by Wayne Reeves

Created on: October 08, 2008   Last Updated: August 17, 2010

Since the 1972 Miami Dolphins won Super Bowl VII - thereby completing a 17-0 perfect season - the quest to repeat this feat has so far been elusive for any team that has tried. The 2007 New England Patriots came agonisingly close to a 19-0 season, but came unstuck versus a determined New York Giants team that didn't give up to win Super Bowl XLII.

With the NFL consumed with a myriad of statistics on every play, game and season, you could be forgetting that from 32 teams that start out training camp, one team will always have that perfect season - winning a championship.

The media fall in love with a winner, sometimes it can tell a story that needs a reality check. A winning season is usually tempered with a few odd games, some plays might not go your way and an upstart team gets the better of you on the day. This breeds an air of vulnerability and makes a team stronger over the course of a season.

Life in the NFL can be a brutal one, teams can suffer injuries where a star player may be out for the season - to overcome a loss like that requires extra effort on the part of backups and some expert coaching. A perfect season can be born from adversity - a prime example was the New York Giants rise to Super Bowl XLII. Their defense was injury riddled, with second and third stringers manning crucial positions at linebacker and defensive back, with star tight end Jeremy Shockey missing the end of the regular season and postseason entirely.

Overcoming the odds, they won in the playoffs - overcoming the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Dallas Cowboys and Green Bay Packers - all on the road, finally topping the Patriots in Arizona. New York's season would have to be considered a perfect season. They weren't favoured by anyone to get to the postseason, had numerous injury problems, won all their games (on the road) in the playoffs and were the first and only team to defeat the New England Patriots in 2007.

As far as players go, not many can claim to have the perfect season statistically, only two in recent history can claim that rare honour - Gary Anderson and Mike Vanderjagt - both were kickers. In 1998, Anderson made all 35 field-goal and 59 extra-points for the Minnesota Vikings, this was to be marred during the Championship game with a 38-yard miss that would end their hopes of a Super Bowl appearance that year. 2005 saw Vanderjagt make 37 field goals with 46 extra-points with the Indianapolis Colts (he would also be perfect in postseason play but Colts would lose in the Championship game eventually).

When you know that your team is the only one left, the Lombardi Super Bowl trophy held aloft, all the training, injuries, wins and losses and the highs and lows were all worth it in the end. As many teams have found out over the years, going 16-0, 15-1, 14-2 mean nothing if you don't get a Super Bowl ring at the end - that is the essence of a true perfect season.

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