Ongoing debate - Who is better - 2007 Patriots or 1972 Dolphins?

36 years down the road, the 2007 Patriots won't even be remembered - people remember winners and in the end the Patriots were not one of them!

I couldn't disagree more. Just as Jordan winning 6 championships against 27 other teams in the 90's was more impressive than Boston winning all those championships over 7 other teams, going 16-0 in the regular season with free agency intact against 31 teams is far harder than going 14-0 against 27 other teams in an where you could lock up your entire roster every year. The '72 Dolphins would never have made it to 19-0. No one ever will, if the Patriots couldn't do it last year.

Good point that free agency makes it harder - I just don't see people remembering a team that almost did it.

no debate. undefeated is better than losing the Super Bowl in any era.

Repeat: The 1972 Dolphins never would have made it to 19-0. Five of their wins were by 4 points or less.

So? The Patriots had 4 wins by 4 points or less.... and a LOSS!

Because they played 19 games. Miami's luck would've run out as well. Past 10-0, every game is harder than the next. You get each team's best shot, and the opposition has more information on what works against you and what doesn't.

Putting aside the who's better argument: How would Miami c.'72 have fared if the amount of film available to modern teams had been available to the 1972 NFL? Would the Dolphins not have been easier to stop?

Luck? the Dolphins record from 72 and 73 is a combined 26 wins and 2 losses. 71, 72 and 73 the record is I believe 36 wins 5 losses 1 tie. What will the Patriots three season record be at the end of this season? How many Superbowl appearances? How many Superbowl wins? The debate is done. '72 team more dominant

Oh no...you didn't just make the film argument in favor of the Patriots, did you?

simple...07' Pats...a post FA dynamic team...and looking at that pic above, NE second team would have wasted 72' Dolphins...most people know that outside the murky waters of hate

NE's team may have been more talented, but we will never know. As far as anyone is concerned the 72 Dolphins have the superbowl, which makes them the better team.

I still think that the '72 Dolphins were a better overall team. As said on the actual site, Morrall and Griese could both lead the team when called upon. Is New England an undefeated team without Brady?

good point. no Brady and New England is an old version of Jacksonville, but not as good.

'72 Dolphins will probably be remembered, but I'd argue that the Pats were more talented. The '72 Dolphins played a schedule that had SOS .375, whereas the Pats played one of the hardest schedules in the league. I'd also argue that other teams have been superior to the '72 Dolphins, like the '85 Bears (who I think were better than these Pats as well).

You mention a two-year win total, three-year win total ... I'm sorry, but who has the record for consecutive victories?

Well everyone here is totally missing my point. You can't compare team vs team in two different eras. Today's Dolphins would beat the '72 Dolphins. Everyone today is BIGGER, FASTER, STRONGER and has the added knowledge of football over the past 3+ decades. Those '72 lineman were maybe 250lbs and would get rolled by the 320lb DTs of today. That's the wrong argument. The top college team could possibly beat an NFL champion from 40 years ago. The Dolphins were better in their era than the Patriots are in their era. I could get real deep with this, go get stats, adjust stats and sizes for different periods. The top high school male sprinters could beat Jesse Owens in a foot race, so are they all the greatest sprinters of all time. You can't make those types of ridiculous comparisons.

Put aside the size comparisons for a second. The NFL, adjusted for size, is just plain deeper now. The high school football factories of today turn millions of potential players into a chosen few. Honestly, how hard was it to walk onto a roster in 1972? The fact that the Dolphins were talented no one is disputing. But them being that good came at the expense of everyone else being horrible.

And the '72 Dolphins did beat 4 teams with winning records that year. The Dolphins beat 3 of the 8 playoff teams that year. Last year the Pats beat 5 of the 6 best teams in their conference besides them, in a year where besides the Super Bowl the AFC had total dominance. They also tacked on victories against the NFC East, the best division in the NFC.

That may be, but it comes down to the SB.