Given the mediocrity issues plaguing the Miami Dolphins, and as we quickly approach the 2025 NFL draft, let’s remember greatness.
I will describe two of these Miami Dolphins teams.
I was fortunate enough to witness the history of the early Miami Dolphins, which set extremely high expectations.
The 1972 Miami Dolphins
Undefeated because of Hall of Fame Coach Don Shula‘s refusal to lose and a team of players who believed.
The players feared Coach Shula because they wanted to meet his expectations and avoid failure.
In his many descriptions of that team, Hall of Fame Fullback Larry Csonka said Coach Shula wanted the 1972 team to be perfect and not lose a game. Csonka says he doesn’t believe Coach Shula intended to say “perfect” but that Coach Shula “did say that.”
Let us remember what that 1972 team accomplished:
Larry Csonka and Mercury Morris became the first teammates to each rush for 1,000 yards,
Earl Morrall, the “backup” Quarterback, led the Dolphins from week five to halftime of the AFC Championship game when a healthy Bob Griese replaced Morrall after Griese broke his leg in week five.
Under the leadership of that year’s “backup” Quarterback (do you sense a familiar theme here?), the Miami Dolphins went undefeated.
The Dolphins’ “No-Name” defense, a term coined by Dallas Cowboys Coach Tom Landry because of its lack of high-profile players, led the NFL that year with the fewest points allowed.
The 1984 Miami Dolphins
Although the Miami Dolphins lost the Super Bowl that year, the 1984 team was something to behold.
Dan Marino passed for 48 touchdowns and 5,084 yards; the touchdown record was only surpassed twenty years later by Peyton Manning, and the yardage record was broken by Drew Brees 27 years after Marino’s record.
Remarkable.
Those numbers by Dan Marino were unprecedented at the time.
The Dolphins scored 513 points and were 14-2 that season.
They showcased Dan Marino’s prolific passing attack with the “Mark Brothers,” Mark Clayton and Mark Duper.
Clayton held the franchise record for most touchdowns scored in a single season with 18 until Raheem Mostert broke that record in 2023 with 21. The record stood for 39 years.
The 1972 and 1984 teams defined greatness, a description that our beloved team has not accomplished for many years.
