01-21-2020, 12:57 AM
(01-20-2020, 08:54 PM)TheLeonardLeap Wrote: 1.
The 1981 49ers had the 2nd ranked defense in scoring
The 1984 49ers had the 1st ranked defense in scoring
2. I assume Joe wouldn't take less because I assume everyone won't take less. Brady is a rarity in that because he has a supermodel who has made over $400m as his wife.
3. Between '79 and '92 (when Montana was around), the 49ers had 6 different Hall of Famers and 14 different 1st Team All-Pros. 3 of the HoFers played on defense. Joe Montana was surrounded by an absurd amount of talent that wouldn't be possible in the modern era of football with free agency and salary caps.
4. The Packers had to keep cycling through players, the 49ers could keep playing with the same top players. The fact you had to list players like Donte Stallworth, Deion Branch, Danny Woodhead, James White, Shane Vereen, etc, as part of the "embarassment of talent" is pretty telling. A lot of mediocre players there, and a lot of guys with 0 Pro Bowls, 0 All-Pros there too. Out of Woodhead/White/Vereen, they have a combined 1 season of 500+ rushing yards, and 0 seasons of 550+ rushing yards.
5. As for the better players: They lost Welker to FA money. They lost Collins because of his impending FA money. They lost C Jones because of his impending FA money. etc... imagine how many rings Brady/Belichick would have if they didn't have a salary cap and could keep all their best players because they could block them from FA.
1. But they did it without a bunch of "name" players that would've cost them.
2. You shouldn't assume anything when dealing in hypotheticals. Especially when there's evidence that Montana didn't seem to seek the biggest payday even when he had the freedom to do so. The 49ers offered to trade him anywhere he wanted, and he chose a winning situation in KC and signed a reasonable 3 year, $10 million dollar deal. For comparison, Dan Marino had signed a 5 year, $25 million dollar deal two years prior.
3. I'm not surprised by those numbers, but would you be surprised to hear that the Patriots had 27 different 1st team All-Pros by 17 different players (not counting Brady) since 2001? You say it's not possible to have a plethora of talent in the free agent era, but the Patriots are proof otherwise. They had to cycle those players in and out due to free agency/cap, but the Pats have been masterful about keeping that roster stacked.
4. Cherry picking a few of the weakest players I listed doesn't mean it's not a damn fine list. The Pats have been stacked with talent, as 17 1st team All-Pros and 34 Pro-Bowl players since 2001 would suggest.
5. Moot point, because the Patriots just work in more All-Pros and Pro-Bowlers. For every Collins or C Jones they lose, they've brought in guys like Randy Moss, Darrelle Revis and Junior Seau, willing to play for less to get a ring. That wouldn't have been possible in the 80's, because there was no real free agency.
The training, nutrition, medicine, fitness, playbooks and rules evolve. The athlete does not.