With the Patriots bolting out to an 11-0 start to the 2007-2008 season, many analysts are already crowning them as the greatest team ever. It is absurd to begin making this claim when the Patriots are still eight games away from posting an unblemished record. Even if the Patriots do finish the season undefeated, they are still not the clear choice. The title means a bit more when you simply compare the Patriots to some of the truly great teams in sporting history.
After the 1972-1973 Dolphins went undefeated, the next notable sports team to achieve the feat was the 1976-1977 Hoosiers. The Indiana success wasn’t unexpected or shocking to anyone who followed basketball, though. The team finished the previous regular season undefeated, but fell short of winning the national title.
The Hoosiers made the most of their second chance at a championship. Finishing the season with an unblemished 32-0 record, the Hoosiers gave coach Bobby Knight the first of his many NCAA Championships.
This team could have easily landed in the top spot. Larry Bird had originally committed to play at Indiana and even participated in a preseason practice before ultimately deciding to attend Indiana State University.
The Patriots began this season with a figurative black eye after being caught cheating in week one of the season by videotaping the New York Jets’ defensive signals.
What they have done since week one has made everyone, outside of Jets’ head coach Eric Mangini and a handful of still-faithful Jet fans, forget about the past. The team has shredded the league on their way to an 11-0 record; outscoring their opponents by a score of 442-185.
With their pass-and-destroy offense, the Patriots are currently trying to not only become the first undefeated team since 1973, but are also on pace to break a bevy of season records. Among them are records for most touchdowns (70), most passing yards (5,232) and most total yards (7,075). Quarterback Tom Brady currently has 39 touchdown passes, putting him on pace for 61 on the season. Peyton Manning’s NFL record is 49.
The 1927 Yankees, a team comprised of six future Hall of Famers, slugged their way to a nearly unfathomable 110 wins. The 1927 Yankees batted .307, slugged .489, scored 975 runs, and outscored opponents by a record 376 runs. Their pitching staff also led the league with a 3.20 ERA.
The team was so dominant that they obtained the nickname of “Murderer’s Row,” a tribute to how tough it was for teams to pitch to the middle of the Yankee order, a group including Lou Gehrig and Babe Ruth. The Yankees beat Washington 21-1 in one game and prompted Senators’ first baseman Joe Judge to say, “Those fellows not only beat you but they tear your heart out. I wish the season was over.”
Whenever anyone talks about the possibility of an undefeated Patriot season, people immediately mention the 1972 Dolphins, the only NFL team to go undefeated since the 1970 AFL-NFL merger. The Dolphins finished their season with an unprecedented 17-0 record.
What made that Dolphins team so special-and gave them a higher ranking on this list-is the fact that the team’s starting quarterback, Bob Griese, went down in week five with a broken leg. To win, the team had to rally around veteran journeyman quarterback Earl Morall and a strong running game. Larry Csonka and Mercury Morris both had 1,000-yard rushing seasons, more than making up for the lack of pass production and propelling the Fins to a 14-7 Super Bowl VII victory over the Washington Redskins.
The 1995-1996 Chicago Bulls set the bar high for all future NBA teams, winning a record 72 games en route to a world championship. Even more miraculous is the fact that they lost just 10 games over the course of the entire season. The current NBA season is barely one-sixth of the way complete and eight teams already have 10 or more losses.
The group was led by Scottie Pippen, Dennis Rodman and Michael Jordan, arguably the best player in NBA history. Jordan made the season even more memorable as he captured his eighth scoring title, passing Wilt Chamberlain for the most in NBA history. He also won the triple crown of MVP awards, garnering the honor in the regular season, All-Star Game and championship series.
*The Patriots’ rank is based on the assumption that they will go undefeated.
