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Espn's Top 10 Teams Of All-time, 1972 Dolphins 4th

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Seriously, I don't know who does the voting for some of these ESPN polls. That would be nice to know. I think most of them are fun to watch, but I rarely agree.

Anyway, was watching their top 10 teams. They had the 1985 Chicago Bears 6th all-time. As soon as I saw that, I knew it was going to be off. The 2007 Patriots were listed third, ahead of the 1972 Dolphins who they had fourth.

I think it was something like this.

1. 1989 49ers (I'd put them third. A great team, no doubt.)
2. 1979 Steelers (maybe in the 5-7 range for me.)
3. 2007 Patriots (lost super bowl, not top 10 in my book)
4. 1972 Dolphins (#1)
5. 1962 Packers (before my time)
6. 1985 Bears (#2 for me)

Can't remember the order after that, but the 1968 Colts coached by Don Shula were on the list as well. I think there was another New England team as well. One of Jimmy Johnson's Dallas teams were 10th.
 
It never bothers me. Pin a loss on the Rams. That will cleanse everything. As long as the '72 Dolphins are unblemished alone they are the only annual reference point, and that is the ultimate trump card.

Speaking of all-time lists, this Alabama team is going to take over #1 if it goes through the season without a serious challenge, placed above teams like 2001 Miami and 1995 Nebraska.

I warned about that on Canes sites very early this season. Then it took another big step with the rout at LSU last night. The media is logically going to want to assign best ever to one of these Saban Alabama teams, given the sustained dominance. But there really hasn't been a single team to isolate, given the number of 1-loss champs including some with a home defeat.

This version with offensive superiority is going to be given the nod if no one threatens them. IMO, Michigan is easily the most interesting potential matchup, given the coaching supremacy on both sides including Harbaugh's great pass defense matched up against Tua. Michigan obviously needs to get past Ohio State on the road, and that's basically a coin flip.

Georgia is very good but last year was their opportunity. This season would be more lopsided. Clemson gave Alabama fits with a versatile pro caliber upperclassman at quarterback. I don't see a more one-dimensional freshman doing the same.
 
Goin` Deep said:
The '73 team that went 12-2 and crushed Minnesota in SBVIII was a better team than the undefeated one. Even Shula has said so.
Click to expand...
It might have been the better team. I always thought it was and Miami was definitely more impressive that year in the postseason. Obviously, having a healthy Bob Griese for the entire season was huge.
 
SF Dolphin Fan said:
Seriously, I don't know who does the voting for some of these ESPN polls. That would be nice to know. I think most of them are fun to watch, but I rarely agree.

Anyway, was watching their top 10 teams. They had the 1985 Chicago Bears 6th all-time. As soon as I saw that, I knew it was going to be off. The 2007 Patriots were listed third, ahead of the 1972 Dolphins who they had fourth.

I think it was something like this.

1. 1989 49ers (I'd put them third. A great team, no doubt.)
2. 1979 Steelers (maybe in the 5-7 range for me.)
3. 2007 Patriots (lost super bowl, not top 10 in my book)
4. 1972 Dolphins (#1)
5. 1962 Packers (before my time)
6. 1985 Bears (#2 for me)

Can't remember the order after that, but the 1968 Colts coached by Don Shula were on the list as well. I think there was another New England team as well. One of Jimmy Johnson's Dallas teams were 10th.
Click to expand...

It’s all speculation except one fact....only one team ran the table without a loss.
 
BlueFin said:
It’s all speculation except one fact....only one team ran the table without a loss.
Click to expand...
I sometimes think ESPN does these types of rankings to get fans riled up, more for ratings than anything else. I mean, who would rank the 1985 Bears so low or put a New England team that lost in the super bowl over a Dolphins team that ran the table? It's fun to watch, though, and admittedly hard to rank a lot of these great teams from different eras.
 
NBP81 said:
I mean, actually winning the SB should be filter #1...
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So it's impossible for there to be 2 teams in a given season that are better than anything else in another season? That's ridiculous.
 
C l u t c H 385 said:
So it's impossible for there to be 2 teams in a given season that are better than anything else in another season? That's ridiculous.
Click to expand...
Rare but possible. ‘84 fins would have beaten most SB winners most years. The ‘84 SF team was 19-1 with their only loss in OT by a FG to the AFC runner up Steelers. That team was better and more balanced than the ‘85 Bears. NE at 19-1 losing to a Giants team that had 6 losses is not better than the ‘84 niners nor the ‘72 fins who, remain alone in perfectville.
 
SF Dolphin Fan said:
It might have been the better team. I always thought it was and Miami was definitely more impressive that year in the postseason. Obviously, having a healthy Bob Griese for the entire season was huge.
Click to expand...

At the time it was absolutely conventional wisdom in Miami and nationwide that the '73 team was superior. But that argument had to be dropped, since it ruins the claim that an undefeated team is the ultimate.

Fortunately not many people remember that assertion that '73 was better. The younger crowd who were not born at the time have no idea, so I never help them out.
 
"Top" is a term that means different things to different people. In my mind, the only team that did not lose a single game all the way to the Super Bowl is my top team.
 
Hey, 1972 was so long ago, even if there were more Dolphins fans out there, too few would remember it to put it any higher on their click-bait rankings. They sell advertising … they sell MORE advertising when large fanbases click on their stories … it's not rocket science … and it's not any kind of realistic ranking … it's marketing fluffers to generate clicks.

I'm shocked that they didn't put the Cowboys and Patriots teams in there though … they could have generated even more clicks.

[EDIT] Oh, I see that the last sentence mentioned that they did include Cowboys and Patriots teams because … of course they wouldn't throw a bone to the biggest fanbases out there today. The Cowboys because they're loved by a large area of fans, and the Patriots because the bandwagon is the biggest.
 
Lmaoooooooooooo at them having a team that lost the Super Bowl on there. What a ****ing joke!
 
I think that if you beat every single team that they ask you to play, and you're the only team that's ever done that since the NFL started having championship games, then you're the best team until somebody else does it. Then you can have a debate.

Being able to finish without stumbling even once is impressive, and not just in football, in sports... but in anything. In anything you do, whether it's as an individual or as part of a group, finishing every stupid detail is where most people, most organizations, most teams will slip up at some point.

My list:

1. 1972 Miami Dolphins




















2-10. A bunch of teams that didn't quite have the will to finish every single week.
 
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