draft is near but here's one of the best plays ever even tho we lost that game in OT(should have won it) it is still the best play in one of the greatest playoff games ever. Enjoy it
Good memory here Hook and lateral Dan Diego VS Miami 1981
- Thread starter Danny
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ohall
A Miami Dolphins fan, not a players fan.
First game I ever attended in person. I just remember trying to watch the game from behind the poles that were in front of my face. That stadium had so much history, but it was so awful in so many ways. Great play and a great game even though we didn't win.
Everyone forgets Strock got us to FG range just before time expired and Uwe missed. Then Strock did it again in OT and another miss. Rolf Bernershak somehow missed what I think was a 27 yard FG in OT for SD as well. The game damn near went to 2 OTs. Yes, we should have won it.
Thanks for posting. What a game. I was so upset I kicked a hole in my BR wall that evening.
For younger fans, I know teams seem to come back from 20+ points every week but it was really rare then. And over 1000 yards of offense in a game in ‘81 was unheard of. It was a roller coaster of emotions and great performances by so many players. By the way for folks who never saw AJ Duhe play or wonder why he’s regarded as being a great player - despite the lack of INTs / sack stats - watch the very first two plays in the video. Watch him shed a much bigger blocker and blow up Chuck Muncie in his tracks. Classic example of who AJ Duhe was and what he brought to the defense.
For younger fans, I know teams seem to come back from 20+ points every week but it was really rare then. And over 1000 yards of offense in a game in ‘81 was unheard of. It was a roller coaster of emotions and great performances by so many players. By the way for folks who never saw AJ Duhe play or wonder why he’s regarded as being a great player - despite the lack of INTs / sack stats - watch the very first two plays in the video. Watch him shed a much bigger blocker and blow up Chuck Muncie in his tracks. Classic example of who AJ Duhe was and what he brought to the defense.
Yes. We intercepted and were up by 7 and driving. In FG range or close. 3 points ends it but he fumbled and Fouts was able to drive down and tie the game w less than a minute left. Then Strock got us to FG range and Uwe missed as time expired.
I remember it like it was yesterday. Just remember having the tv to myself, 14 years and thought I was watching the greatest show ever on earth. When they pulled that play off I knew this game was going the distance. Fumbles, blocked FGs etc you name it.
I liked that Chargers team. They were my second favorite team back then. Air Coryell...Fouts, Chandler, Joiner, Winslow. They were loaded. Too bad they laid an egg in Cincy the next week! I always wondered how Miami would've fared in that AFC Championship game.
Hahaha, me too. Watched most of their games also. Loved Fouts and that speedy chandler. Also liked that coke head Chuck Muncie
We were better built to play in that cold than SD was. I believe Fouts suffered frost bite IIR. That Chargers team was fun - all those great offensive players and some damn good DL in Kelcher and Johnson. Their time was ‘80 but lost the title game to the Raiders. And watching those clips, didn’t Fouts remind you just a bit of Marino? The dimes down the seams, buying time w good footwork even though he couldn’t really run, quick release. Yeah, I like those teams too but not on that day. Final observation/ question as I don’t recall this. We had a good center in Mark Denard who you see in a lot of the highlights (no 63). You also see Dwight Stephenson on that botched kickoff. Curious if anyone knows why Dwight wasn’t snapping the football though? Again, just curious.
I remember UVS costing the Dolphins a lot of games back then, most notably this one. Of course the Stoyanovich miss against SD in the 1995 Divisional also stands out.
I tell people all the time that often times the difference between the Montana’s and Brady’s of the world compared to the Marino’s and Kelly’s is that their kickers made clutch kicks.
Think about how many Vinatieri made to bail out Brady and the Patriots. If Vinatieri missed wide left or right against OAK or STL in 2001, it might have had the same negative impact that Norwood’s miss had on Jim Kelly and BUF for all we know. Things could have turned out much differently historically.
Circling back to MIA, they lost numerous big playoff games because they didn’t have a clutch kicker. You just never know what might have happened or how far they might have gone had they been lifted by a big kick.
I was 10 when the 1982 playoff game was played and remember it quite well. The excitement of looking forward to the game then the disappointment when the Dolphins were down 24-0 in a blink of an eye and you already thought they’d lost. I cried like the little kid I was.
But when the big play happened just prior to the half, it was like having life pumped back into you. When they actually took their first lead I thought they were gonna win it for sure.
Then that fluke TD happened in the back corner of the endzone when two players were in the same area and Fouts overthrew his target but hit Lionel James (IIRC) instead.
And then UVS happened. Not once but twice.
I realize the weather in CIN the following week would have been tough on any team, but I still to this day feel the Dolphins would have beat that team. And matched up in the SB against SF much better than they did in 1985.
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Not to be a grump on Monday, but everyone who watched that heartbreaking loss remembers that. an absolute emotional roller coaster. one of many "we should have won....."
Good point about clutch kicks. I will defend Stoyo for the ‘94 game. That snap was so high that the timing was so off which is why it only went about 30 yards. That was on the snapper.