THE MAG.COM PRESENTS:
ALL WORLD POWER RANKINGS

by Ted Bauer

BEST NFL SEASONS (OVERALL) EVER? 1996!

From the under-a-rock department: the NFL starts up tonight! That means pro football every weekend through late January, ultimately shaping what organic chemists call "a season." Last year's edition was pretty great: Patriots flirt with perfection, Brady and Moss set records, eventually it's all for naught as the Giants win it all. Oh, and Bon Jovi emerges as a man, conflicted. Where would 2007 rank on a list of the best NFL seasons of all-time? Let's explore.

TOP 5
RANK (YESTERDAY)		WHAT	WHY
	1 (4)	1996	Season was chock full of drama: Modell moved the Browns, two expansion teams (Panthers and Jaguars) reached their Conference Championship games. Full of history, too: Favre won his only title (to date). Dungy got his first head gig while Belichick lost his first one before it started. Odd how that worked out.
	2 (6)	2007	The whole "Patriots-do-everything-right-but-don't-close-the-deal" thing might have been flogged to death by the media, but it was compelling to watch. Also, how many seasons end with a special teams player becoming a household name?
	3 (7)	1970	First season after the NFL/AFL merger. Monday Night Football debuted, making the NFL the first pro sports league to have a consistent prime-time presence on television. The Colts vs. Cowboys Super Bowl that ended the season = one of the more underrated SBs of all-time.
	4 (9)	1968	Important really for one reason: Super Bowl III. Namath being "Broadway" = helped make the Super Bowl a big deal. (It would be anyway, but how iconic is the finger-in-the-air pic?)
	5 (11)	1994	75th year of the NFL, and they pulled out all the stops to celebrate; this includes giving the fledging FOX Network some games. Their weather girl is cool.

HONORABLE MENTION
RANK (YESTERDAY)		WHAT	WHY
	9 (85)	1972	A team did go undefeated, so it should probably make a list of great seasons.
	25 (32)	1990	Playoffs expand, giving us more reasons not to drink the anti-freeze in January. Scott Norwood goes wide in one of the best Super Bowls ever.

RISING AND FALLING
MOVEMENT		WHAT
		1983 (As QB play keeps declining, this draft will continue to amaze. Tony Eason?!?)
		1985 (The '85 Bears might be the single-best team ever, but seriously, have you seen the '08 version?)

For more All-World Power Rankings, CLICK HERE

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