the defensive ends. Historically middle pressure has proven to be the most successful way to attempt to slow down the goat

 

[Tb12goesinya]

Brady era

1. Rams 01
2. Seahawks
3. Philly 04
4. Rams 18
5. Philly 17
6. Carolina
7. Atlanta
8. Giants 07
9. Giants 11

 

[Ring 6]

They were not a good defensive unit, but they were definitely good at home. I saw both the '17 and '04 team and '04 team were definitely the better team talent wise all over the field

The eagles had a good defense last year.

 

[sean10mm]

Rank in points scored and (fewest) points allowed are facts, not opinions.

2017 Eagles - #3 points scored, #4 points allowed, #1 point differential in the entire league
2004 Eagles - #8 points scored, #2 points allowed, #4 in point differential

They even did it against a harder strength of schedule than the 2004 team per Pro Football Reference. The only reason the 2017 Eagles weren't more hyped for being a dominant team was because Wentz got hurt, but Foles going nuclear in the playoffs rendered that issue moot.