There’s no way one can say they are better than other teams, Sid Luckman and the Bears beating the Redskins for the NFL championship in 1940 I think 73-0, the Lombardi Green Bay dynasty and the Bradshaw years in Pittsburgh. I don’t think so, unless the Pats defeat their opposition by more than 73 in the championship game then we can say they are better than the 1940 Chicago Bears, the greatest team ever.
Can we cite wiki here? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NFL_Championship_Game,_1940
The best team I ever saw were the Steelers around 1979. They might be able to beat the Pats but the game has changes so much, become more complex that that that dimwit Bradshaw would be perplexed by today’s game.
It is hard to compare teams of different eras. All you can say is that the Patriots are the best team of this young new millennium. Packers in the ‘60’s, Steelers in the ‘70’s, Montana’s 49ers... lots of good teams from different decades...