Early '80s Dolphins

[74_75_78_79_]

I think I may have asked this before on here or there may have been a thread on it, but what years were the 'Killer B's years (their D being good, that is; not necessarily those with last names beginning with 'B' being there)? Was it '81 thru '83, just '81 & '82, or was '83 a 'transitional' year of the D going from good to bad?

Figuring that the Raiders had Miami's number at the time, and them winning their regular season match in '83 (heck, they even beat them in '81), it's very safe to say LA wins a hypo '83 AFCCG between the two, and not by a little. As for '81, how do you think the Phins do in the 'Freezer Bowl'?

For a team to go from being so balanced to super-pass-heavy in only a year or so is remarkable. Has a winning team ever changed its identity so drastically while at the same time still winning?

[Bryan]

I think I may have asked this before on here or there may have been a thread on it, but what years were the 'Killer B's years (their D being good, that is; not necessarily those with last names beginning with 'B' being there)? Was it '81 thru '83, just '81 & '82, or was '83 a 'transitional' year of the D going from good to bad?

The Dolphins allowed the fewest points in 1983, had 26 INTs and 49 sacks. Thats a pretty remarkable 'transitional' year to go from good to bad.

[JohnTurney]

from 1981-85 they gave up a ton of yards, over 2000 a season, but they were a coverage team, all those years they were in the low-70s in defensive passer rating which was very good (league average for that span was 74.5) which does not sound like much but when you getting into the low 70s it's one of those things that isn;t linear, IMO, each lower point is thougher to get, in other wordss.

If you look at their playoff games, usually teams could just run them over. I thibnk their Lbers were better in coverage than filling gaps. Betters was good plaer at LDE, Bauhhower okay, too. Bokamper was a good rusher, but small, but not sure we could blame only him. If there are consistent problems stopping the run, you really have to look at all the front 7 . . . and what would that from 7 looked like if Rusty Chambers and Larry Gordon (both good players) had not been taken away?

[Bryan]

from 1981-85 they gave up a ton of yards, over 2000 a season, but they were a coverage team, all those years they were in the low-70s in defensive passer rating which was very good (league average for that span was 74.5) which does not sound like much but when you getting into the low 70s it's one of those things that isn;t linear, IMO, each lower point is thougher to get, in other wordss.

If you look at their playoff games, usually teams could just run them over. I thibnk their Lbers were better in coverage than filling gaps. Betters was good plaer at LDE, Bauhhower okay, too. Bokamper was a good rusher, but small, but not sure we could blame only him. If there are consistent problems stopping the run, you really have to look at all the front 7 . . . and what would that from 7 looked like if Rusty Chambers and Larry Gordon (both good players) had not been taken away?

Baumhower was kind of a weird NT, very effective at shooting the gaps. Bokamper was also a weird player to have at DE in the 3-4...a lanky guy who wasn't strong at the point of attack. I think there was a big difference between the 1981-1983 Killer B's and the 1984-85 Killer B's. Arnsparger left after the 1983 season, and AJ Duhe's career ended in 1984 due to injury. Those were probably the two most important pieces of the defense. By 1984, Baumhower, Bokamper, and Lyle Blackwood had all slowed down. The LBs were terrible. Brudzinski was a good pro, but Bowser, Mark Brown, and Jay Brophy were borderline NFL players. In the Super Bowl, the Niners figured out that they could throw to whomever the LBs were covering and get good gains every time.

[7DnBrnc53]

As for '81, how do you think the Phins do in the 'Freezer Bowl'?

Not any better than the Chargers did.

I also don't think that the Seahawk win in 83 was a huge upset. Those Dolphin teams weren't all that talented, in my opinion.

And, if they would have played the Steelers in 82 (in Round 2), they would have lost, and Denver would have given them a much better game (in the AFC Title Game) in 1984. They had a much better secondary than the Steelers had that year (with guys like Louis Wright, Dennis Smith, Mike Harden, Steve Foley, and NB Randy Robbins).

[74_75_78_79_]

As for '81, how do you think the Phins do in the 'Freezer Bowl'?

Not any better than the Chargers did.

I also don't think that the Seahawk win in 83 was a huge upset. Those Dolphin teams weren't all that talented, in my opinion.

And, if they would have played the Steelers in 82 (in Round 2), they would have lost, and Denver would have given them a much better game (in the AFC Title Game) in 1984. They had a much better secondary than the Steelers had that year (with guys like Louis Wright, Dennis Smith, Mike Harden, Steve Foley, and NB Randy Robbins).

I agree with the theory, and I think you once posted it yourself, that Broncos beat Dolphins in a hypo AFCCG at Joe Robbie. They were simply much more balanced. It would have been a 14-year precursor to that other balanced, underdog Reeves team that would triumph over a 'flashy'-er team to a SB berth.

[7DnBrnc53]

As for '81, how do you think the Phins do in the 'Freezer Bowl'?

Not any better than the Chargers did.

I also don't think that the Seahawk win in 83 was a huge upset. Those Dolphin teams weren't all that talented, in my opinion.

And, if they would have played the Steelers in 82 (in Round 2), they would have lost, and Denver would have given them a much better game (in the AFC Title Game) in 1984. They had a much better secondary than the Steelers had that year (with guys like Louis Wright, Dennis Smith, Mike Harden, Steve Foley, and NB Randy Robbins).

I agree with the theory, and I think you once posted it yourself, that Broncos beat Dolphins in a hypo AFCCG at Joe Robbie. They were simply much more balanced. It would have been a 14-year precursor to that other balanced, underdog Reeves team that would triumph over a 'flashy'-er team to a SB berth.

Good point, although it wouldn't have been as big of an upset. The 84 Dolphins didn't have as much talent as the 98 Vikes.

[26554]

As for '81, how do you think the Phins do in the 'Freezer Bowl'?

Not any better than the Chargers did.

I also don't think that the Seahawk win in 83 was a huge upset. Those Dolphin teams weren't all that talented, in my opinion.

And, if they would have played the Steelers in 82 (in Round 2), they would have lost, and Denver would have given them a much better game (in the AFC Title Game) in 1984. They had a much better secondary than the Steelers had that year (with guys like Louis Wright, Dennis Smith, Mike Harden, Steve Foley, and NB Randy Robbins).

How about if the Bills had been able to pull off the upset over the Bengals? My guess is that it wasn't much (if any) warmer in Buffalo than it was in Cincinnati that Sunday.

I agree that, while still an upset, Seahawks over Dolphins in '83 wasn't as big an upset as generally made out to be. Understandable why people would think so, though, on the surface given that the Dolphins were defending conference champs playing at home and had added Marino to go with the 'Killer B's'. Dolphins also had a head of steam going into the playoffs having won their last five regular season games. On the other hand, the Seahawks were 9-7 and hadn't been to the playoffs during their existence prior to 1983. As noted though, the 'B's' could be ran on and Curt Warner and co. did just that. 5 turnovers by the Dolphins' O was also a help.

[CSKreager]

David freaking Woodley made a Super Bowl. Never have I seen a QB do less and still win playoff games in a year.

Why didn't Shula just go with Strock (this was a year after his 400+ yard performance in the Epic at Miami)?

[Bryan]

David freaking Woodley made a Super Bowl. Never have I seen a QB do less and still win playoff games in a year.

Why didn't Shula just go with Strock (this was a year after his 400+ yard performance in the Epic at Miami)?

Woodley had a good couple games to start the 1982 playoff "tournament". His first game against the Pats earned a near perfect rating and is the 5th best postseason game in history...16-19 for 246 yards and 2 TDs and a 153.8 passer rating. The next game was a rematch against San Diego...17-22 for 195 yards, 2 TDs 1 INT, 1 TD rushing and a 114.8 rating. Those were probably the best two games Woodley ever played, and they happened back to back in the postseason. Woodley tailed off (to put it mildly) in the muddy AFC Championship game, outdueling Richard Todd by earning a 15.5 passer rating compared to Todd's 8.8, then he had the "pants down" pass to Jimmy Cefalo in the Super Bowl and not much else.

In a general sense, Shula seemed obsessed with Woodley's athleticism (rolling out! running!) for a time. There was also some Eric Hippleishness with Woodley...he was thrown into the fire in 1980 with very low expectations, and he had a big game against the Rams early on and I think that kind of stuck with Shula for a couple years. I'm with you...I was never really impressed with Woodley, but by the same token Don Strock wasn't really any good, either.