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1972: Men with a league full of boys.

andyahs

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Shula is pictured above with members of the 1972 coaching staff. Back row (left to right) Monte Clark (Offensive Line), Mike "Mo" Scarry (Defensive Line), Howard Schnellenberger (Offensive Coordinator, Quarterbacks, Receivers), Tom Keane (Defensive Backs), Bill Arnsparger (Defensive Coordinator, Linebackers) and Carl Taseff (Running Backs).
 
bill arnsparger is one the greatest defensive minds to ever coach.
What a staff Shula put together. Innovative visionary coaches. Incredible.
Absolutely true…it was no mystery why the Dolphins made it back to Super Bowl 17 after 9 years of falling short?

The return of Armsparger and his “Killer Bees” defense!

If Marino would have arrived a year earlier…I think we beat the Redskins.

Woodley was pathetic in that game, and we still were neck and neck near the end of the 3rd quarter….
 
we lost Howard Schnellenberger 2 months ago. that was the last coach from the team.

player wise looks like we still have..

QB...Griese, Del Gaizo
RB....Mercury, Csonk, Ginn, and Jenkins
WR..Twilly, Warfield, Brisco, Stowe, Noonan
TE....Fleming
OL....Crusan, Little, Evans, Kindig, Jenkins
DL....Den Herder, Manny, Heinz, Moore, Kadish
LB....Swift, Kolen, Ball
DB....Foley, Johnson, Anderson, Babb, Howell, Mumford, Stuckey
ST....Seiple

I only recognize about 10 of those names, but as long as there is at least 1, the blood of that team still flows
 
Shula was such a hero to me. I became a fan the day he was hired and admired the hell out of him. Got to meet him in Miami Lakes where he lived and again at his Steak House. The thrill of my life.

Was sad when he lost coaches but Arnsparger to the Giants hurt the most.
 
we lost Howard Schnellenberger 2 months ago. that was the last coach from the team.

player wise looks like we still have..

QB...Griese, Del Gaizo
RB....Mercury, Csonk, Ginn, and Jenkins
WR..Twilly, Warfield, Brisco, Stowe, Noonan
TE....Fleming
OL....Crusan, Little, Evans, Kindig, Jenkins
DL....Den Herder, Manny, Heinz, Moore, Kadish
LB....Swift, Kolen, Ball
DB....Foley, Johnson, Anderson, Babb, Howell, Mumford, Stuckey
ST....Seiple

I only recognize about 10 of those names, but as long as there is at least 1, the blood of that team still flows
Greatest team ever….I could name you every player on that team as a child!
 
Shula was such a hero to me. I became a fan the day he was hired and admired the hell out of him. Got to meet him in Miami Lakes where he lived and again at his Steak House. The thrill of my life.

Was sad when he lost coaches but Arnsparger to the Giants hurt the most.
That and the WFL signing Csonka, Kiick and Warfield after Super Bowl 8 and the back to backs….

They played one last season, but I felt we lost the edge with that defection…and we lost the “Sea of hands” game to that nasty Raiders team.
 
Great staff. As noted above, Arnsparger was quite possibly one of if not THE best defensive mind ever. His teams were seldom one of the top teams athletically, but were always dominant in the execution phase. Before Belichick popularized the phrase "do your job" it was Bill Arnsparger who set the gold standard for execution. I think Nick Buionticonti (HoF LB) said in 1972 the entire defense only made something like 7 mental mistakes ALL SEASON! Talk about executing the DC's vision ...... wow.

It's that sort of diligence and vigilance I think about when I learned about one of Coach Flo's first little gimmics was the TNT Board (Takes No Talent) where every mental mistake meant the player had to go to hte board and slap it ... just underscoring how important it is to execute the coach's scheme correctly. Maybe one day we'll get this defense to have even a single game where we only commit 7 mental mistakes .... but it seems unlikely. Fingers crossed though, as hope springs eternal!

As for Howard Schnellenberger, he was awesome as well. While Coach Shula was a large part of the offensive mastermind of those teams, Schnellenberger's vision was clearly stamped on it as well. Great offensive mind.
 
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