I started hearing this stat from wise guys in Las Vegas before the 1984 season Super Bowl. They were ridiculing the heck out of Shula and his lack of adjustments, certain it would happen again versus the 49ers. One older guy in particular named Jack was ripping Shula every day regarding this trend. I was surprised because I had never heard the stat before. Then you should have seen the stampede to the betting windows when somehow the Dolphins were made the second half favorite against the 49ers. I didn't believe it then and I still have a difficult time believing that number. Most joints had Miami -3.5 for the second half but downtown at Union Plaza the famed Jackie Gaughan actually used Miami -4.5.
I was at the small wise guy joint called Churchill Downs. It was near the current site of Paris Las Vegas. When they posted Dolphins -3.5 at halftime an eccentric redheaded Canadian guy nicknamed Super Dave (after Dave Osborne) ran up there and came back with the ticket on San Francisco. He said, "If anyone watches that first half and can't bet on the 49ers I don't know why they are in this town. And that doesn't even include Shula in the second half."
It's actually worse than the numbers from the OP. Shula's teams never scored a second half point in a competitive Super Bowl. The only scores were a late touchdown drive from Johnny Unitas with 3 minutes remaining in Super Bowl III while the Colts trailed the Jets 16-0, and the opening drive of the second half in the 1973 season Super Bowl when the Dolphins extended the lead from 17-0 to 24-0.
Interesting AD, but we both know that w Wash and Minny we weren’t trying all that hard to score in the 2nd half. We threw 7 passes in each of those SBs or thereabouts. We were in COMPLETE control and were milking the clock. And Wash should have ended 17-0. 24-7 in those days was a total blowout.
The other 3 SBs, our opponents were A LOT better than us. The closest one was thanks to Shula’s brilliance in finding and manufacturing a game plan to exploit the skins poor KO coverage as Fulton Walker scored the only legit TD in the game and took 2 other kicks back to mid field or so.
That game was close even though their O-linemen on average weighed 40 pounds per man more than our D line yet we bent and bent and hung in there until the big Riggins run on 4th and 1. That game was closer due to Shula making lemons out of lemonade against a FAR bigger, more physical, powerful team - we had a similar team as them - power running w Andra Franklin that year and great D. But that was the era that began where the NFC won 15 SBs in a row (minus the ‘83 Raiders) w the same formula - big, physical teams pushing the Dolphins, Broncos, Bills, Bengals around - very few of these games were remotely competitive. The Skins, 9ers, Giants and Cowboys (early 90’s) were all better than the best team the AFC could serve up. The real “Super Bowl” was the. NFC title game from ‘84-‘97.
In those 3 SBs Denver got themselves wiped across the floor, how many 2nd half points did they score in 55-10, 42-10 and whatever the score is was when the Giants blew them out?
This had nothing to do w Shula. What a joke. The man coached 33 years and had 2 losing seasons. Had the playoff format been as large as what BB has enjoyed, he’d have been in more than 6 SBs (which is still ducking incredible). I’m certain we make it in ‘77 where 10-4 wasn’t good enough to get us in w Griese the top rated passer in the NFL.
I can’t sit here and not respond to pot shots at the winningest coach of all time. He won the SBs he was supposed to win (actually, we were underdogs in ‘72) and lost the ones he wasn’t supposed to win.
I guarantee if he had the 2007 Pats against the 10-6 Giants his team doesn’t choke and get psyched out in the run up “Plax playing defense now?” - Tom Brady and he wins that game handily.
Shula was the GOAT. Anyone who wants to put BB ahead of him has to explain how you overlook all of the cheating, Tom Brady (can’t win without him), losing to the 10-6 Giants when you are 18-0, losing to Nick Foles etc.
I can’t get behind any post or narrative that someone suggests Shula held his teams back in those SB losses.