SalishHawkFan":2l0qdy17 said: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.HawkWow":2l0qdy17 said: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.. ; )
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.
Well, it is difficult and I did watch them. In fact, I grew up in Milwaukee ( back when the Pack actually played in Milwaukee) and I've been a football junkie for the past 40 + years. Rule changes and high tech nutrition / training (alone) has changed the game markedly...as has money.
Today's athlete is like a mini-corporation. Guys making a million per game today are apt to train and play harder than the athlete that made $5,000 per game 40 years ago. And no, it's not apples to apples. Today's NFL player probably makes 10x more than yesterday's even after figuring in inflation, etc. Few players from 40 years ago saw the NFL as their business or a lifetime of security. Jake Scott likes to say his NFL pension doesn't pay for his beer.
Don't just read about football or depend on your eye test. It's flawed. Speak to some of the older players and ask them how they think the NFL has changed. I do so frequently, and once passed the bravado laced, nostalgic posturing, never have I heard one say it's not difficult to compare teams from one era to teams from another. Never.