if LT shot himself. I mean it might have been understandable cuz we all knew what that white powder was on his nose, but I’d think they end up like the 2008 version and not be as good as they could have been.

And I never really knew how pissed I was a Plax until reading this, on how good that team was last year.

Im gonna step a few hours in my ANGRY DOME!….soon as the professor gets out.

While I haven’t done any research to back my opion, my gut would have me go with Parcells" crew. The X factor to me would be that defense and LT. As great as the current o-line is, they would have no answer for Taylor and he would eat Eli alive. Also, if Parcells put some of those clock eating drives together and put the 07-08 team behind early, I don’t think the latter could come back against the 85-86 D.

Stats and simulations don’t lie, do they. I’ve also gone back and run simulations, and found that the 2007 New England Patriots should have been crowned Super Bowl champions. Sorry guys, hand in your rings at the return counter.

Gas Station Employee: I’m picking up your sarcasm.
Richard Hayden: Well, I should hope so, because I’m laying it on pretty thick.

Okay, that’s not really helpful analysis on my part. My gut says that while the 85-86 Giants teams would have trouble moving the ball against the 07-08 Giants defenses (particularly through the air), the 85-86 Giants defenses would stifle the 07-08 Giants offenses enough to create the favorable field position that would ultimately make the difference.

Then again, my simulation didn’t take into account another helmet catch.

Well in my mind the 1986 team was the best hands down. I think LT would have caused all sorts of havoc, Simms would have played an efficient turnover free game game, Parcells would have pulled some kind of a gimmick out of his bag of tricks, Belechick would have a way to shut down 2007/8 offense and that team would won.

The Giants of that era had the misfortune of being in the middle of a bunch of mini dynasties: the 49ers, the Redskins, and the Bears.

It’s similar to what the Raiders went through in the 70s with having to compete with the Steelers and Dolphins.

When would this game have taken place (early, mid, late season or playoffs)? The 85-86 team was great all year. The 07-08 team started off like garbage but we all know the outcome. My point is, if it’s an early game, Parcells’ teams win by a wide margin. If it’s a mid season game, Parcells’ squad wins by 8-10. If it’s late or playoffs, Parcells wins by 3. Again, no research here, just going on gut feeling.

One thing alot of people forget, or might not know, is that the 1985 Giants had a terrific offense, 3rd in the conference in points. Phil Simms threw for almost 4000 yards that year, and did it with Lionel Manuel, Byron Williams, and Bobby Johnson as his WR’s. With that group, to me throwing for 4000 yards should count double, that is pretty damn impressive

That team actually lost two games when they put up over 30 points, which is surprising, as good as that defense was. The 86 team in comparison won 5 games when they scored less than 20 points. Because of the 85 Bears being so incredibly dominant, and a little fortunate with some brutal winds in the playoffs, I think the 85 Giants team gets overlooked, but they probably were the 2nd best team in the NFC, and I would say top 5 in the league that year.

That being said, if I had to break the teams down by positions, here is how I would score it, and this is just which of the four teams in question had the best year at the position

QB: 1985 (Wanted to give this to Eli in 07, but he didn’t hit his stride until late in the year, Phil had it going on all season)
RB: 1986
WR: 2007
TE: 1986
OL: 2007

DL: 2007
LB: 1986
DB: 1986

P: 2007 (but its close, I was a big Landeta fan, as much as you can be a punter fan)
K: 2008 (Carney was definitely more reliable than Allegre or Tynes, although they both get props for big game kicks in their respective seasons)

Assuming that the level of competitiveness among playoff teams was somewhat comparable:

86 Giants (3 games): 105-23

2007 Giants (4 games): 85-65

It would seem to reason then, that the 86 Giants were more dominant over their class of playoff teams (and regular season opponents, for that matter) than was the 07 team. As far as facing each other, that’s too complex for my brain, hence the simulators, which don’t mean much — it’s the egghead version of football. I would however love to see that breakdown of the game like ESPN has in their previews.

I’m sayin, based on regular season record and postseason margin of victory, the 86 Giants were the better team in the context of their era.

I was looking at more than a one-year period, though. The ‘85-86 and 2007-08 time periods were very similar. I probably could have added ’89-90 to this, but I didn’t see those teams as being as good as the two I used.