What's the worst referee gaffe in Miami Dolphins history?

[Fins1971]

Anyone remember the final game against the NE Patriots in 2000. Leading 27-24 the Fins appeared to have sealed the victory and the AFC east title.
A last chance pass Bledsoe was ruled incomplete but only after the players had left the field for 15 minutes. Instead of time being expired the refs put Seconds were put back on the clock and players had to return to field for one last hail may by Bledsoe. I remember waiting and lsitening on Radio being so mad.

Another game was the final game of 1997 vs the Patriots. We were home playing for AFC east title. We forced several turnovers in 1st half including 1 returned for TD. They took away 2 turnovers with horrendous calls favoring the Patsies on our home field. We lost 14-12 and had to play as Wild card on the road the following week and were eliminated. The patriots were reading marino's audibles and returned an int for TD but there was no ref call to take away that turnover like the previous week.

We always seem to get screwed by the patsies.

 

[nyjunc]

I figured you'd try to make up some qualifier when I pointed out that upsets happen quite often in the big game. You're still just plain wrong though, in Superbowl IV the Chiefs upset the heavily favored Vikings, in Superbowl III the Jets upset the heavily favored Colts, in Superbowl XXV the heavily favored Bills were upset by the Giants; so don't give me this "different era" silliness, upsets have been part of the Superbowl since the very beginning. You don't know what would have happened, so stop pretending like you do.

You are going to compare SBs III & IV to the mid 90s?


The Giants "upset" the Bills but it wasn't a colossal upset, the Giants were 13-3 and just beat 2 titme defending Champ SF in candlestick in the title game. That was a minor upset, the spread for SF vs. SD was SF -18, the Giants were TD underdogs- HUGE difference.

From Super XVIII(Raiders-Wash) through SB XXIX(SF-SD) the average margin of victory was 23 points, there were only 2 games w/ margins less than 13 points(and that 13 pt game was mostly garbage time points). The bottom line is this- Miami wasn't good enough to even reach the title game so saying they could have beat SF who beat then team they lost to by 23(again only that close b/c of garbage time pts) is nothing more than wishful thinking.

 

[Statler Waldorf]

You are going to compare SBs III & IV to the mid 90s?

Yup, the gap between the AFL and the NFL was far greater than that of the NFC and AFC in the 90s, and yet we still saw plenty of upsets. You just can’t win.

The Giants "upset" the Bills but it wasn't a colossal upset, the Giants were 13-3 and just beat 2 titme defending Champ SF in candlestick in the title game. That was a minor upset, the spread for SF vs. SD was SF -18, the Giants were TD underdogs- HUGE difference.

You just said in the last post that the best team ALWAYS won in that era, and yet the Bills were considered the best team and they what? ….lost. Now you are changing your tune again I see, moving the goalposts in the middle of a discussion is a sign of a weak argument you know.

From Super XVIII(Raiders-Wash) through SB XXIX(SF-SD) the average margin of victory was 23 points, there were only 2 games w/ margins less than 13 points(and that 13 pt game was mostly garbage time points). The bottom line is this- Miami wasn't good enough to even reach the title game so saying they could have beat SF who beat then team they lost to by 23(again only that close b/c of garbage time pts) is nothing more than wishful thinking.

Your crystal ball seems to be a bit cloudy these days. All I have to point to is the lowly 9-7 Giants beating the 18-0 Patriots. If that can happen, which it did, anything else could happen and you have no leg to stand on. Margin of victory doesn’t prove a thing, are you seriously going to say the Jets didn’t stand a shot of beating the Patriots in the playoffs because the Patriots thumped them by 42 point only a few weeks earlier? Are there any other excuses you want to come up with? The game between SF and MIA would have been an offensive shoot out, and nobody was better in that situation than Marino.

 

[nyjunc]

Yup, the gap between the AFL and the NFL was far greater than that of the NFC and AFC in the 90s, and yet we still saw plenty of upsets. You just can’t win.




You just said in the last post that the best team ALWAYS won in that era, and yet the Bills were considered the best team and they what? ….lost. Now you are changing your tune again I see, moving the goalposts in the middle of a discussion is a sign of a weak argument you know.



Your crystal ball seems to be a bit cloudy these days. All I have to point to is the lowly 9-7 Giants beating the 18-0 Patriots. If that can happen, which it did, anything else could happen and you have no leg to stand on. Margin of victory doesn’t prove a thing, are you seriously going to say the Jets didn’t stand a shot of beating the Patriots in the playoffs because the Patriots thumped them by 42 point only a few weeks earlier? Are there any other excuses you want to come up with? The game between SF and MIA would have been an offensive shoot out, and nobody was better in that situation than Marino.

The AFL and NFL had only played 2 games, both w/ AFL teams against the dynasty packers. Baltimore and Minny had no idea what they were up against. You are trying to compare results from various eras that have nothing to do w/ each other.

My statement was:

"Not only did the best teams win they usually humiliated their AFC counterpart"

was Buffalo in the AFC or NFC?

The Giants weren't 9-7 in 2007, they were 10-6 and this is in the era of parity and Free Agency. Even the dynasty Pats weren't head and shoulders above the competition like the NFC teams of the 80s and 90s.

You can believe what you want to believe, Miami wasn't even good enough to get to the title game yet they would have had a chacne against a great Niners team. Only in a homers world is that true. The NFC didn't win 13 straight SBs by accident.

name one offensive shootout Miami got into in postseason that they won w/ Marino? he led Miami to 21 pts against SDs D, you think he's leading Miami to 30+ pts against SF's D? Please get real.

 

[fitskin]

it actually didn't wind up changing anything, if we lose that game and tghe rest of the season plays out the saem we still get the 2 seed. Sea may have made it instead of NE.

Maybe you're right. It's hard to say it didn't change anything. Momentum is a powerful thing in sport.

 

[tommyp]

the Fletcher interference was the WORST, can still visualize. any way to get that on the internet

 

[nyjunc]

Maybe you're right. It's hard to say it didn't change anything. Momentum is a powerful thing in sport.

I agree but the Jets got screwed the 2 plays before that bad call that helped them. Twice Keyshawn caught would be TDs and was forced out- there wasn't a force out rule then so they should have ruled one of the 2 TDs but they didn't. Either way it was nice to be on the right side of a blown call for a change.

 

[Statler Waldorf]

The AFL and NFL had only played 2 games, both w/ AFL teams against the dynasty packers. Baltimore and Minny had no idea what they were up against. You are trying to compare results from various eras that have nothing to do w/ each other.

No I am not; you are trying to create distinctions where none exist because you know you’re wrong. I pulled results from every decade in the NFL demonstrating upsets happen quite often and you’re trying to say that they don’t apply because you arbitrarily insert some imaginary era in there. We saw upsets pre-free agency era and post free agency era. The AFL and the NEFL weren’t even pulling players from the same talent pool (unlike the NFC and AFC) and the AFL still pulled off two huge upsets.

was Buffalo in the AFC or NFC?

AFC, but they were considered the “best” team, so that proves your statement just plain wrong because the Giants won that game.

The Giants weren't 9-7 in 2007, they were 10-6 and this is in the era of parity and Free Agency.

The free agency era begin prior to 1994, are you trying to be deceptive or do you just not know the facts?

Even the dynasty Pats weren't head and shoulders above the competition like the NFC teams of the 80s and 90s.

Which of the 90s teams went 18-0? Oh wait, none of them. The pats were the second best team in the history of the NFL, and they lost.

You can believe what you want to believe, Miami wasn't even good enough to get to the title game yet they would have had a chacne against a great Niners team. Only in a homers world is that true. The NFC didn't win 13 straight SBs by accident.

Your simplistic view of the sport is downright shocking at times. It’s not that Miami wasn’t “good” enough to make it to the bowl that year; it was that they didn’t match up well against the Chargers. Miami matched up far better against the Niners than the Chargers did, everyone can see that. You asserting you can call the outcome of a hypothetical situation with 100 percent certainty is absurd. Upsets happen in sports all the time, that’s why we watch. The Niners would have probably won that game, but to say Miami had zero chance is displaying a huge amount of ignorance when it comes to sports. After all, the amateur US Hockey team had “no chance” of beating the Soviet team, and we all know how that turned out.

name one offensive shootout Miami got into in postseason that they won w/ Marino? he led Miami to 21 pts against SDs D, you think he's leading Miami to 30+ pts against SF's D? Please get real.

I forgot that you’re the guy who likes to pretend the regular season doesn’t matter. Marino rolled the Steelers 45-28 in the 84 AFC Championship game, that’s a pretty impressive playoff performance right there if you ask me. He wasn’t in a shootout against the Chargers, they were more of a ground team; he would have been in an offensive shootout against the Niners.

 

[Marino420TD]

1977, NE at Bal. NE wins and Miami wins the division at 10-4 and goes to the playoffs. Trailing the Pats late in the game, Bert Jones misses the handoff deep in NE territory is hit and clearly fumbles, which NE recovered. The refs blew it down by contact (way before that ever existed) and give the ball to Baltimore, who then scores a TD and wins. Absolute, total BS - it was plain as day, everyone saw it, the refs choked (or worse). Miami missed the playoffs because of that.

I was just about to post the same thing. If my memory serves me well Jones was not even hit and just dropped the ball which was picked up and would have been run back for a game clinching TD.

He may have been just hit from behind.. a colts fan has the game posted on you tube...i have tortured myself and watched the "fumble" again. it was really pathetic - not even close.

 

[kangphin]

Do all you older Dolfans remember the 1994 AFC Divisional playoff game at San Diego?? When NATRONE MEANS fumbled at the Dolphins 3 yard line and the ball hit the pylon. The Dolphins got the ball but it should have been spotted at the 20. The refs spotted it at the 1 yard line and the next play, BERNIE PARMALEE was tackled behind the line of scrimmage for a safety!! This was the momentum changer in that game and the Dolphins went on to blow a 22-6 lead in that game which would have set the to the AFC CHAMPIONSHIP to play a very beatable Pittsburgh team.

This is the one that killed me. Think about it though, even if this didn't happen and we beat the steelers,
Rice, Deion, Norton, Stubblefield, and Steve and Bryant Young would likely have wiped the floor with our fins.'

---------PF PA
Miami 389 327
---S.F. 505 296

 

[fakespike]

Seriously though, Young would have eaten Olivadotti for lunch. Did you even watch that game? SF came out and steamrolled SD with 14 points in the first 5 min of the game. Up 28-7 in the 2nd quarter. There was no stopping that team that year, at least not with TO as our DC, we would have had to score 75 points

 

[finomenal]

Marino was, most likely, not winning a ring that year, although I'm confident they would have won a conference title. They were a good team, one of the last really good Dolphins teams, in fact. And they had a succesful season, despite losing their starting backfield by the middle of it (losing Keith Byars that year really hurt). Marino was on the top of his game. But the AFC, for whatever reason, was just not going to beat the NFC. Granted, the Dolphins would have had a better shot than the Chargers since Miami would have been playing in their home stadium and there would have been plenty of incentive on Marino's part to grab a ring and on the part of his teammates to win one for him. So it wouldn't have been impossible. They would have been a huge underdog though, and I could easily see the game getting out of hand quickly.

I had the wrong year. I was thinking of the Steelers/Cowboys SB. Nevermind, the 49ers would've torched the Dolphins that year.

 

[SF Dolphin Fan]

Well, I remember the Monday night fiasco against the Jets where Miami lost a huge lead. There were so many blown calls in that game it made me think it was fixed.

 

[finomenal]

Statiscally the 49ers were better than us that year but you never know. We had the 18th ranked scoring defense and the 49ers had the top offense. Probably similar outcome as marino's 1st Super Bowl. But the call vs SD still robbed us of the chance.

Go back and look at San Francisco's roster that year. It was scary. There is no way the Dolphins would've beat the 49ers that year.

 

[WVDolphan]

No I am not; you are trying to create distinctions where none exist because you know you’re wrong. I pulled results from every decade in the NFL demonstrating upsets happen quite often and you’re trying to say that they don’t apply because you arbitrarily insert some imaginary era in there. We saw upsets pre-free agency era and post free agency era. The AFL and the NEFL weren’t even pulling players from the same talent pool (unlike the NFC and AFC) and the AFL still pulled off two huge upsets.



AFC, but they were considered the “best” team, so that proves your statement just plain wrong because the Giants won that game.



The free agency era begin prior to 1994, are you trying to be deceptive or do you just not know the facts?



Which of the 90s teams went 18-0? Oh wait, none of them. The pats were the second best team in the history of the NFL, and they lost.



Your simplistic view of the sport is downright shocking at times. It’s not that Miami wasn’t “good” enough to make it to the bowl that year; it was that they didn’t match up well against the Chargers. Miami matched up far better against the Niners than the Chargers did, everyone can see that. You asserting you can call the outcome of a hypothetical situation with 100 percent certainty is absurd. Upsets happen in sports all the time, that’s why we watch. The Niners would have probably won that game, but to say Miami had zero chance is displaying a huge amount of ignorance when it comes to sports. After all, the amateur US Hockey team had “no chance” of beating the Soviet team, and we all know how that turned out.



I forgot that you’re the guy who likes to pretend the regular season doesn’t matter. Marino rolled the Steelers 45-28 in the 84 AFC Championship game, that’s a pretty impressive playoff performance right there if you ask me. He wasn’t in a shootout against the Chargers, they were more of a ground team; he would have been in an offensive shootout against the Niners.

Why are you arguing with that ****ing troll?????

And while youre correct, NYJunc cant say for sure what wouldve happened, nor can anyone else for that matter, as Finomeal just pointed out the 9ers were real good that year.

What I always like to say however, like you seem to be trying to say, is that its god damn Dan Marino. I dont give a **** who we were playing. On any given Sunday, when your QB is Dan ****ing Marino, the greatest of all time, he could shread the **** out of your defense and drop a 40 spot. I dont care whos defense it is. And while that wasnt likely, it was certainly possible. And yes, it wouldve likely taken that kind of effort, given the fact that the 9ers wouldve lit our defense up. But, who knows, we may have won a shootout. I sure as hell wouldve liked to have had the opportunity.


Some of you seem to be making it a foregone conclusion that we wouldve won the AFC title game in Pittsburgh though. And just because SD beat them, dosent mean we wouldve. Thats making the same mistake these people are making in assuming that the 9ers wouldve mopped us in the SB.

Thing is we actually played a game in the regular season that year in Pittsburgh. And for those who dont remember that, we were ****ing hosed in that game as well. We lost in OT, to a score of 16-13 or 13-10 I believe. I know that Marino hit McDuffie on a beautiful play down the middle that wouldve put the phins in position to kick the game winning FG, only the refs ruled it a trap. Replay showed it was clearly a catch. Pittsburgh winds up winning.

Point is, while it was no lock that we win the AFC title if we didnt get hosed in San Diego, I wouldve like the chance. Marino playing in his hometown against the Steelers for a shot to go to the SB. How great would that have been. You know the NFL wouldve wanted that matchup.

And while it was certainly a longshot that we beat the 9ers had we made it to that SB, I wouldve loved the chance. Despite these folks who say we wouldve had no shot, theyre flat out wrong. We wouldve had a shot. We had Dan Marino. And we damn sure deserved a shot. We were the best team in the AFC that season. In fact, if we didnt get screwed in the regular season in the first place in that Pittsburgh game, we wouldve never been the 3 seed and playing that divisional round game in San Diego.

For those still whining about that meaningless game against Pittsburgh two years ago and trying to compare the screwjob..... GET REAL. Were talking about playoffs here and SB shots. You know....when the team was actually good and games meant something. Who gives 2 ****s about a game that we wouldve lost anyway where they missed a real close call on a fumble near the goal line with over 2 minutes left. I cant believe people still whine about that much less compare it to something EPIC like that SD playoff game.