Dolphins Overcome the Fear of Failure and Achieve Perfection

1972 was an amazing time to live in South Florida. I went to most of the games in the Orange Bowl that year with Dolphins fever in full force. All the talk was Dolphins in an era when they truly were the only team in town.

Many forget that it was not Bob Griese who led the team that year. He was injured early in the season against San Diego when Deacon Jones’ helmet found its way to Bob’s ankle. Former Colts quarterback Earl Morrall did a splendid job filling in and the team’s emphasis on running paid off. Mercury Morris, Jim Kiick and Larry Csonka led the way behind an overwhelming offensive line. Shula wisely put Griese back into the lineup after the regular season and the team entered Super Bowl VII undefeated after a couple very close calls in the playoffs. Despite their undefeated record, many questioned whether this was a Super Bowl caliber team! There were no stars on defense so they were branded the “No-Name Defense.” They were also one of the youngest teams in the NFL.

Over in the NFC, George Allen was an extremely popular coach who created his “Over the Hill Gang” by trading away younger players and draft picks to go with wily veterans. His motto was “the future is now.” The Redskins made a remarkable 11-3 run in ’72 behind the passing of Billy Kilmer, the running of Larry Brown and a forceful defense.

Allen was also known for spying on opponents. A school overlooked the Dolphins practice field during Super Bowl week, so the Dolphins found a more secure field at a local community college and Dolphins security guards inspected trees every day for spies.

Miami’s rise was so quick, and the biggest question on everyone’s mind was whether Shula and his youngsters would withstand the pressure and scrutiny of trying to go undefeated for the first time. Washington was the more popular pick.

The Dolphins played almost perfectly in the first half as their defense permitted the Redskins to cross midfield only once and their offense turned good field position into two touchdowns. On its third possession, Miami opened its first scoring drive. An 18-yard pass from Bob Griese to Paul Warfield set up Griese's 28-yard touchdown pass to Howard Twilley three plays later.

After Washington moved from its 17 to the Miami 48 with two minutes remaining in the first half, Dolphins linebacker Nick Buoniconti intercepted Billy Kilmer's pass at the Miami 41 and returned it to the Washington 27. Jim Kiick ran for three yards, Larry Csonka for three, Griese passed to Jim Mandich (now known as "Mad-Dog" on South Florida's WQAM Radio and a person I've spoken with and admire), and Kiick gained one to the 1-yard line. With 18 seconds left until intermission, Kiick scored from the one.

Washington's only touchdown came on the most memorable play of the game. With 2:07 left in the game, the Dolphins lined up to kick a field goal that would have iced the game 17-0, a poetic ending to a perfect 17-0 season. Instead, Dolphins kicker Garo Yepremian's kick was blocked. In one of the most memorable blunders in Super Bowl histoy, Garo caught the deflected ball and tried to throw, but all he could muster was a lame left handed bobble which Mike Bass intercepted and ran 49 yards for the score.

Miami held on for the win to save the season. Dolphins safety Jake Scott, who had two interceptions, including one in the end zone to kill a Redskins' drive, was voted the game's most valuable player.

An MPI analysis shows that Miami clearly outperformed Washington with a .511 to .485 advantage on the total MPI score and superiority in 7/7 MPI categories. It was Miami’s pressure defense (.750) that had the greatest impact, overwhelming the Redskins in pressure offense situations (.308). Miami was also superior in special teams play (.500 to .421) and total pressure situations (.619 to .466). This clutch play matched the Dolphins ability to survive the pressure of possible perfection on the biggest sports stage in the world - the Los Angeles Coliseum.

Many today think the ’72 Dolphins was the best football team in history. It might have earned this right for not losing a single game all year long. But was it really the best team ever assembled? The '72 Dolphins were actually just getting started. While the ’73 team lost two games, they  might have been much better, but we’ll have to wait a week for the MPI analysis to find out for sure! 

             Congrats "Perfect Season" Miami Dolphins! Click for Video on Don Shula!

 

The MPI or Mental Performance Index is the first system of scoring  developed in sports which includes in the scoring key mental factors such as pressure management, reduction of mental errors and focused execution. It was developed by licensed clinical and sport performance psychologist Dr. John F. Murray in 2002 to show the extreme importance of mental factors in sports. It is much more accurate than the final score and other statistics in showing how one team performed relative to another team. It has almost perfectly estimated the relative performance of the teams before each of the past 5 Super Bowls. Dr. Murray's MPI forecast has also beaten the official Super Bowl spread 4 out of 5 times now. He has appeared on hundreds of radio and television shows, and the forecast has also appeared in hundreds of articles. Why all the focus, energy and interest in this topic? Because it so clearly demonstrates the importance of mental factors in sports. For more information about the MPI or Dr. Murray's services, please call 561-596-9898 or send an email to: johnfmurray@mindspring.com