Six games into the NFL season and New England is being ranked among the best football squads ever assembled. After dusting the Dallas Cowboys last week, we're asking: Are the Patriots the best of all-time? Sports writers Kelly Beaton and Sean Hylton clash on the subject:

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The greatest group of NFL gridders ever? Wow. It's questions like these that usually unite sports nerds like the pair of four-eyes lined up side-by-side on this page.

But, of course, Sean Hylton and I will spar like Steve Jobs and Bill Gates over this one.

My initial instincts were to suggest the 1998 Minnesota Vikings as the greatest team in NFL annals. After all, that fierce band of Norsemen pillaged the NFC en route to a 15-1 record and set a single-season record for points (556). Of course, those glossy numbers were discounted thanks to a shanked 38-yard field goal by their kicker, which led to an NFC Championship Game loss.

I'd continue telling that team's tale, but court-ordered documents won't allow me to write any more libelous statements regarding Gary Anderson.

So, on to the true contenders worthy of being considered the greatest NFL teams of all time. Here's my personal top two:

- No. 2: The 1999 St. Louis Rams. Kurt Warner threw for 41 TDs, with each scoring strike inciting a waterfall of tears from a coach a little too in touch with his feminine side: Dick Vermeil.

- No. 1. 1985 Chicago Bears. If only for the fact they produced "The Super Bowl Shuffle" - a song requested more often than "I Feel For You," by Chaka Chan, that year. Oh, and Sweetness' 4.8 yards-per-carry average was pretty solid, too.

The 2007 Patriots' stats are staggering, without a doubt. Tom Brady is on pace to surpass Peyton Manning's single-season record for TD passes, for instance. And Randy Moss, with eight touchdowns to his credit already, could yet enjoy the greatest postseason moment of an already storied career (public moonings in Green Bay aside).

But remember, this is 2007 - the era of the pro sports prima donna (not to mention the salary cap, which creates parity). Pro football players can't seem to get motivated for 17 straight weeks anymore. Unwavering effort is precisely what it will take to make the Patriots go 16-0, and thus, be worthy of the label of the NFL's greatest team ever.

Courier readers, if you feel the need to audible and argue with our picks, email us at sportsdoor@wcfcourier.com. And, if you especially disagree with my counterpart, feel free to give Hylton a wedgie when you see him roaming about in Cedar Falls.