1973 Dolphins Dissed, Ranked 28th Overall | FinHeaven - Miami Dolphins Forums

1973 Dolphins Dissed, Ranked 28th Overall

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Kudos to the NFL for getting it right and ranking the 1972 Miami Dolphins as the best team of all-time. But ranking the 1973 Miami team 28th was so far off it makes you wonder what criteria, if any, was used in the process?

The 2007 New England Patriots are ranked 7th on this list, the only team that lost the super bowl to make the top 20. That was a great team, entering the super bowl undefeated, but a super bowl loss drops them to the 50-range in my opinion. A super bowl loss is a big deal. It shows you couldn't get it done when it counted the most. Ranking them above super bowl winners makes no sense.

For comparison sake, the 1975 Pittsburgh Steelers were ranked 10th and the 1976 Oakland Raiders were ranked 8th. At the very least, the 1973 Dolphins should be in that range. I think they were better than both of those teams and stats support it. These numbers are from Pro Football Focus.

1976 Oakland Raiders
Points Scored: 4th
Points Allowed: 12th
Total Yards Offense: 2
Total Yards Defense: 18

Passer Rating for: 102.2
Passer Rating Against: 68.8

Went 13-1 on the season, beating the Vikings 32-14 in the super bowl.

1975 Pittsburgh Steelers
Points Scored: 5th
Points Allowed: 2nd
Total Yards Offense: 7
Total Yards Defense: 4

Passer Rating for: 86.7
Passer Rating Against: 42.8

Went 12-2, beating the Cowboys 21-17 in the super bowl.

1973 Miami Dolphins
Points Scored: 5th
Points Allowed: 1st
Total Yards Offense: 9th
Total Yards Defense: 3rd

Passer Rating for: 75.2
Passer Rating Against: 39.9 (lowest of any super bowl winner)

Went 12-2, beating the Vikings 24-7 in the super bowl.
 
As an aside, the 1973 Miami team beat Pittsburgh in that infamous Monday night game where Dick Anderson had four interceptions. They lost to Oakland 12-7 in the second game of the season and then completely dominated the Raiders 27-10 in the AFC Championship game. I know that's not exactly apples to apples comparisons as teams change over the years, but it shows how the Dolphins matched up against those teams with mostly the same players.
 
That NE team lost the SB to a 10-6 team. I’m sorry but that was a choke job. The Giants front 4 utterly beat the **** out of Brady and he choked. I’m sorry. No way they should have lose that game. So a big “no” to their ranking. Kudos to the NFL for getting the ‘72 team right. I’ll let them put the ‘73 team where they did even if it’s not right - you’re range is correct IMO. Can’t have it all I guess. A SB loser in the top 10 is laughable.

PS - and I don’t want to hear it was a lucky play that helped the Giants win. Giants shot themselves in the foot w turnovers in the RZ etc like a 10-6 team would playing a 16-0 team. NE crossed midfield only 2 or 3 times all game. Brady was getting hit and it showed. **** him and that choke team. At least they are 19-0 in Nicaragua hahahhahah
 
ROADRUNNER said:
is there still people who care about this stuff, it's what have you done for me lately 2019 bro.
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I hear you. But the top 100 list was put out recently so that's why it's on my mind. Watching that 1973 team I can't believe anyone would rank it so low.
 
royalshank said:
That NE team lost the SB to a 10-6 team. I’m sorry but that was a choke job. The Giants front 4 utterly beat the **** out of Brady and he choked. I’m sorry. No way they should have lose that game. So a big “no” to their ranking. Kudos to the NFL for getting the ‘72 team right. I’ll let them put the ‘73 team where they did even if it’s not right - you’re range is correct IMO. Can’t have it all I guess. A SB loser in the top 10 is laughable.

PS - and I don’t want to hear it was a lucky play that helped the Giants win. Giants shot themselves in the foot w turnovers in the RZ etc like a 10-6 team would playing a 16-0 team. NE crossed midfield only 2 or 3 times all game. Brady was getting hit and it showed. **** him and that choke team. At least they are 19-0 in Nicaragua hahahhahah
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Those Pittsburgh teams get a lot more credit than Miami. I think a lot of it has to do with their super bowls, exciting games against Dallas that were more memorable than the Dolphins super bowls. No problem with the Steelers rankings, but I don't think those teams were better than the Dolphins best.

I didn't see the 1968 Baltimore Colts in the top 30 and they were 13-1 entering the super bowl. Same type of situation as the Patriots.

To some degree, I get the more recent teams being ranked higher. I don't care too much about teams before I was born. I have some interest, but no real feel for how good they were. That's part of the problem going back almost 50 years.
 
SF Dolphin Fan said:
Those Pittsburgh teams get a lot more credit than Miami. I think a lot of it has to do with their super bowls, exciting games against Dallas that were more memorable than the Dolphins super bowls. No problem with the Steelers rankings, but I don't think those teams were better than the Dolphins best.

I didn't see the 1968 Baltimore Colts in the top 30 and they were 13-1 entering the super bowl. Same type of situation as the Patriots.

To some degree, I get the more recent teams being ranked higher. I don't care too much about teams before I was born. I have some interest, but no real feel for how good they were. That's part of the problem going back almost 50 years.
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Good call on the 13-1 Colts. They and the 2007 Pats are very good comps. Huge favorites in the SB / 2 biggest upsets ever in the SB. Agree about the Pitt - Dallas mystique that adds to the drama. The fins teams of the early 70’s have been disrespected in general as if that 5 year run never happened. That’s why I’m happy the NFL got the ‘72 correct. Finally someone gets it. Perfect = no one was better. You can’t beat that. Stop w the ranking them 15 in this poll or 12 in that poll. It’s so stupid.
 
Normally I write these rankings off because it's just one or two guys opinions. Sounds like it was a an extensive polling with this one. Though you do have to wonder how many of the panel members were even alive or old enough to witness the '73 Dolphins. It's really hard to put any merit to the rankings imo. Take it for what it is.

The NFL and the Associated Press (AP) came together to select the 100 greatest across five categories – Plays, Games, Characters, Game Changers and Teams. The 80-person blue ribbon panel was comprised of experts selected by the AP and NFL Media. Supporting the rankings, NFL Films conducted more than 400 interviews with celebrities, current NFL stars and legends that will air across 20, one-hour episodes with four episodes dedicated to each topic.
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www.nfl.com

NFL 100

The National Football League's 100th season launched at Super Bowl 53 in Atlanta. And a century of NFL football is good reason to celebrate.
www.nfl.com
 
royalshank said:
Good call on the 13-1 Colts. They and the 2007 Pats are very good comps. Huge favorites in the SB / 2 biggest upsets ever in the SB. Agree about the Pitt - Dallas mystique that adds to the drama. The fins teams of the early 70’s have been disrespected in general as if that 5 year run never happened. That’s why I’m happy the NFL got the ‘72 correct. Finally someone gets it. Perfect = no one was better. You can’t beat that. Stop w the ranking them 15 in this poll or 12 in that poll. It’s so stupid.
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Its tough to do a ranking, but I think there should be some criteria rather than what looks like a subjective poll.

I know stats aren't everything either. but they are hard to ignore. Those numbers support the 1972 as much as undefeated does.

The biggest stat that experts tend to like now is passer rating for versus passer rating against. If you just use that number, I believe the 1962 Packers are #1, but both the 1972 and 1973 Dolphins are in the top five mix.
 
MadDog 88 said:
A debate can be had that the 73 Dolphins were better than the 72 Dolphins. Would certainly be interesting to hear the players from those two teams voice their opinions.
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I dont have any links, but have heard many players from those teams say that 73 was better than 72
 
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