The best team not to win the Super Bowl

[Borski]

The Patriots were the best cheaters to not win the super bowl.

[BlastFurnace]

18-0 doesn't lie. They were the best never to win the big game. It's sweet that they lost, but IMO, they were still the best team this season. Had Asante Samuel not dropped that INT, they would be looked upon as the best Single Season team ever.

[tony hipchest]

Originally Posted by BlastFurnace

18-0 doesn't lie. They were the best never to win the big game. It's sweet that they lost, but IMO, they were still the best team this season. Had Asante Samuel not dropped that INT, they would be looked upon as the best Single Season team ever.

and i woulda looked at them as cheating frauds just like i did through their 1st 3 sb wins...

[Atlanta Dan]

Originally Posted by BlastFurnace

18-0 doesn't lie. They were the best never to win the big game. It's sweet that they lost, but IMO, they were still the best team this season. Had Asante Samuel not dropped that INT, they would be looked upon as the best Single Season team ever.

They arguably were the best team when measured at the stage of getting to the big game - once they lost the big game it was then fair game to measure their body of work over the season against all the other teams that lost their last game of the season. Given how the Pats played after the Buffalo game in late November, the cracks in the foundation that showed over the last 2 months (notably a defense that slipped over the course of the season) support the conclusion several SB losers were arguably as good (78 Cowboys/83 Redskins/84 Dolphins/90 Bills).

And if there was debate how the Pats measured up to the 70s Steelers before Sunday's loss, combine that loss with the 76 Steelers being regarded as the pick of the 70s teams & I think the 76 Steelers clearly beat out the 07 Pats, as perhaps the 90 49ers among teams that did not make it to the SB.

The 07 Pats are the best team since free agency took hold in the mid-90s - no more than that.

I could not be happier the reputation of that team has crashed.

[fansince'76]

Originally Posted by tony hipchest

and i woulda looked at them as cheating frauds just like i did through their 1st 3 sb wins...

Agreed - if they truly were heads-and-tails above the rest of the league, they should have been able to blow a 10-6 5th seed from what has recently been the decidedly weaker conference off the field in such a manner as to make the 49ers/Broncos 55-10 SB XXIV score seem close. And please spare me the "pacing" BS - the '89 49ers, not to mention the '85 Bears (among other TRULY great teams, not overhyped media sensations) had to both play 19 games as well.

[revefsreleets]

Again, Steelers aside, I think Tony mentioned that the '07 Pats would have had a helluva rough time with those Bills Super Bowl teams. They were better on both sides of the ball than the '07 Giants.

[PisnNapalm]

Pardon me but the 1976 Raiders would have chewed up the 2007 Pats and spit them out like a used Chicklet.

[Atlanta Dan]

Originally Posted by steelreserve

Could be the '85 Niners. They were basically the same group of guys as the '84 team that went 18-1, plus they added Jerry Rice in the offseason. Only that year, you had the '85 Bears demolishing everybody.

Don't get me wrong -- the Niners had a horrible start and only went something like 10-6 that season, so they didn't exactly PLAY like the best team not to win the Super Bowl. But then again, not playing your best is generally why good teams don't win the Super Bowl. They might have been the most talented not to.

But the 49ers got knocked out of the playoffs that year by the 85 Giants (not the 86 Giants SB winners, which smacked the 49ers around again the next season) and did not even get a chance to get beat up by the Bears again in the playoffs

Losing changes everything - the NFL Greatest Games series has one on SB XIII in which Charlie Waters whines at length as to how losing that game not only cost Dallas being substituted for the Steelers as the Team of the 70s but got numerous 70s Steelers in and kept numerous 70s Cowboys out of the HOF - excuses, excuses