The Greatest All Time? Is It That Easy to Say?

Where do you begin on an all-time favorite team? Think of all the great teams that have been around. And how far back do you go? While the current NFL came to existence in 1970, with the merger of the NFL and AFL, what about the teams before that? And of course, there's the great teams that failed to win the Super Bowl. Does this mean that a team that didn't win the big one can'e be recognized as a great team?

In looking at the greatest team ever, I've looked at the overall talent, coaching, accomplishments, camaraderie, and chemistry. I believe these to be the good mark of a football team, though this is by no means the make-up or clear definition of a great team. But in analyzing each team since the merger, one team seemed to fit the bill as the greatest team and my favorite team, one that made it look relatively easy and did it in dominating fashion:

The 1985 Chicago Bears

Just think of all the talent on this team. On offense, Walter "Sweetness" Payton has to stick out on this team. Payton finished as the all-time leader in career rushing yards with 16,726, a mark that stood until 2002, when Emmitt Smith topped the mark. He was inducted in the pro football hall of fame in 1993. The other amazing thing about Payton in 1985 was that not only did he lead the Bears in rushing, but in receiving as well, with 483 yards.

The most brash of the team may have been the 'bad boy,' quarterback Jim McMahon, out of BYU as the No. 5 pick in 1982. But when his team needed him to deliver, he did, indeed, with the capper in the 46-10 Super Bowl XX win over New England, with a pair of rushing touchdowns. He scuffled with coach Mike Ditka, but still led the offense to a whirlwind season.

Speaking of "Da Coach," Ditka was a great orchestrator of pulling everyone together for a team effort. Think of all the characters on this team. Not to mention his own scuffling with defensive coordinator Buddy Ryan over the type of defense and how the defense was run.

The Bears' defense may have been the most impressive. The defensive line alone was fierce, with Steve "Mongo" McMichael (before he turned to wrestling), sackmaster Richard Dent, William 'Refrigerator' Perry, and end Dan Hampton. Dent and Hampton have since been inducted in the pro football hall of fame in Canton, OH. Dent also finished with 17 sacks and was the MVP of Super Bowl XX. The ironic thing about Dent was that he and left guard Mark Bortz were the lowest paid starters, at $90,000 a piece.

The linebacking corps had another hall of famer, in Mike Singletary. He was joined by Otis Wilson and Wilber Marshall. In the secondary, Leslie Frazier led Chicago with six interceptions.

After dropping three in a row in the pre-season, the Bears would flirt with the 1972 Miami Dolphins' perfect season, fallling ironically to the Dolphins in week 13. This would be the only loss outside of that pre-season.

In the playoffs, the defense really turned it up, shutting out the Rams and the Giants, before throttling New England 46-10 in the Super Bowl.

And of course, who could forget the "Super Bowl Shuffle?": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fJNC3dgreaU