Greatest Pack: 1966 or 1996?

By Os Davis  |   Monday, July 03, 2006  |  Comments( 4 )

Green Bay Packers
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A personal appeal today, if you will allow me.

Like so many other fans looking to fill a life utterly devoid of NFL football, I have turned to that pacifier so many football junkies do: Madden's video football.

Ambitiously have I created a dream league, full of teams representing the best year of their franchise. There's Chuck Noll's Pittsburgh Steelers, Jimmy Johnson's Dallas Cowboys, and Chucky Gruden's Buccaneers. Some slots required decisionmaking, but the entire league is filled. Except one: the Green Bay Packers.

Here, I am faced with a conundrum. Should the Pack play with absolutely immortal Vince Lombardi's 1966 squad that won Super Bowl I after going 14-2? Or should they flash forward exactly thirty years and take Coach Mike Holmgren's scoring machine of 1996 that steamrolled through the playoffs?

So what else to do to address this burning issue than make a list? Below runs a comparison of the "skill" positions on offense. The list will be presented in reverse order of more traditional enumeration...mainly because I'm trying to stall addressing that quarterback controversy until the end.

Kicker: Chris Jacke vs. Don Chandler. Let's start with an easy one, eh? In 1996, Jacke was 21 for 27 for a 77.8% success rate. In 1966, his eleventh of twelve seasons, Chandler was 12 of 28 for - get this - 43%. Jacke is third in scoring in Green Bay history, but Chandler also did duty as punter. And let's not forget Super Bowl II, the last game in Chandler's career and a four field goal performance. Edge: 1966 Packers.

Tight end: Keith Jackson and Mark Chmura vs. Marv Fleming. In 1996, Jackson had a fine season, grabbing 40 catches for 505 yards and a team-leading 10 TDs. Chmura spent enough time at TE to rack up 370 yards. At the TE position, Fleming was far less frequently a target in Bart Starr's offense, grabbing 31 catches for 361 yards. History is unfair. Edge: 1996 Packers.

Wide receivers: Antonio Freeman, Desmond Howard, Robert Brooks and Don Beebe vs. Carroll Dale, Boyd Dowler and Max McGee. At first, this looks like a blowout, but non-household names like Dale and Dowler actually had impressive careers. Dale (35 receptions for 738 yards in 1966) and Dowler (54 for 836) played 14 and 12 seasons respectively, and accumulated five All-Pro nods between them. Veteran Max McGee chipped in only three receptions that year, but the Whiskey-A-Go-Go's favorite client turned in his infamous hungover MVP-level performance in Super Bowl I. Of course, one can help but wonder what sort of havoc Starr might have wreaked with, say, Freeman (56 for 933 in twelve games in 1996). Edge: 1996 Packers.

Running backs: Edgar Bennett and Dorsey Levens vs. Jim Taylor, Elijah Pitts and Paul Hornung. On the 11th ranked running game in the NFL in 1996, Bennett rushed for exactly 899 yards on 222 carries, a 4.0 average. Levens plowed forth for 566, five TDs and a fat 4.7 yards per carry. In 1966, Jim Taylor was the center of the Green Bay running universe with 204 carries for 705 yards; he added 331 receiving yards for over 1,000 total. Elijah Pitts added 393 yards and seven TDs, while once again proving a double threat with 460 yards on 26 receptions. Battling injuries in the last year of his career, Hornung contributed 392 in total yardage. It's a tough decision here, with the 1996 Packer stats gaudier, but the 66ers more versatile. Edge: 1966 Packers. For Hornung.

Quarterback: Brett Favre vs. Bart Starr. Two Hall of Famers representing two glory eras of Green Bay football, and between them all four Super Bowl appearances. Favre and the 1996 Pack was fifth overall in passing yardage and first in TDs. Favre's '96 stats are typically huge: 3,899 yards producing 39 touchdowns against just 13 interceptions. Though Starr's backup Zeke Bratkowski got a fair amount of playing time that year, Starr was named All-Pro based on his 62.2% completion rate and his incredible 14 TD passes versus just three interceptions. Running through the stats is just a formality, though. Edge: You want a calm, cool and collected passing game, take Starr. You want edge-of-your-seat action and lots of heart palpitations? Go with Favre. You can't lose.

With the dilemma unsolved, I'll be looking at defenses soon...

For now and all-time, check out Green Bay Packers news on Realfootball365.com
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About Os Davis

Os Davis has taken a twisted route to get to RealFootball365.com in his nearly 17 years in professional writing, working in any number of capacities in the sportswriting, news reporting and film criticism worlds. In print media, Os has served as editor at a few publications, including Albuquerque's...
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