Better 49ers Defense?

The 97 team played a much weaker schedule compared to this year's squad (The NFC West was pathetic that season).


I'll never forget the beating Rich Ganon, Andre Rison, and the Chiefs put on that team...

1997 = Eddie D. second attempt (1994 was the first) to buy a SB ring. That D was great, but it was made up of old-timers (Greene / Woodson) looking for a free championship ring. This is a younger, more fiery defense that likes to ball-hawk and punish anyone that has the ball in their hands.

1) 1994 HANDS DOWN - Deion eliminated half the playing field / thread

Originally posted by DonnieDarko:
i love steve but montana woulda beaten those packer teams of the 90s easily

I sooo agree.

I think Montana would've defeated those Cowboy teams too.

I voted 2012. This year's defense has the advantage of being the better one cuz they are YOUNGER. The 1997 squad were pretty much good/great defensive players in their prime but were past it once they played together that season. I'll never forget seeing how Rod Woodson couldn't contain Packers' WR Freeman. That was Rod's last year playing CB and started playing safety the following year...

Originally posted by HudsonValley:
1997 = Eddie D. second attempt (1994 was the first) to buy a SB ring. That D was great, but it was made up of old-timers (Greene / Woodson) looking for a free championship ring. This is a younger, more fiery defense that likes to ball-hawk and punish anyone that has the ball in their hands.

1) 1994 HANDS DOWN - Deion eliminated half the playing field / thread

Yup.

That 1994 squad is so underrated.

Originally posted by SmokeyJoe:
The 97 team played a much weaker schedule compared to this year's squad (The NFC West was pathetic that season).


I'll never forget the beating Rich Ganon, Andre Rison, and the Chiefs put on that team...

Ah, u just reminded me of that game. Ugh.

Steve Young was getting his tail whooped behind the line of scrimmage.

Originally posted by BadgerHawk:
Wasn't Marquez Pope on the '97 team as well?

Yes. He kept getting burnt deep too. Tyrone Drakeford was his backup.

People keep talking about that 44 point Masacre the Cheifs put on us in 97 but what about the 40 points the Eagles hung on us in 94 lol?

Originally posted by KEGster:

Originally posted by DonnieDarko:
i love steve but montana woulda beaten those packer teams of the 90s easily

1995: maybe but not having a rushing attack and the FB spotting them 7 points is difficult even for Joe
1996: nope. No chance Joe beats the 1996 Packers with our roster compared to theirs
1997: Possibly. Young up to that point was completing 69% with 20 TD's and 6 INTs (1 pick vs Packers)

So no, not really.


What people are ignoring is that Young vs Cowboys & Packers.....we were always the underdog. Joe was playing on the roster full of 'At Their Peak HOFs' like the 90's Cowboys. Young got 80's leftovers, Watters for 2 years/Hearst for 2 years, and then end of career rentals like Deion, Rod Woodson, and Ricky Jackson.

How many defensive HOFs at their peak did Young play with?

By the early 90's, having Jerry Rice was no where near the advantage as 1985 folks. The rest of the league had caught on. How did Joe have Jerry Rice, Dwight Clark, Roger Craig & Russ Francis for two seasons and managed to win a grand total of 0 playoff games?

I beg to differ a little bit with you here....

1996 : I think the 49ers would've defeated the Pack that year with Joe. Remember that '96 Monday Night game vs. the Pack where the 49ers had Elvis Grbac starting and they had the lead at halftime ( 17-6 or something like that) and that terrible bad call of Don Beebe scoring a TD after he was clearly down once he caught the ball that changed the mometum of the game? Also later on in the playoffs, if it wasn't for Packers having 2 punt returns for TDs that game it would've been a different story with Joe Montana starting instead of Elvis.

Originally posted by NC49erfan82:
People keep talking about that 44 point Masacre the Cheifs put on us in 97 but what about the 40 points the Eagles hung on us in 94 lol?

That game gets a pass cuz that loss changed around the 49ers' season.

I still say OT we should have kept & groomed Elvis Grbac for the QB of the Future after Steve Young, i know grbac wasnt ever a superstar but he was effective in our system and personnel and I felt with more playing time he would have become a Quality starter and with the defense we had during those years, there wouldn't have been as big of a fall from say Young to Garcia.

Originally posted by Grifter420:
It's a toss up between 94 and 2011... Only reason I give a slight edge over 2011 because we didn't have an offense.

Agreed...may not have been quite as good statistically but 94 gets my vote for best of the past. 2011 might be our best ever though.

Afeter reading all these posts, I still gotta say 89

In 81 we had a pretty stout defense with a rookie defensive backfield and late aquisition of Fred Dean!

What about the 1995 defense?

#2 in points and #1 in yards

6 Pro Bowlers
3 first team All Pro players

average loss was by 3 points.