System or good players ? or both ? :)
* Rice was Rice with 49ers. Raiders ?
He was succesful with the Raiders particularly considering his age. But he was also in a similiar system. (1,139, 1,211 Super Bowl year, 869 when they collapsed following the Super Bowl)
* Montana was Montana with 49ers. Chiefs ?
Succesful with the Chiefs. 87.4 and 83.8 rating in the twlight of his career.
* Patriots, each year they compete, each year they have few new key players.
But one constant, Tom Brady, arguably the best QB in the NFL now. The Patriots were 5-13 with Belicheck/Bledsoe combined. They didn't become THE Patriots until Belicheck teamed with Brady.
* Moss was a beast with the Vikes. Raiders ?
Valid
* James is having big trouble with Cards despite the fact that they had last year one of the best passing offense.
Terrible offensive line.
*Thomas Jones at Cards, now with Bears ?
The Cardinals have had a terrible offensive line for a pretty long time
*The Broncos HB situation those last few years.
Valid
The correct answer is "The Player has to fit the System"
No player has great success in a system that doesn't fit his strengths and no system functions with the wrong players. Don't over-analyze. Payton has excelled in finding players that fit his system, which is why people can step right in despite injuries. Not because the system makes anyone look good.