Drinen rambles about something having to do with:
Isaac Bruce

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Isaac Bruce career statistics


Is this Ram team the biggest fantasy juggernaut of all time?

To find out, I totalled up the VBD for every team since 1970. The Faulk/Warner/Bruce/(Holt) Rams occupy spots 10, 22, and 23 on the list. Nothing to sneeze at, but not as high as I would have guessed.

The top fantasy team since 1970 (the first season for which I have complete data) was the 1975 Bills, led by O.J. Simpson, who had 2200 combined yards and 23 scores in a 14-game season. Amazingly, the Bills' other running back, Jim Braxton, also had over 1000 combined yards and 13 touchdowns. Plus, they had a quarterback and two receivers above the baseline. The rest of the list is populated with the usual suspects: some old Air-Coryell Charger teams, some Marino-led Dolphin squads, and a whole lot of 49ers. San Francisco occupies nine of the top 50 spots.

Here are the top 100 fantasy teams since 1970:

  1.  1975 Buffalo Bills - 550
      Simpson (281)  Ferguson (98)  Braxton (83)  Chandler (44)  Hill (42)  

  2.  1982 San Diego Chargers - 542
      Chandler (190)  Fouts (126)  Winslow (121)  Muncie (92)  Brooks (10)  Joiner (1)  

  3.  1994 San Francisco 49ers - 514
      Young (208)  Rice (140)  Watters (98)  Jones (67)  

  4.  1995 Detroit Lions - 478
      Mitchell (136)  Moore (132)  Sanders (121)  Perriman (87)  

  5.  1984 Miami Dolphins - 470
      Marino (243)  Clayton (145)  Duper (76)  Nathan (6)  

  6.  1998 San Francisco 49ers - 467
      Young (200)  Hearst (137)  Owens (81)  Rice (46)  Stokes (1)  

  7.  1986 Miami Dolphins - 456
      Marino (210)  Duper (94)  Clayton (76)  Hampton (61)  Hardy (13)  

  8.  2000 Minnesota Vikings - 452
      Culpepper (170)  Moss (123)  Smith (87)  Carter (70)  

  9.  1991 Buffalo Bills - 449
      Thomas (157)  Kelly (143)  Reed (80)  Lofton (51)  McKeller (17)  

 10.  1999 St. Louis Rams - 435
      Faulk (184)  Warner (179)  Bruce (71)  

 11.  1993 San Francisco 49ers - 435
      Young (152)  Rice (147)  Watters (81)  Jones (34)  Taylor (19)  

 12.  1975 Minnesota Vikings - 430
      Foreman (220)  Tarkenton (148)  Gilliam (58)  Voigt (3)  

 13.  1987 San Francisco 49ers - 428
      Rice (215)  Montana (160)  Craig (51)  Frank (0)  

 14.  2000 Indianapolis Colts - 427
      James (179)  Manning (121)  Harrison (114)  Dilger (11)  Pollard (1)  

 15.  1976 Baltimore Colts - 418
      Jones (150)  Carr (118)  Mitchell (114)  Doughty (22)  Chester (11)  McCauley (0)  

 16.  1992 Dallas Cowboys - 415
      Smith (209)  Irvin (88)  Aikman (71)  Novacek (47)  

 17.  1981 San Diego Chargers - 409
      Fouts (130)  Muncie (118)  Winslow (97)  Joiner (63)  

 18.  1989 San Francisco 49ers - 406
      Rice (144)  Montana (99)  Craig (74)  Taylor (59)  Jones (27)  

 19.  1984 St. Louis Cardinals - 402
      Lomax (144)  Green (124)  Anderson (101)  Mitchell (16)  Marsh (12)  Tilley (3)  

 20.  1995 Green Bay Packers - 399
      Favre (173)  Brooks (110)  Bennett (73)  Chmura (42)  

 21.  1992 San Francisco 49ers - 398
      Young (166)  Rice (99)  Watters (98)  Jones (35)  

 22.  2000 St. Louis Rams - 397
      Faulk (215)  Bruce (91)  Holt (89)  

 23.  2001 St. Louis Rams - 395
      Faulk (205)  Warner (120)  Holt (49)  Bruce (19)  Conwell (0)  

 24.  1998 Denver Broncos - 388
      Davis (233)  Sharpe (69)  McCaffrey (42)  Smith (41)  Elway (1)  

 25.  1997 Denver Broncos - 387
      Davis (161)  Elway (82)  Smith (76)  Sharpe (66)  

 26.  1999 Indianapolis Colts - 384
      James (185)  Harrison (118)  Manning (78)  Pollard (1)  

 27.  2000 San Francisco 49ers - 371
      Garcia (166)  Owens (113)  Garner (79)  Rice (11)  

 28.  1997 Green Bay Packers - 370
      Favre (122)  Levens (120)  Freeman (82)  Brooks (29)  Chmura (15)  

 29.  1996 Denver Broncos - 369
      Davis (149)  Elway (116)  Sharpe (103)  

 30.  1999 Carolina Panthers - 365
      Beuerlein (155)  Walls (94)  Jeffers (61)  Muhammad (53)  

 31.  1980 San Diego Chargers - 360
      Jefferson (112)  Winslow (109)  Fouts (101)  Joiner (36)  

 32.  1995 Dallas Cowboys - 357
      Smith (224)  Irvin (100)  Novacek (32)  

 33.  1998 Minnesota Vikings - 357
      Cunningham (113)  Moss (110)  Smith (68)  Carter (49)  Glover (15)  Hoard (0)  

 34.  1983 Washington Redskins - 356
      Riggins (131)  Theismann (119)  Brown (85)  Monk (12)  Washington (8)  

 35.  1973 Philadelphia Eagles - 356
      Carmichael (121)  Gabriel (120)  Young (75)  Sullivan (39)  

 36.  1976 Oakland Raiders - 349
      Branch (126)  Stabler (95)  Casper (85)  Biletnikoff (26)  VanEeghen (15)  

 37.  1990 Houston Oilers - 344
      Moon (174)  White (54)  Givins (49)  Jeffires (43)  Hill (22)  

 38.  1988 Los Angeles Rams - 339
      Everett (102)  Bell (101)  Ellard (93)  Holohan (26)  Johnson (15)  

 39.  1989 Cincinnati Bengals - 331
      Esiason (89)  Brooks (88)  Holman (81)  McGee (64)  Brown (8)  

 40.  1988 Cincinnati Bengals - 331
      Esiason (101)  Woods (76)  Brown (72)  Brooks (66)  Holman (15)  

 41.  1997 Oakland Raiders - 327
      George (88)  Kaufman (85)  Dudley (58)  Brown (57)  Jett (37)  

 42.  1987 St. Louis Cardinals - 325
      Lomax (114)  Smith (94)  Awalt (55)  Mitchell (42)  Green (15)  Ferrell (4)  

 43.  1996 New England Patriots - 325
      Martin (125)  Bledsoe (103)  Coates (59)  Glenn (37)  

 44.  1976 Minnesota Vikings - 325
      Foreman (152)  White (86)  Tarkenton (73)  Rashad (13)  

 45.  1983 Green Bay Packers - 325
      Dickey (103)  Lofton (91)  Coffman (81)  Jefferson (34)  Ellis (15)  

 46.  1975 Baltimore Colts - 323
      Mitchell (169)  Jones (125)  Doughty (21)  Chester (7)  

 47.  1984 San Francisco 49ers - 321
      Montana (110)  Tyler (77)  Craig (67)  Solomon (44)  Clark (21)  

 48.  1970 San Francisco 49ers - 320
      Brodie (128)  Washington (122)  Willard (69)  

 49.  1974 Oakland Raiders - 320
      Branch (141)  Stabler (116)  Biletnikoff (43)  Hubbard (18)  

 50.  1982 Los Angeles Raiders - 319
      Allen (203)  Christensen (62)  Branch (51)  Plunkett (1)  

 51.  1998 Atlanta Falcons - 314
      Anderson (185)  Mathis (55)  Chandler (36)  Martin (30)  Santiago (5)  

 52.  1989 Los Angeles Rams - 313
      Bell (92)  Everett (90)  Ellard (78)  Anderson (35)  Holohan (17)  

 53.  1982 San Francisco 49ers - 313
      Montana (126)  Clark (120)  Moore (65)  

 54.  1980 Atlanta Falcons - 311
      Bartkowski (87)  Andrews (78)  Cain (40)  Miller (39)  Jenkins (38)  Francis (27)  

 55.  1981 Cincinnati Bengals - 309
      Anderson (117)  Johnson (89)  Collinsworth (51)  Ross (50)  

 56.  1991 Washington Redskins - 303
      Rypien (116)  Clark (89)  Monk (50)  Byner (46)  

 57.  1970 New York Giants - 300
      Johnson (136)  Tarkenton (103)  Tucker (30)  McNeil (29)  

 58.  1996 Baltimore Ravens - 299
      Testaverde (159)  Jackson (88)  Alexander (48)  Morris (2)  Kinchen (1)  

 59.  1994 Green Bay Packers - 297
      Favre (141)  Sharpe (112)  Bennett (43)  

 60.  1981 Atlanta Falcons - 295
      Andrews (129)  Jenkins (116)  Bartkowski (49)  

 61.  2000 Denver Broncos - 293
      Smith (113)  Anderson (97)  McCaffrey (75)  Carswell (6)  Griese (0)  

 62.  1986 Washington Redskins - 291
      Rogers (92)  Clark (66)  Schroeder (66)  Didier (33)  Monk (31)  

 63.  2000 Kansas City Chiefs - 290
      Gonzalez (113)  Alexander (93)  Grbac (83)  

 64.  1996 Green Bay Packers - 290
      Favre (197)  Jackson (47)  Freeman (31)  Levens (13)  

 65.  1970 Oakland Raiders - 287
      Wells (100)  Lamonica (64)  Biletnikoff (50)  Chester (42)  Dixon (16)  Smith (12)  

 66.  1997 Detroit Lions - 285
      Sanders (187)  Moore (62)  Morton (29)  Mitchell (6)  

 67.  1985 San Francisco 49ers - 285
      Craig (146)  Montana (106)  Clark (21)  Rice (10)  

 68.  2001 San Francisco 49ers - 284
      Garcia (124)  Owens (110)  Hearst (50)  

 69.  1992 Buffalo Bills - 284
      Thomas (173)  Kelly (51)  Reed (23)  Lofton (22)  Metzelaars (14)  

 70.  1991 Dallas Cowboys - 283
      Smith (141)  Irvin (96)  Novacek (46)  

 71.  1975 Pittsburgh Steelers - 283
      Harris (110)  Bradshaw (89)  Swann (83)  

 72.  1973 Cincinnati Bengals - 283
      Curtis (84)  Clark (64)  Johnson (60)  Anderson (53)  Trumpy (20)  

 73.  1982 Cincinnati Bengals - 282
      Anderson (101)  Johnson (91)  Ross (51)  Collinsworth (38)  

 74.  1986 Cincinnati Bengals - 281
      Esiason (97)  Brooks (93)  Collinsworth (59)  Brown (21)  Holman (9)  

 75.  1995 San Francisco 49ers - 280
      Rice (164)  Loville (76)  Young (30)  Jones (9)  

 76.  1999 Washington Redskins - 279
      Davis (123)  Johnson (63)  Westbrook (56)  Connell (35)  

 77.  1970 Washington Redskins - 276
      Brown (96)  Jurgensen (82)  Smith (58)  Taylor (38)  

 78.  1995 Minnesota Vikings - 275
      Carter (119)  Moon (105)  Reed (50)  

 79.  2001 Indianapolis Colts - 275
      Harrison (113)  Manning (63)  Rhodes (51)  Pollard (46)  

 80.  1979 Cleveland Browns - 275
      Pruitt (86)  Sipe (76)  Newsome (60)  Logan (40)  Rucker (11)  

 81.  1978 Dallas Cowboys - 274
      Staubach (98)  Dorsett (82)  Dupree (49)  Hill (35)  Pearson (8)  

 82.  1975 Washington Redskins - 270
      Kilmer (83)  Thomas (76)  Grant (66)  Taylor (43)  

 83.  1975 St. Louis Cardinals - 265
      Gray (99)  Metcalf (79)  Hart (45)  Otis (39)  

 84.  1991 Houston Oilers - 264
      Moon (113)  Jeffires (55)  Pinkett (36)  Hill (30)  Givins (28)  

 85.  1974 New England Patriots - 264
      Herron (111)  Cunningham (73)  Plunkett (59)  Vataha (14)  Rucker (5)  

 86.  1988 Philadelphia Eagles - 261
      Cunningham (148)  Jackson (67)  Byars (42)  Carter (3)  

 87.  1979 Dallas Cowboys - 260
      Staubach (94)  Hill (68)  Pearson (53)  Dorsett (44)  

 88.  1990 Philadelphia Eagles - 260
      Cunningham (198)  Jackson (44)  Barnett (12)  Williams (5)  

 89.  1986 New York Jets - 260
      Walker (71)  O'Brien (67)  Toon (63)  Shuler (31)  McNeil (24)  Hector (0)  

 90.  1994 Dallas Cowboys - 259
      Smith (187)  Irvin (51)  Harper (21)  

 91.  1998 New York Jets - 258
      Martin (91)  Testaverde (71)  Johnson (61)  Chrebet (33)  

 92.  1989 Green Bay Packers - 258
      Majkowski (126)  Sharpe (108)  Fullwood (13)  West (10)  

 93.  1977 Pittsburgh Steelers - 257
      Harris (80)  Stallworth (61)  Bradshaw (59)  Swann (56)  

 94.  1971 Detroit Lions - 257
      Landry (113)  Owens (89)  Sanders (32)  Taylor (11)  Walton (8)  McCullough (1)  

 95.  1997 Pittsburgh Steelers - 256
      Bettis (99)  Stewart (90)  Thigpen (66)  

 96.  1977 Chicago Bears - 255
      Payton (217)  Scott (31)  Latta (7)  

 97.  1990 San Francisco 49ers - 255
      Rice (119)  Montana (82)  Jones (46)  Taylor (7)  

 98.  1989 Buffalo Bills - 255
      Thomas (143)  Reed (79)  Kelly (32)  

 99.  1971 Dallas Cowboys - 255
      Staubach (92)  Hayes (83)  Thomas (59)  Hill (19)  

100.  1973 Denver Broncos - 254
      Little (106)  Odoms (56)  Moses (51)  Johnson (40)