SB Rankings

Bruce:

Your comments on individual SB's has made me rethink some of my earlier choices, but I still find some room to quibble, as follows.

(Full Disclosure: I find myself knocking Cowboys' victories down on the list, no doubt betraying my feelings for that team)

Bump up

Oakland 32 Minnesota 14 - Raiders and Madden finally getting a title made this game more compelling than some of the others you rated above it, despite its lopsided play and final score.

SF 55 Denver 10 - Although a blow-out, I agree with you that watching a team that was so damned good as that 49er squad was a privilege, and merits a higher ranking than some of the other blowouts you have higher on the list.

Bump down

Dallas 24 Miami 3 - Dolphins never really were in the game; boring, in that the Dolphins didn't have the weapons to stage a late rally, so this one was decided too early to be so highly ranked.

Dallas 27 Denver 10 - Huge disappointment of a game; Broncos, having deprived the world of a much-anticipated Dallas-Oakland SB, brought their C- game. Norris Weese! Ugh!

NE 24 Eagles 21 - First half was frustrating, watching the Eagles outplay the Pats without scoring in a commensurate fashion; second half was nearly impossible to endure, what with the casual 6-minute offense the Eagles went into with 6.5 minutes to play. Not any real drama.

Dallas 27 Pittsburgh 17 - My enduring memory of this game was being mad at Neal O'Donnell for such a sorry performance. True, the Steelers pulled close in the 2nd half, but they just seemed not to have brought their best to the table against a beatable Dallas squad.

Steelers 21 Dallas 17 - Good game, but I couldn't put it ahead of NE 20 St Louis 17, which had real drama down to the final tick of the clock. So bump it down, but only a little.

Washington 27 Miami 17 - Dolphins were too anemic to make a game of it, and the whole season had a taint, with the stink of the strike, the "playoff tournament" format, etc. Riggo did get to make his famous "Loosen up, Sandy baby" comment to Sandra Day O'Connor in the aftermath, so maybe that earns it a mild reprieve.

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Aa you noted previously, there will always be room for disagreement, but I will say that you improved on my original list. I hope that on reflection, you think that these comments help you improve on the improvement. I am looking forward to the article!