I dont think we can conclude jack shit whether or not the cowboy/niners could compete because no one knows. Ask a high school coach? I didnt know high school coaches were the key to the wonders of the football world. Have kids gotten bigger? By a huge amount. Faster? Maybe a little bit, Deion in 95 ran a 4.29 in training camp, last time i checked only Ginn and Hall can run that right now consistently. Smarter? very doubtful, Neil O' Donnell for the steelers was horrible but played because he was a damn smart qb. All in all I do believe it has gotten harder but to say those elite teams of all time can't compete is stupid, nobody knows whether or not they can compete because it wont ever happen.