Undefeated '72 Dolphins brace for unwanted company

By: MIKE SULLIVAN - Staff Writer | Tuesday, January 29, 2008 10:38 PM PST ∞

GLENDALE, Ariz. -- The history-chasing New England Patriots know only what they read or hear about the 1972 Miami Dolphins squad. Only four current Patriots were even alive when the Dolphins made NFL history with an unbeaten 17-0 season.

The Patriots certainly have heard a lot about the Dolphins this fall and winter while putting together their own impressive streak of perfection. The Patriots have won 18 consecutive games entering Sunday's Super Bowl XLII matchup with the New York Giants.

Beat the Giants at University of Phoenix Stadium and the Patriots will join the '72 Dolphins as the only teams to go through an entire regular season and postseason with an unblemished record.

"Obviously, they were a great team," Patriots receiver Wes Welker, a former Dolphin, said at Tuesday's Media Day festivities. "They went undefeated. They are a great group of guys. You can tell why they were so successful just by getting to meet a lot of those guys."

The same guys who were friendly to Welker when he lived and worked in South Florida haven't always been very kind when a team approaches their unbeaten standard.

Numerous players from the '72 Dolphins have celebrated over the years when the last remaining undefeated NFL team loses its first game. Players such as running back Mercury Morris have routinely criticized some of those close-call teams as not belonging in the same company of the Dolphins.

Even coach Don Shula drew some heat earlier this season when he proclaimed that the Patriots would need to have an asterisk attached to their record if they were to go unbeaten, because of the fact the organization and coach Bill Belichick were disciplined for spying.

"I'm probably not the guy that should have said it," Shula said last week on a conference call. "I think a lot of people, when I said it, received it as being, you know, just helping yourself.

"As I mentioned, I didn't fine them, I didn't take away the draft choice, I wasn't the one that coined the term 'Spygate.' All of those things happened and all I did was refer to them."

The outspoken Morris never considers being apologetic.

He repeatedly points out how long it has been since a team went unbeaten. He also feels the feats of the '72 Dolphins aren't drawing the proper respect.

But as the Patriots now stand just one win shy of a perfect season, he has begrudgingly gained some respect for New England.

"It's been 35 years," Morris said last week. "This record is old enough to be president and nobody has done anything except almost make it. These guys are the first guys who have actually come close for real and I take my hat off to them."

Part of the reason for the occasional lack of respect involves the way the NFL has evolved. Players are bigger and faster than their 1970s counterparts and the Patriots are a far more explosive squad than those Dolphins, a team that won with ball-control football and splendid work by the famed "No-Name Defense."

The Dolphins won in methodical fashion for most of the 1972 season despite losing quarterback Bob Griese to an ankle injury -- he was injured in a victory over the Chargers -- during the fifth game of the season.

Veteran backup Earl Morrall was up to the task of handing the ball off to 1,000-yard rushers Larry Csonka and Morris and able to connect on just enough passes to star receiver Paul Warfield to keep teams from ganging up on the running game.

Griese returned in the second half of AFC Championship Game at Pittsburgh -- there was no homefield advantage for best record in those days -- and guided the Dolphins to a come-from-behind 21-17 victory over the Steelers.

Two weeks later, the Dolphins beat Washington 14-7 in Super Bowl VII to finish off the unbeaten season.

Discussing the Super Bowl victory brings back bitter memories for some players, because of the lack of respect.

"We were underdogs in the Super Bowl," said Csonka, recalling how the Redskins were three-point favorites.

As for that reputation of cheering wildly and popping open champagne bottles when the last unbeaten team loses each season, some Dolphins insist it's a tale that has been embellished by the media.

"No. 1, I prefer Jack Daniels," running back Jim Kiick said. "I don't like champagne, so we don't sit around waiting with a bottle of champagne waiting for that last team to lose the game.

"Most importantly, what we are celebrating is our accomplishments, not the loss of the team."

According to published reports, Griese, safety Dick Anderson and linebacker Nick Buoniconti all lived on the same block in 1991 when Washington won its first 11 games before losing. As the Redskins were about to lose, Anderson took a bottle of champagne and popped the cork over at Buoniconti's house.

Then in 1998, Denver lost its first game after a 13-0 start on the same day that many former Dolphins had gathered in Miami for a game. Again, champagne flowed.

Combining past celebrations with remarks by players such as Morris, the public perception has become that the '72 Dolphins are a group of grumpy old men who fear fading into oblivion if the Patriots also notch an unbeaten campaign.

Shula admits he'd love to see the Giants win Sunday, but says he won't be the least bit angry with sharing the undefeated stage with the Patriots.

"If somebody goes undefeated, I'm going to be the first guy to call that coach and congratulate him, and I'll do that to Bill Belichick if they go undefeated," Shula said. "And our players, I'm sure, will do the same for their players.

"But until somebody does it, you know, we're very, very proud of our accomplishment, and that's all there is to it."

Contact staff writer Mike Sullivan at (760) 739-6645 or msullivan@nctimes.com.