Where do the Hawks rank among SB teams?

[seabowl]

Obviously we are spanning a number of era's but IMO we are 2nd or 3rd. I think the 85 Bears were number one after their dominating performance all year long. What does everyone else think?

 

[Brahn]

Obviously we are spanning a number of era's but IMO we are 2nd or 3rd. I think the 85 Bears were number one after their dominating performance all year long. What does everyone else think?

Best Defense ever in a SB

Not a top Offense to ever play a SB

I would rank this team in the top 15. The Homer in me wants to say top 10. But there have been a lot of more complete teams.

 

[PlinytheCenter]

I voted third. '85 Bears and '89 Forty9ers had more dominant games on offense.

 

[loafoftatupu]

I voted third. '85 Bears and '89 Forty9ers had more dominant games on offense.

Man.. The 89 Niners were the best at everything. So was the 88 team, the 89 version was just a finely tuned rendition.

A lot of people don't remember, but those Niner defensive teams were all good in their Super Bowl years. They might not have statistically been rated really high, but that has a lot to do with teams playing catch up. The way I see it, the Niners were the best team the league had seen between 81-89 and they still were on the conversation nearly every year between 81-94. That is one hell of a run spanning two sets of players and 2 coaches.

I say they are number 1.

92 Cowboys
93 Cowboys

Another one that gets missed is the 91 Redskins. They were damn good on both sides of the ball for that one season. Rypien looked perfect most of the time in 91, Gary Clark, Byner, Mann, Green, the Hogs... they were just nasty that year.

If the 98 Vikings wouldn't have choked that game in the NFCC I think they would have a spot there too. A true bummer for those fans.

The thing about the Hawks is that they are literally just getting started. There is a good chance that they are part of this conversation again.

 

[hawknation2014]

It depends on what criteria you are using to rank them. The '85 Bears were probably more dominant during their era, although they did suffer that 14-point loss to the Dolphins. The Seahawks have not lost a game by more than seven points since November 6, 2011 (currently tied for an NFL record with 45 consecutive games).

But if you're talking head to head, who would win? The game is just different now. The players are bigger, faster, stronger. And the schemes are more complex. Other than Refrigerator Perry, the Bears did not have a single linemen on either side of the ball who weighed more than 280 pounds. And most weighed between 250-270. They wouldn't manage a single point against our defense.

 

[chris98251]

Landry Cowboys teams, The Steelers in the 70's, The 49ers with Montana and Lott, The Jimmy Johnson Cowboys, all of which made multiple appearences and had balanced defense and offense. We can't rank where we are yet based on one game. We played great against a team with statistically the best offense ever for a season. I argue I have seen better football played. 85 Bears and the Dolphins with Czonka Greise and Warfield had a great team also with a very good defense.

I think our defense was lights out but as a team we can be better and more dominant.

 

[jlwaters1]

Obviously we are spanning a number of era's but IMO we are 2nd or 3rd. I think the 85 Bears were number one after their dominating performance all year long. What does everyone else think?

Fun fact the seahawks lead the league in 5 defensive categories, hadn't been done since Minnesota in the 70's, not even the bears could say that.. I'll have to look it up _ I know points, yards, ints, were part of that.

 

[onanygivensunday]

If the criterion is dominance over your opponent in one game, the Superbowl, then the Hawks would be in the top 5 imo.

According to FO, the Hawks come in at #3.

#1 goes to the 2000 Ravens over the Giants 34-7 and #2 to the 1989 49ers over Denver 55-10.

Link to FO article... http://www.footballoutsiders.com/quick- ... uick-reads

 

[SalishHawkFan]

The Bears were not as dominant as the Seahawks defense. They get a lot of hype, but really, not as good a team. Montana's 49ers were the best and the 70's Steelers were awesome. Other than that, though, I think when this teams run is over it will be up there with those guys. Right now I put them at third.

 

[HawkAroundTheClock]

If the criterion is dominance over your opponent in one game, the Superbowl, then the Hawks would be in the top 5 imo.

According to FO, the Hawks come in at #3.

#1 goes to the 2000 Ravens over the Giants 34-7 and #2 to the 1989 49ers over Denver 55-10.

Link to FO article... http://www.footballoutsiders.com/quick- ... uick-reads

Good link, good info. I was just thinking that if the question was "where did our Hawks rank among SB performances," it would be top 3 for sure.

Comparing, or ranking, teams across such disparate eras is too complicated. Comparing boxers is impossible enough and that's just one man vs another. In a team sport like football, with 3 phases to the game, and all the changes the NFL has experienced like major rule changes, divisional re-alignment, expansion, etc., I have a hard time juxtaposing teams separated by 10, 20, or 30 years in addition to all those changes in the League.

 

[Hasselbeck]

I think in 10 years when we look back at the 2013 Hawks, we will truly see what a great team this was.

3 losses by 7 or less points, all games they arguably should have won. A dominant defense that took it up to an entirely new level in the postseason, capped off by shutting down the best offense ever and blowing them out of the water.

 

[halps80]

91 Redskins belong in this discussion.

 

[HawkHouse]

I think we're in the Top 5 for sure, hard to say who's #1, #2, etc. cause there's so much conjecture as to what the overwhelming factor is to be #1 ...

We scratched and clawed for some close wins during the regular season, kicked some ass in the playoffs, and then stomped one of the greatest offenses of all time in the SB ...

That's a story line for the ages too ... team / compete / potential / be great / etc.

Epic.

 

[Sgt. Largent]

These are hard questions to answer because it's a premature analysis.

We're putting the 2013 Hawks up against Hall of Fame teams, coaches and players..........while this team, coaches, etc are still in their infancy.

Statistically the 2013 Hawks are a top 5 SB team, especially taking into account they played the greatest statistical offensive team of all time.

But to answer your question, defensively top 2-3 ever + offensively average compared to the other great offensive SB teams = puts us in the top 10 of all time combined.

 

[HawkWow]

It's extremely difficult to pit teams from one era against teams of a different era (imo). While I don't necessarily feel we are the best team in history, I do believe this team is capable of beating any team, from any era, on any given Sunday. When you think of the great Packer, SF, Dallas teams (etc), you think of them at their pinnacle. I don't believe this young Hawk team has reached that ceiling, so again, very hard to do much more than guess....so if I'm just guessing...I guess we are #1.. ; )

 

[Hawks46]

We'd be up there for top performances just because of the quality of the opponent.

Not like I have to tell you guys (and gals) this, but we were actually underdogs. The Broncos were the most prolific offense ins NFL history. Regardless of the rules changes, that is still impressive. The next closest team was the Patriots and they lost the SB as well, after that the 98(?) Vikings didn't even make the SB.

To beat them that badly is extremely impressive, especially when the rules are stacked against the defense.

As for teams, I'd have to go

88-89 Niners. They were tremendous on both sides of the ball.
92 & 93 Cowboys. Almost as impressive (and better defensively IMO) as the NIners, and probably more physical. They had to be a damned good team to put an end to that dynastic Niners run.

02 Bucs. They were elite defensively and better than us offensively under Gruden.

91 Redskins. They only edge us because their offense was better than ours.

13 Seahawks. I have us this low because our offense wasn't that great or consistent. It was good, but not great. Ironically, you have this trend where SB winners had great offenses and merely good defenses (latter Patriots teams and Rams recent teams). We were opposite: elite defensively and merely good offensively.

01 Ravens. Slightly better defense than us, but worse offense. I think they edge the 85 Bears due to defense. Bears were also better offensively.

If we make a back to back run, or win another 2 in a few years, this team could go down as one of the better ones ever. This team reminds us of the Niners/Cowboys rivalries when they were both elite, the exception being that we are in the same division with our rivals.

 

[seabowl]

I think we're in the Top 5 for sure, hard to say who's #1, #2, etc. cause there's so much conjecture as to what the overwhelming factor is to be #1 ...

We scratched and clawed for some close wins during the regular season, kicked some ass in the playoffs, and then stomped one of the greatest offenses of all time in the SB ...

That's a story line for the ages too ... team / compete / potential / be great / etc.

Epic.

We may have kicked "some" ass in the playoffs but we were one great tip away from possibly losing to the Niners. For this reason and some real close games in the regular season I just can't put us at the top. IMO the 85 Bears all in all were the best because other than the insane Monday nighter against the Fins they pretty much dominated throughout the year.

 

[SalishHawkFan]

It's extremely difficult to pit teams from one era against teams of a different era (imo). While I don't necessarily feel we are the best team in history, I do believe this team is capable of beating any team, from any era, on any given Sunday. When you think of the great Packer, SF, Dallas teams (etc), you think of them at their pinnacle. I don't believe this young Hawk team has reached that ceiling, so again, very hard to do much more than guess....so if I'm just guessing...I guess we are #1.. ; )

I don't think it's that difficult if you watched them. Stats are not as useful, of course. But the eyeball test stands the test of time. It's not about how they'd fare against each other, it's how dominant were they in their era. Seahawks 2013 dominated this past season. 70's Steelers dominated for years. But no single year were they more dominant than this years Hawks team. They were as dominant. 49ers dominated for a span. That 89 team however, was so much better than anything ever seen at that time. The 85 Bears dominated that year, but not the way the 13 Hawks did. They just didn't face the competition that the Hawks faced. 91 Skins were impressive.

It doesn't matter that they played in a different era to know Namath's Jets don't compare. One might infer that for the 60's, the Packers would compare.

 

[Sports Hernia]

It's extremely difficult to pit teams from one era against teams of a different era (imo). While I don't necessarily feel we are the best team in history, I do believe this team is capable of beating any team, from any era, on any given Sunday. When you think of the great Packer, SF, Dallas teams (etc), you think of them at their pinnacle. I don't believe this young Hawk team has reached that ceiling, so again, very hard to do much more than guess....so if I'm just guessing...I guess we are #1.. ; )

I don't think it's that difficult if you watched them. Stats are not as useful, of course. But the eyeball test stands the test of time. It's not about how they'd fare against each other, it's how dominant were they in their era. Seahawks 2013 dominated this past season. 70's Steelers dominated for years. But no single year were they more dominant than this years Hawks team. They were as dominant. 49ers dominated for a span. That 89 team however, was so much better than anything ever seen at that time. The 85 Bears dominated that year, but not the way the 13 Hawks did. They just didn't face the competition that the Hawks faced. 91 Skins were impressive.

It doesn't matter that they played in a different era to know Namath's Jets don't compare. One might infer that for the 60's, the Packers would compare.

You nailed it! Agreed! Great post! :th2thumbs:

 

[Happy]

The '89 49ers are probably the best team in the history of pro football. That roster was just stacked. Steve Young was their backup quarterback! That's what I call depth. Could you even build a team like that in the salary cap era?

Seahawks have to be top 5 though. They crushed the most prolific offense in history despite rule changes designed to hamstring defenses. I believe history will show that the 2013 Seahawks defense was on par with the '85 bears. People will be talking about them for a very long time; they are now part of the lore of the game.

Bit of trivia: The '89 49ers played the Minnesota vikings in the divisional round of the playoffs that year. They won 41-13.

Guess who was the DB coach for the vikings in that game?