Eddie DeBartolo Jr. has a firm grip on 49ers history.
The team's former owner witnessed firsthand San Francisco's rise to glory in the 1980s, during an era that saw the franchise win five Super Bowls between 1981 and 1994.
When gentlemen at the bar debate pro football's best, those Niners squads flood the conversation, but according to DeBartolo, this year's 10-3 outfit could knock off one of those championship teams from yesteryear.
"They are so much better than our 1981 team," DeBartolo told the San Jose Mercury News, even after the 49ers' 21-19 loss to the Cardinals.
"Now, in '84, and '88 and '89, and '94, we had really good football teams. Defensively and offensively, I can't compare them to that. But this year didn't surprise me a bit. I told you last year they were going to be good."
It's more than bluster from DeBartolo, but it remains to be seen if Jim Harbaugh's squad can reach the heights of that '81 team. Those 49ers had Joe Montana, they had "The Catch," and they didn't have to face an Aaron Rodgers-led Packers team that might require Alex Smith to win a shootout. Still, Harbaugh has made a believer of the man who hired Bill Walsh, and that's saying something.
