Originally posted by rondoman:
Originally posted by GNielsen:
I don't buy this 3-4 year window thing at all. The Patriots have been contenders for longer than that. The Niners were contenders for a LOT longer than that. The Packers have been contenders now for a few years and will continue to be. I also don't even begin to understand why people think you have to be a high seed. How many of the last five winners were high seeds? One? Two?
The Patriots and Packers are more so the exception to the rule. Realistically you have a 3-5 year window depending on your drafts. It's not that the window necessarily closes but you may have a down year or two to reload.
Also, mentioning what the Niners were doing 20 years ago means NOTHING in todays NFL landscape.
A Super Bowl winner is, by definition, the exception. No, just like today, the Niners success was built on a QB. The experience still means something. If Kaepernick turns out to be a great QB, the Niners will be in the hunt for as long as he plays, which could be ten or more years. I'm getting tired of young fans pretending that the Niners success in the 80's and 90's is irrelevant.