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Miami dolphins super player name7/13/2023 ![]() Offensive lineman Doug Crusan, for example, lived with multiple teammates in an oceanside house just north of Miami throughout the 1972 season. ![]() Many mention feeling an intense sense of camaraderie with other players in the 1970s, a sentiment they perceive to be diminished, or even absent, from the modern game where big money has changed how teammates interact. If I hadn’t made it, I’d probably still be walking home from Pittsburgh – Shula wouldn’t have let me on the plane.”Ĭonversations with Seiple and other members of the team also reveal how different life in the NFL was 50 years ago. The only thing I was thinking about was making the first down. “It was just one of those things, in the heat of the action – was so wide open, my grandmother could have run through it … I couldn’t help myself. “Well, I got a little antsy and took off on my own,” says Seiple. “The week before we even went to Pittsburgh, we looked at it and realized … there’s a chance to be able to run, if necessary, for a first down because of the way their punt returns.” There was, however, one caveat – head coach Don Shula (another Hall of Famer) instructed Seiple to go for the fake punt only if instructed to do so from the sideline. “Playing Pittsburgh in Pittsburgh wasn’t an easy deal,” says Seiple. Take Dolphins punter Larry Seiple’s famous 37-yard run on a fake punt in the AFC Championship game against the Pittsburgh Steelers. The team-wide champagne toast may be a tall tale, but there are enough true stories surrounding the team’s perfect season to justify its status in NFL history. No other team in NFL history has ever led the league in points and yards, on both sides of the ball, and won the championship in the same year. Meanwhile, their defense restricted opponents to both the fewest points and the fewest yards in the league. The Miami offense scored more points and gained more yards than any other team that year. The Dolphins didn’t just win every game in 1972 – they did so in a historically well-rounded manner. In addition to the obvious counterpoint (ie, the ’72 Dolphins are far from the only team in NFL history to face a weak schedule, but they are the only team with a perfect record), football’s infatuation with data makes it possible to outline the team’s greatness via statistics, weak schedule or not. Although true, the idea that their schedule was the major factor in the team’s success doesn’t stand up well to scrutiny. Critics argue that the Dolphins faced a weak regular season schedule that year. The league itself has acknowledged the team’s peerless performance – the ’72 Dolphins were judged to be the greatest team in NFL history during the league’s centennial celebrations in 2019.ĭespite such recognition, it’s become fashionable to minimize the ’72 Dolphins’ accomplishments. As such, the Dolphins’ lossless and tieless 1972 season remains unique in NFL history. In the 1920s, four teams technically finished their seasons ‘undefeated,’ although each of them finished with at least one draw. Although ties are uncommon in today’s game, they were once relatively prevalent. It’s useful to quickly clarify one aspect of the ’72 Dolphins’ achievement – for a finicky reason, the phrase “perfect season” (rather than “undefeated season”) is often used to describe the campaign. “Fifty years is a long time ago,” laughs Dick Anderson, the Dolphins’ Pro Bowl safety in 1972, but it “feels like it was yesterday.” For many who played on the Dolphins that year, it’s hard to reconcile the passage of time with the immediacy of the memories. Copyright 2023 Miami Dolphins Ltd., All rights reserved.I t’s been 50 years since the 1972 Miami Dolphins became the first (and, so far, only) team in NFL history to win every game in a season.
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