Commanders Post at The Warpath - It's not Joe's team yet

I don't deny the fact that it seems like players are stronger and faster today than what they used to be. We can look at old film from the 50's and 60's and see that the players didn't look as atheletic as players do today, however, the game is 90% mental and 10% physical. I know that might not make sense to alot of people, but there certainly is truth to that. Smart players who know how to play the game or know how to play their positions effectively are usually the ones who become the elite in the league. Yeah, we can look at Dante' and he is one of the top QBs in the league, but he isn't the best I have ever seen. Joe Montana was rather average size..heck he wasn't big at all, but I had the pleasure (or displeasure when they played the Skins) to watch him play at the top of his game and there was no QB that I have ever witnessed being as perfect of a QB as he.

But, here's my theory as to why the elite teams from the 80's (49ers, Redskins, Giants, etc) would not only be competitive with todays teams, but be Super Bowl contenders just like they were in that era:

The teams stayed together. The players became like a family and knew each other. It wasn't like a revolving door like it is today. Since the teams stayed together, the systems that the coaches had in place worked better. If a player retired or left the team, it was alot easier to plug someone else in than to revamp the entire offense or defense. Since it appeared that teams were together longer than today, players were able to stay in one system longer and learn that position and it's function rather than to be bumped off to this team and that team. With the revolving door or today, it's almost necessary for players to be bigger and stronger to make up for not being able to stay in one system for nearly their whole career. Another premise I have is that the elite teams kept their coaches for years. Parcells stayed in NY for several years...Gibbs in Washington, Walsh in San Fran then gave away to another elite coach (awwhh shoot forgot his name..hahaha!!)

But, my point is and forgive me for being long winded, but there are alot of fast big guys in the league today of whom are mediocre. They might be that way because of coaching or coaching changes that are frequent. They might be that way because they get shipped off to this place and that and by the time they have finished off their career, they've played for at least 5 different teams. I would suspect that the 91' Washington Redskins would more than hold their own to today's New England Patriots. I would say the same for the 80's 49er's club or the Giants when LT, Bavro, Sims, and Morris was playing. I believe the only thing that has changed in today's games are a few rules that can be easily adjusted to, and the "me" persona that today's player has adapted to(i.e. T.O.!) A team with a hall of fame coach and players that are smart and stick together with that one team will always get the last laugh.