Professional Football Researchers Association Forum

More specific, who was the best single-season team? Was it one of those Bears teams from the very beginning of that decade, or one of the two Eagle squads that closed things out. Or some other squad (perhaps not an NFL one)? Of course from '42-on, for a few years, very many would leave for the War. How much should those years be, sort-of or maybe more, looked upon as full-season versions of what would become weeks-3-through-5 of a certain season more than four decades later? And when exactly did the NFL come...back to 'normal'? 1946? Or were 'enough' big-names already back from Service even before then? Is another Cleveland squad (heading back to LA in '16) or Trippi's Cards two years later the 'best' single-season team of that decade instead? 1940s...a very interesting decade indeed even if the War may or may not so much have 'watered' things down. I'm sure there's enough precursor nuggets throughout of the 'modern' era not too far ahead.

The 1942 Bears would have been, but like the 2007 Patriots, couldn't close the deal.

I like the 1949 Eagles

I'd say the 1941 Bears. The 1940 team didn't gel until the tail end of the season, and by 1942, even though they went 11-0, they'd lost a few stars to the war -- and of course, they also lost the championship game, albeit to a team that was 10-1 in its own right. In '41, though, everything was in place. The amazing thing is that they somehow managed to lose a game and had to win a playoff game against another outstanding team just to get to the championship game. Anyway, with apologies to the Browns of the late '40s, I think the Bears from 1940 to '46 were the best team of the era and one of the half-dozen best ever (they might easily have won again in 1944 and/or '45 if the war hadn't interfered), and the 1941 team was their peak, so I think that's a pretty easy choice for the team of the '40s.

As for the other question, about how much to discount the war years ... I wouldn't discount 1942 much at all; even with more than a few major players gone, the league still wasn't too far from full strength. Things got worse from 1943-45, of course, but the NFL of that era was nowhere near the replacement games of 1987. Baugh, Luckman and Hutson played through the whole period, and quite a few others, including Steve Van Buren, were there for one or more years. So no comparison to 1987 at all, as far as I can see.

1948 Cleveland Browns.

Paul Brown said that his 1948 Cleveland team was his best, even better than the 1950 Browns. That's good enough for me.

I’m not sure how much this plays into who had the best team of the decade, but does anyone know when the unlimited substitution rule was put into effect? Comparing a team that basically went with 11 players with a team that was more specialized is a tough comparison and I think the 40s is the decade where we saw the crossover. Also wondering whether the rule changed for the AFL and NFL around the same time. I recall Otto Graham had an interception in the 46 championship, but I'm not sure how much defense he was playing later. I noticed that in Joseph Page’s book on championships before the Super Bowl, he doesn’t list defensive positions in the box score until 1952, but that seems late to me… I’ve seen footage of the Eagles game in the snow, and I didn’t think Van Buren was playing defense, but he might have been. Thanks.

The 1948 Cleveland Browns.