All-timers: Ranking Patriots with best of modern era

Where does the current New England Patriots offense rank among some of the best since the merger?

With the Patriots on pace to break the single-season scoring record, it's a good time to compare their offense to some of the great ones. I only used offenses since the merger, which leaves out teams like the highest-scoring offense of all time, the 1950 Los Angeles Rams; it's too hard to compare eras.

So these are the six offenses used to compare against the Patriots:

1. 1981 San Diego Chargers
2. 1989 San Francisco 49ers
3. 1991 Buffalo Bills
4. 1992 Dallas Cowboys
5. 1999 St. Louis Rams
6. 2004 Indianapolis Colts

I left off several high-scoring teams like the 1998 Minnesota Vikings, the 1984 Miami Dolphins and the 1983 Washington Redskins. Why? I wanted to limit the teams in the breakdown, and I believe the other six were better offenses, even if their numbers might not say so.

Joe Montana and Jerry Rice became legends together. (Getty Images)

For example, the 1998 Vikings had Randall Cunningham at quarterback. He had a special season, but he's not in the class with the quarterbacks of the teams I picked.

In trying to gauge which team had the best offense, I rated each of the seven units in five different categories: quarterback, coordinator, skill people, offensive line and creativity/innovation. The rankings were for those seasons, not careers. Ratings from one to seven were given in each category, one being the best and seven the worst. So the team with the lowest cumulative score is the best offense in history by this comparison.

The winner is the 1989 San Francisco 49ers. Their point total of 11 was by far the lowest of any of the seven teams.

That team went 14-2 and had three postseason laughers, including a 55-10 blowout of the Denver Broncos in the Super Bowl. Joe Montana, arguably the greatest quarterback of all-time, was the leader and he threw to Jerry Rice, the greatest receiver of all-time.

That offense led the league in scoring, and with so many options to spread the ball around, Montana completed over 70 percent of his passes.

The 1991 Buffalo Bills are second with 16 points, followed by the 2004 Colts with 19. The 1999 Rams were next with 20, followed by this year's Patriots team with 22, the 1981 Chargers with 25 and the 1992 Dallas Cowboys with 27.

So New England has a way to go to move to the top of this ranking, even if it is on pace to be the highest-scoring offense of all time.

Now for the breakdown:

Quarterback

1981 Chargers: Dan Fouts threw for 4,802 yards and 33 touchdown passes in an era where those numbers look sick. He did throw 17 interceptions and his completion percentage of 59.1 was the lowest of the quarterbacks on our list.

1989 49ers: Joe Montana threw for 3,521 yards, 26 touchdowns and eight interceptions. The amazing thing about his season is that he completed 70.2 percent of his passes.

1991 Bills: Jim Kelly threw for 3,844 yards, 33 touchdown passes and had a completion percentage of 64.1. He did throw 17 interceptions, which dropped his passer rating down to 97.6. He also gets credit for calling the plays at the line of scrimmage in the no-huddle offense.

1992 Cowboys: Troy Aikman. He threw for 3,445 yards and 23 touchdowns. But with the Cowboys running it so well, he didn't have to throw as much. He did throw 14 interceptions. His completion percentage was 63.8.

1999 Rams: Kurt Warner came from nowhere to win the MVP in 1999. He was a backup, but became the starter when Trent Green got hurt in the preseason. He went on to throw for 4,353 yards and 41 touchdowns. His completion percentage was 65.1 percent.

2004 Colts: Peyton Manning. In 2004, he threw for 4,557 yards and 49 touchdown passes. Both are career highs. He also had a passer rating of 121.1 and completed 67.6 percent of his passes. It was a big-time season, one that Brady will likely surpass.

2007 Patriots: Tom Brady has already thrown 30 touchdown passes in eight games and is on pace to shatter that record. He also has a passer rating of 136.2, which would also be a league record if he maintains it. He is having an amazing season.

Rank the seasons:

1. Brady
2. Manning
3. Warner
4. Montana
5. Kelly
6. Fouts
7. Aikman

Coordinator

1981 Chargers: It was Larrye Weaver. Who? He replaced Joe Gibbs when he left to become coach of the Redskins, moving over from the defensive side of the ball. Don Coryell really ran the offense, but Weaver did call the plays. Who?

1989 49ers: Mike Holmgren was in his first year as offensive coordinator in 1989. He took over an offense that had played at a high level for a long time and kept it moving forward.

1991 Bills: Ted Marchibroda let Jim Kelly call a lot of the offense at the line of scrimmage. Even so, Marchibroda helped develop the K-Gun, and he gets credit for that. He was a bright offensive mind.

1992 Cowboys: Norv Turner ran the offense and ran it well. Don't think of Turner the head coach when grading him as an offensive coordinator. He was outstanding calling plays, but he was pretty vanilla when it came to offensive style.

1999 Rams: Mike Martz. A lot of people ripped Martz. He was too pass-happy. He abandoned the run too quickly. But I loved his style. I loved his arrogance. He was a great play-caller in 1999.

2004 Colts: Tom Moore. He's been around for a long time, and probably has never received the due he deserves. Moore once made Scott Mitchell a 4,000-yard passer. Enough said. In 2004, he and Manning made magic.

2007 Patriots: Josh McDaniels. He is young, creative and plays with a style that says "we're going to do what we want when we want." He's impressive. Of course, he has the blessing of Bill Belichick to do what he does.

1. Martz
2. Holmgren
3. Moore
4. Marchibroda
5. McDaniels
6. Turner
7. Weaver

Skill People

1981 Chargers: Tight end Kellen Winslow might be the best tight end of all time. He was a force in the middle of the field and went to the Pro Bowl that year. Running back Chuck Muncie also went to the Pro Bowl. Charlie Joiner caught 77 passes for 1,188 yards to lead the outside receivers. Wes Chandler caught 52 passes. James Brooks was a nice weapon as a backup runner, catching 46 passes to go with Muncie's 43 catches.

1989 49ers: Roger Craig ran for 1,054 yards and caught 49 passes. Fullback Tom Rathman caught 73 passes to go with his 305 rushing yards. Jerry Rice was the star of the skill people, catching 82 passes for an 18.1 average and 17 touchdowns. But he had help from John Taylor (60, 17.9, 10 touchdowns) and tight end Brent Jones (40, 12.5, four touchdowns).

1991 Bills: Running back Thurman Thomas was a double threat, rushing for 1,407 yards and catching 63 passes. He keyed the offense. Andre Reed and James Lofton were a great receiving duo. Reed led the team with 81 catches to go with his 10 touchdowns, and Lofton had 57 and eight touchdowns. He averaged 18.8 per catch. Keith McKellar had 44 catches at the tight end spot.

1992 Cowboys: Running back Emmitt Smith ran for 1,713 yards and scored 19 touchdowns. He ran through a lot of big holes. He also caught 59 passes. Michael Irvin led the receivers with 78 catches for 1,396 yards and seven touchdowns. Tight end Jay Novacek went to the Pro Bowl, catching 68 passes for six touchdowns.

1999 Rams: Running back Marshall Faulk was the key to the offense. He rushed for 1,381 yards and caught 87 passes for 1,048 yards. Isaac Bruce was the leading receiver with 77 catches, including 12 for touchdowns. Torry Holt caught 52 passes for 15.2 average and Az-Zahir Hakim and Ricky Proehl both had over 30 catches.

2004 Colts: Running back Edgerrin James ran for 1,548 yards and scored nine touchdowns. He also caught 51 passes. But the keys to this offense were the receivers. Marvin Harrison had 86 catches and 15 touchdowns, Reggie Wayne had 77 and 12 and Brandon Stokley had 68 and 10. Tight ends Dallas Clark (25 catches) and Marcus Pollard (29) also were factors.

2007 Patriots: Randy Moss is playing as well as any receiver has played the game. He is as explosive as any receiver who has played the game and he's on pace for record numbers. Wes Welker and Donte Stallworth are nice complements. The running game hasn't produced much, but it hasn't had Laurence Maroney healthy, either.

1. Bills
2. 49ers
3. Rams
4. Chargers
5. Colts
6. Cowboys
7. Patriots

Offensive line

1981 Chargers: Guard Doug Wilkerson was the only Pro Bowl player in 1981, but the rest of the line had some good players as well. Tackles Billy Shields and Russ Washington were very good players. Center Don Macek was a good, smart heady player in the middle.

1989 49ers: Four of the starting offensive linemen went to the Pro Bowl. Both tackles, Steve Wallace and Harris Barton, guard Guy McIntyre and center Jesse Sapolu, all went to Hawaii. The only one who didn't was guard Bruce Collie.

1991 Bills: This group was outstanding playing in the up-tempo offense. The tackles, Will Wolford and Howard "House" Ballard, were very good players who went to the Pro Bowl the next year. Center Kent Hull, who made the line calls, was a perennial Pro Bowl player, but didn't go this year. The guards were more solid than spectacular, although Jim Ritcher did go to the Pro Bowl.

1992 Cowboys: This was the key to the Dallas offense. They had a great line. Tackles Mark Tuinei and Erik Williams were very good. Nate Newton was a Pro Bowl player. John Gesek started at the other guard. Center Mark Stepnoski, who was smart, quick and tough, was a good player in the middle.

1999 Rams: Left tackle Orlando Pace was by far the best player on the line. He was the key to protecting Warner. He was the only Pro Bowl player from the Rams that year. The rest of the line was made up of good players who probably were overachievers rather than really talented players. Right guard Adam Timmerman and left guard Tom Nutten were tough guys.

2004 Colts: Like the Patriots line this year, they fit with what the Colts want to do on offense. They were a smart group, more brains than brawn. Left tackle Tarik Glenn and center Jeff Saturday were the best of the group.

2007 Patriots: There aren't a lot of stars, but this is one of the best-coached units in football. There are some Pro Bowl-quality players in center Dan Koppen and left guard Logan Mankins. The other three starters are all above average.

1. Cowboys
2. 49ers
3. Bills
4. Patriots
5. Colts
6. Chargers
7. Rams

Creativity/Innovation

1981 Chargers: They played in an era where running was the way to go. But they were the passing-game gurus. They took shots and weren't afraid of bucking the notion that running the football was the way to go.

1989 49ers: The West Coast offense was one of the great innovations. It spawned a bunch of knockoffs, but the 49ers always ran it the best. There are a bunch of teams using forms of the offense today.

1991 Bills: The no-huddle offense dictated tempo to the other guys. That's what made this offense go. Kelly was perfect for the role of leading it.

1992 Cowboys: They were a blue-collar group that ran the ball and threw it off play-action. They were so good at it that they didn't need to be innovative.

1999 Rams: The Rams were able to do so many different things in the passing game because of Faulk. He could split out and make plays and he could kill linebackers in one-on-one coverage. His unique ability helped lead to teams using backs split wide in the passing game.

2004 Colts: Manning, like Kelly, carved up defenses from the line of scrimmage. His ability to call plays at the line made the offense go. He reads coverages better than anybody.

2007 Patriots: They take a lot of chances. They use players in a variety of spots, moving them around. They aren't afraid to take chances in spots some teams would never take them.

1. 49ers
2. Chargers
3. Bills
4. Colts
5. Patriots
6. Rams
7. Cowboys