'85 Dolphins dodged a bullet by not making Superbowl.

[royalshank]

Not only would Miami had defeated Washington with Marino, I think the Dolphins would have won if Shula went to Strock earlier.

It was a curse that we led until so late in the game.

 

[EJay]

I think the ‘82 team had a really low PPG allowed and a lot of takeaways. Their issue was in the SB, the smaller D-line went against a much bigger o-line in the Hogs. That SB was a harbinger of what was to come as the NFC won 14 of the next 15 SBs - each team being bigger and more physical than the smaller, faster AFC opponent.

No, they had problems stopping the run in the regular season too, as I detailed. It wasn’t just one game in the SB.

137 yards per game on the ground isn’t good. And they gave up over 150 several times. In a shortened season no less.

Regardless of the PPG, they’d shown a propensity to get pushed around up front.

 

[EJay]

Unfortunately, if Marino had come out for the 82 Draft, he would have never fallen to Miami (if you are looking at it in a vacuum, it is fun to speculate). He would have gone extremely high--perhaps no.1 overall (his junior season at Pitt was magnificent).

I get that. That’s why I said “hypothetically“.

Just for a minute or two, imagine that he was in MIA a year sooner and available to the Dolphins in that SB.

 

[EJay]

Not only would Miami had defeated Washington with Marino, I think the Dolphins would have won if Shula went to Strock earlier.

Perhaps. Oddly, Strock didn’t even complete a pass.

 

[EJay]

Miami nearly won that SB vs the skins despite being manhandled on the LOS and Woodley not completing a single pass in the 2nd half. I think w Marino that is a much different game - Riggins probably doesn’t get to carry it 44 times either.

Yep.

And Marino’s career is remembered much differently by the masses, who judge team sports as an individual sport, despite being no better or worse than he really was.

 

[SF Dolphin Fan]

It was a curse that we led until so late in the game.

I understand Shula waiting with Woodley. He had played pretty well in the playoffs, especially against the Chargers. Plus, he started the game pretty well, hitting Cefalo with that big play.

At that point, Woodley was Miami's future at quarterback. There also were some catchable passes. So the receivers were certainly partly to blame.

But had Shula gone to Strock earlier who knows. The Redskins were better in run defense, so Strock may have had more success.

 

[bane]

...and we've been "lucky" every year since too. Feels good

That was funny. Good one.

 

[royalshank]

No, they had problems stopping the run in the regular season too, as I detailed. It wasn’t just one game in the SB.

137 yards per game on the ground isn’t good. And they gave up over 150 several times. In a shortened season no less.

Regardless of the PPG, they’d shown a propensity to get pushed around up front.

Just curious what their YPG surrendered passing and PPG were. I feel like recall them being a pretty dominant D - perhaps I’m giving too much weight to the playoff games where they clobbered SD and shut out the Jets.

 

[royalshank]

I understand Shula waiting with Woodley. He had played pretty well in the playoffs, especially against the Chargers. Plus, he started the game pretty well, hitting Cefalo with that big play.

At that point, Woodley was Miami's future at quarterback. There also were some catchable passes. So the receivers were certainly partly to blame.

But had Shula gone to Strock earlier who knows. The Redskins were better in run defense, so Strock may have had more success.

I think the formula was Strock came in when we were losing and had to go more “pass”. Even though we were hanging on for dear life we were ahead and if Theisman doesn’t make the best defensive play of the game, we go up 24-13 late and it’s over. No more Riggins and our pass D wasn’t going to get beaten if the skins abandoned the run. As it were, we picked him off 2x and he really didn’t get anything going on the air until the last TD drive when our backs were broken. It’s amazing that despite the success they had on the ground our pass D didn’t break and came up w two big time picks in the 2nd half. Duhe’s set us up at the Skins 40 but we didn’t gain a yard on the ensuing possession. Our D played well enough to win. If only we had been behind a little earlier, I think Strock comes in and has more time to work.

 

[SF Dolphin Fan]

I think the formula was Strock came in when we were losing and had to go more “pass”. Even though we were hanging on for dear life we were ahead and if Theisman doesn’t make the best defensive play of the game, we go up 24-13 late and it’s over. No more Riggins and our pass D wasn’t going to get beaten if the skins abandoned the run. As it were, we picked him off 2x and he really didn’t get anything going on the air until the last TD drive when our backs were broken. It’s amazing that despite the success they had on the ground our pass D didn’t break and came up w two big time picks in the 2nd half. Duhe’s set us up at the Skins 40 but we didn’t gain a yard on the ensuing possession. Our D played well enough to win. If only we had been behind a little earlier, I think Strock comes in and has more time to work.

Getting the ball at the Washington 40 and not getting points there was a killer. Agree, the defense really gave Miami a chance.

 

[royalshank]

I understand Shula waiting with Woodley. He had played pretty well in the playoffs, especially against the Chargers. Plus, he started the game pretty well, hitting Cefalo with that big play.

At that point, Woodley was Miami's future at quarterback. There also were some catchable passes. So the receivers were certainly partly to blame.

But had Shula gone to Strock earlier who knows. The Redskins were better in run defense, so Strock may have had more success.

I’ll say this in defense of the late David Woodley - he is no 1 in winning % for the - higher than Griese and Marino. And he played a lot of games between 1980 and 1983 + his W/L in Pitt was pretty good too.

 

[royalshank]

Getting the ball at the Washington 40 and not getting points there was a killer. Agree, the defense really gave Miami a chance.

For years I said this was such an underrated SB - it was white-knuckle suspense and tension all game. I was happy to see it finally ranked in the top 100 games of all time last year by one of the pubs - it was posted here but I forget where or by whom. Didn’t like the outcome but a game I’ll never forget. Whereas the ‘84 SB I only recall bits and pieces from as it just wasn’t as good a game or as memorable.

 

[SF Dolphin Fan]

For years I said this was such an underrated SB - it was white-knuckle suspense and tension all game. I was happy to see it finally ranked in the top 100 games of all time last year by one of the pubs - it was posted here but I forget where or by whom. Didn’t like the outcome but a game I’ll never forget. Whereas the ‘84 SB I only recall bits and pieces from as it just wasn’t as good a game or as memorable.

I think we talked about this before. But I was just waiting for one drive to finish it off.

That's all Miami needed, but it never came.

Still, leading into the fourth quarter with David Woodley at quarterback was quite an accomplishment for Don Shula.

 

[SF Dolphin Fan]

I’ll say this in defense of the late David Woodley - he is no 1 in winning % for the - higher than Griese and Marino. And he played a lot of games between 1980 and 1983 + his W/L in Pitt was pretty good too.

He was considered an ascending talent, but that super bowl really killed his career.

 

[EJay]

Just curious what their YPG surrendered passing and PPG were. I feel like recall them being a pretty dominant D - perhaps I’m giving too much weight to the playoff games where they clobbered SD and shut out the Jets.

Your recollection isn’t far off. They were a good defense that made lots of impactful plays. They were a tough matchup for many offenses. However physical teams often gave that defense problems. As became the norm for the defense during the Marino era, where those defenses not only regularly got whipped physically but also couldn’t deal with speed.

BTW, the ppg that season was 14.2 and pass yards average was around 120. A tad misleading since teams didn’t sling it like they do now, and also because the rush defense wasn’t great. Games and plays were drastically shortened due to all the running and ball control.

Regardless, good defense. Aging, but still good. Just susceptible against physical teams.