So here it is, the final installment of our rankings of the last ten champions in every sport. We saved America's favorite obsession, pro football, for last and released it just in time for training camp/football's complete take over of sports media.
This is different from the other three lists in one major way. People remember more about these teams than any other teams. Name the small forward on the 2007 Spurs or any pitcher on the 2008 Phillies or a second liner from the 2006 Hurricanes. Exactly you can't...but chances are you can name multiple players on any of these teams. That's why this list is different. You think you know what order these teams should be in. But there are a few things that might have been missed or forgotten by everyone. In addition there are a few things that advanced stats can help us see that we wouldn't normally pick up.
In making this list I considered many factors but there were four main ones. First off regular season record for obvious reasons. Then I used the profootballreference.com stat expected record to get a better look at how successful each team was in the regular season and see how much of a factor luck played. I also used the stat SRS or Simple Ranking System. This basically subtracts the value of a teams strength of schedule from its average margin of victory. There are a few flaws with this stat such as favoring offensive teams and being inflated by blowouts so it's important to take it with a grain of salt. However it is, for the most part, a pretty useful tool. In addition, I considered how dominant each team was on it's playoff run through average margin of victory. I combined all four of these factors and used a few others to create this list.
10. 2011 New York Giants: Record 9-7, Expected Record 7.9-8.1 SRS:1.6 (League average is 0)
We were just treated to possibly the strangest NFL season in years. Passing records fell like leaves in the fall while teams took the entire season to figure out their identity. I could go on for days about how weird this season was but I think saying that the Super Bowl champion had a negative point differential will suffice. That's right, the team that brought home the Lombardi Trophy allowed six more points than they scored the entire season. They also only won nine games and based on their performance were lucky to win that many. These Giants had the worst expected record of anyone on the list, the worst SRS, and the worst record. Lets take a look at who they beat in the regular season real quick. They defeated awful teams (Rams), teams that were struggling early in the year (Arizona, Philly, Miami), teams that were below average (Buffalo), and teams that were falling apart at the end of the year (Dallas, NY Jets). Of course they also lost twice to the Rex Grossman led Washington Redskins as well. Anything can happen in a season that follows a lockout and the Giants showed us just that in January. They defeated teams that had gone a combined 52-12 in the regular season to claim their fourth Super Bowl in franchise history.
9. 2007 New York Giants:Record 10-6, Expected 8.6-7.4 SRS 3.2
Before we proceed I should probably clear something up, I do not in fact hate the New York Giants. I was as happy as anyone when they defeated the Evil Patriots in Super Bowl 42, it literally made my year. I bought the comemorative T-shirt and book on the season. I loved it, I watch the highlights on youtube about once a month. Now that it's clear that i'm not just a hater with an axe to grind, I think it's safe to say that these Giants just weren't very good most of the year. Eli had a pretty below average year and no one was scared of their offense. Believe it or not they had a pretty average defense as well. However, after falling down 14-3 to the Buffalo Bills in the first half week 16, a memorable run ensued. They dominated the second half to win 38-21 and then nearly knocked off the undefeated Patriots the next week(38-35). After giving one of the best teams of all time a game Eli Manning and the Giants gained the confidence needed to make a historical run. They beat Tampa Bay in the wild card round (24-14), shocked top seeded Dallas in the divisional round (21-17), and outlasted the previously 14-3 Packers in overtime(23-20) to advance to Super Bowl 42. In the biggest game of the sports year, the Giants were matched up against those same Patiots from a few weeks ago. The rest, as they say, is history. The Giants may not have been the best Super Bowl champion of all time, but they gave us some of the best memories.
8. 2006 Indianapolis Colts: Record 12-4, Expected Record 9.6-6.4 SRS: 5.9
The 2006 Colts were the beginning of the end for the motto "defense wins championships." They were the 32nd ranked run defense and 23rd overall defense. Yet they started the season 9-0, mostly through the effort of Peyton Manning and their second ranked offense. As you can see above they outperformed their expected record by a wide margin in 2006 just as they did every year from 2002-2010. But they couldn't overcome the awful play of their defense the last few weeks of the year as the Colts dropped to 12-4 and out of a first round bye. Then something incredible happened that January. In the first round the league's worst run defense held the league's leading rusher to under 30 yards as the Colts toppled Larry Johnson and the Chiefs 23-8. They then held the #2 seeded 13-3 Ravens to six points in a 15-6 field goal fest. In the AFC Championship they finally got over the New England hump in a 38-34 comeback win. In the Super Bowl the RB tandem of Dominic Rhodes and Joe Addai ran all over the top ranked Bears defense. These Colts will always be remembered for Peyton Manning getting his only Super Bowl win, but perhaps they should be remembered as the beginning of the "defense doesn't matter era." Yes this team was 16-4 but with the league's worst run defense and a point differential of 4.2 points a game, they were lucky to do so.
7. 2005 Pittsburgh Steelers: Record 11-5 Expected Record 11.6-4.4 SRS: 7.8
Yes, the first six seed to ever win the Super Bowl is seventh on this list. This team should not have been a six seed. The Men of Steel had the same record (11-5) as they division champion Bengals, the 5th seeded Jaguars, and had a better record than the 4th seeded Patriots so you can throw that out the window as a knock against the team. Now consider that this team had a higher expected record than all but three teams on this list and had a 7.8 SRS (the league average is 0). This team was much better than it's remembered. Especially when you consider their playoff run. They destroyed division rival Cincinatti, eeked out a win over the top seeded 14-2 Colts, and then dominated Denver in the AFC Championship. But I bet you all you remember about the playoff run is the Super Bowl full of fishy calls and poorly thrown balls. Yes they were a six seed and were less than impressive in the Super Bowl but that doesn't tell the whole story. This was a great team that dominated in the playoffs and for most of the regular season.
6. 2008 Pittsburgh Steelers: Record 12-4 Expected Record 11.8-4.2 SRS:9.8
This was as solid and unflashy as Super Bowl Champions get. The 2008 Steelers were of course the league's best defense and had an above average offense. They had a very simple formula for winning games. They shut down the opposing team's offense and closed them out late in the 4th quarter with a game winning drive. Ben Roethlisberger to Santonio Holmes was as clutch of a combination as there was in the league at that time. The only real knock on these Steelers was their offensive line. Their inability to run block severly hurt the team's traditionally strong run game. If they had anyone but master sack avoider Big Ben at QB, it may have been an even bigger detriment to their offense. But poor line play didn't stop them from putting away San Diego in the divisional round, Baltimore in the AFC Championship, and then Arizona in one of the most memorable Super Bowls of all time. This was a solid, wire to wire great team with an all time defense.
5. 2003 New England Patriots: Record 14-2 Expected Record 11.4-4.6 SRS 6.9
4. 2010 Green Bay Packers: Record 10-6 Expected Record 12.1-3.9 SRS 10.9
Based on these team's regular season records, they appear to be backwards in ranking. Yet you'll notice the advanced stats favor the Packers. Why is that and do they deserve a higher spot than the Patriots? Well yes and here's why. First off the Packers did not trail by more than a touchdown the entire season. Think about that....this may be the most incredible stat in NFL history. They didn't trail by more than seven points one minute for the entire season but they lost six games by three points each. This was their only weakness, their inability to close teams out. This will come up again later. Meanwhile the Patriots were quite the opposite. They had a knack for winning close games and/or not having a good enough offense to seperate enough from anyone. This was the league's 17th ranked offense. Brady was very good but not yet great, the receiving core was solid but lacked a true number one, and they went with a platoon at running back but didn't have anyone that ran for 700 yards or 5 tds. But they did have a defense that scored five touchdowns and set them up for many other scores. This defense allowed the least points in football that year AND created offense. Not to mention they also had the intagible that is Adam Vinitieri. Meanwhile Green Bay had a better defense than anyone remembers. They were second in points allowed in the NFL and scored four return touchdowns. Meanwhile the offense ranked 10th in points scored, but became so much better than that down the stretch.
These teams are incredibly close by these standards but what seperates them is their playoff runs. The Patriots squeeked out a win over the Titans 17-14, beat the Colts and MVP Peyton Manning 24-14, and then won a closely contested Super Bowl over the upset minded Panthers 32-29 on a Vinitieri field goal. The Packers dominated the playoffs but had trouble putting the teams away, just like the regular season. Only unlike the regualar season they came out victorious in January. They beat the incredibly dangerous Eagles 21-16, destroyed the number one seeded Falcons 48-21, beat the division champion Bears 21-14, and then ran out to a huge lead over the mighty Steelers before holding on 31-25. I had to give this one to the Packers. It takes a truly special team to not trail by more than a touchdown for an entire season. But their lack of ability to put teams away prevents them from being higher on this list.
3. 2009 New Orleans Saints: Record 13-3 Expected Record 11.6-4.4 SRS 10.8
2. 2002 Tampa Bay Bucaneers Record 12-4 Expected Record 12.7-3.3 SRS 8.8
Choosing between these two teams was the toughest part of this list. You see, they were the only teams to really dominate in the playoffs (albeit Tampa was much more dominant). The Saint's offense and the Buc's defense basically cancel each other out as they are both easily the best units on this list and some of the best all time. The Bucs gave up less than 200 points while also causing nearly 50 turnovers. The Saints scored over 500 points in the regular season and over 100 in three post season games. They nearly went undefeated after starting the season 13-0. So basically the Saint's offense and Buc's D are taken out of the equation while the other units are considered. The Saints defense was below average and was 20th in points allowed. Meanwhile the Bucs offense was 18th in the leauge in points scored. Again there's not much of a difference. Thrown in their split of expected record and SRS and basically this is a wash. The only factor that puts the Bucs over the Saints is how utterly dominant they were down the stretch. The Saints annihilated the Cardinals in the divisional round 45-14, outlasted the Vikings in the NFC Championship 31-28 in overtime, and beat the Colts in the Superbowl 31-17. The Bucs beat San Francisco in the divisional round 31-6, manhandled the top seeded Eagles in the NFC Championship 27-10, and embarassed the Raiders 48-21 in the first Super Bowl featuring two teams with Pirates on their logos. They won by an average of 23 points (which would have been more if not for a few cheap, end of blowout touchdowns by Oakland) against the best teams in the league. This is something we rarely saw this decade and for that they are rewarded with the number spot on this list.
1. 2004 New England Patriots Record 14-2 Expected Record 12.4-3.6
To conclude this list we have the biggest ass kicking, wire to wire best team in the league, complete team of decade. As you can see the Patriots were 14-2, showing dominance in the regular season. They were the leagues 4th best offense and it's 2nd best defense. Remember those problems from the 2003 team? A lack of spark on offense? Solution: Tom Brady becomes the Tom Brady we now know and is one of the best quarterbacks in the league. David Patten and David Givens become reliable enough receivers. Oh yeah and they acquired the best running back in the league at that time, Corey Dillon. All he did was run for 1635 yards or about 1000 more than anyone ran for in 2003. Meanwhile the defense remained the same. That's right, there were this many improvements on a 14-2 team. This is why the Patriots are always among the best, they're ahead of the curve. They continued to amaze in the playoffs. In the division round they held the 500 point scoring Colts and 49 touchdown throwing Peyton Manning to three points in a 20-3 victory. In the AFC Championship they let their offense shine as they put up 41 on the league's best defense in Pittsburgh. The Super Bowl featured one of their pattented three point victories, this time over the Eagles. So to recap they held a record breaking offense to three points, put up 41 points on the league's best defense, and then beat the 13-3 NFC winning Eagles in the Super Bowl. Not a bad run.
By next year your team could unseat the 2004 Patriots as the Gold Standard of the decade. All they have to do is Stay Hungry My Friends.
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