http://miamiherald.typepad.com/dolphins_in_depth/2013/08/john-offerdahl-to-the-honor-roll.html Great, underrecognized, underappreciated player. He's sort of been forgotten the last 10-15 years but the guy was one of the best MLB in the game when he was healthy. Made it to the Pro Bowl every year he was ehalthy (5x). Would've been a hall of famer if injuries hadn't derailed his career. Bagels for everybody!
Agreed (with the OP). IMO he was better than ZT and a sure-fire HOF if he'd been able to stay healthy and eventually been on a team that didn't suck.
the BagelMeister ...good to see like all of us I wish he would have been able to play a little longer.
Why not? He was unquestionably great. I was young when he played but it was easy to figure out how good the Find defense would be. Offerdahl in, they were good. Offerdahl out, they sucked. One guy made that big a difference.
Great to hear. JO was always one of my favorites. Played as smart as Zach and with as much violence as Ray Lewis.
Totally disagree. I watched him play. He was the heart and soul of that Defense when he played. Zach Thomas was John Offerdahl Mk2. Did you see Offerdahl play? He was sideline to sideline, brought everything and more with his play, put his helmet into anything that had the ball. The guy was a beast. It was his play that cost him his career imo. Watch that Famous Dolphin v Jet shootout at the Meadowlands. It was Offerdahl That caused that fumble where we got screwed by the officials. That should have been a Phin win. Offerdahl deserves it. Great player. HOFer if he had a longer career imo.
Offerdahl was tremendous but for the injuries that derailed his career. Especially because he had a worse supporting front 7. I love Zach but Zach also had some very good DT's at times (Bowens, esp) and a great DE (JT) alongside.
Who's next? We're getting to a slightly more questionable area after JO but I think Madison, Surtain and Tim Bowens are all worthy. I also have a soft spot for McDuffie
i dont even know why i asked you if you had seen Offerdahl play. Obviously not. MLB that had OLB speed and showed it. Seriously ATLFINFAN with your comment its Hall Of Shame category. Love to know why u think Offerdahl does not belong. Please reply because ive got a 50.cal fully loaded and im waiting to pull the trigger in response with your "opinion". PLEEEEEEASE reply!
Surtain and Madison and Bowens questionable? Best CB combo in the NFL and its "questionable"? We are talking Dolphins ring of honor not HOF or Superbowl. #23 and #29 were studs. Its a shame when Phins are not making Superbowls, AFC Championships or even Playoffs that certain players get underrated by fans.
Awesome! I can still remember hearing his name when we drafted him... out of Western Michigan. This is 1986. I didn't even know there was a Western Michigan. No offense to any Broncos out there. Who is this guy that I've never heard of from a school I didn't even know existed? Well, we know now Mr. Offerdahl, we know now. Congrats to you. One of the classiest players we'll ever know. You were the rock for our defense in the late 80's and when you were injured, our defense went from acceptable to disastrous. Side note... game is on Halloween night.
Offerdahl facts: Those wernt pads, those were his actual shoulders. Fact! also he plays the French Horn. Beat that!
Zach Thomas is one of my five or six favorite dolphins players of all time, but given the choice between a healthy Offerdahl and Zach, I'll take the former.
Yeah, John was the best player at the most important position on some of the worst defenses the Dolphins had.
The play that will always come to mind with Offerdahl is when he met Christian Okoye in the hole both at full speed. Okoye went back, and wound up in his own backfield. That is called "Desire" folks. Offerdahl had it, played with it, and it cost him at least 3-4 years.
Not sure he was better than Zach, but very deserving of this. Happy to have either of them on my team.
Mixed feelings on this. The ring of honor should honor all time greats.. Offerdahl was a great defender but his injuries destroyed the team, multiple times.. Marino had no chance with no running game and no Offerdahl. The entire defense would collapse the moment he went down. Not a good memory for me and not something I would enjoy seeing on the Ring of Honor. I know it's not a fair assessment. Every time I think of Offerdahl I think, "What if??"
If he was not the best MLB the Dolphins have ever had he certainly ranks in the top three. He gets my No 1 vote. Plus he has been an outstanding citizen outside of the playing field which I am sure played a part of his selection.
Next to Marino, my favorite Dolphin from the late 80's. He deserves to be there - he was truly great at his position.
I have to agree with you and I will add a very very deserving player to your list and that is Brock Marion.
They were exactly the same kind of player, motivation-wise. I would take one or the other. Wouldn't matter which.
I see I am in the vast minority. That's no surprise. Yes, I did see him play. I remember the Okoye play. If he would have played longer, then OK, but I don't think his career was long enough to be an all time GREAT for this team. He was a popular player. So was AJ Duhe and I wouldn't put him up there either. I'll take Zach. Just my opinion....... As another discussion topic, who would you remove from the current RING OF HONOR, IF THAT WAS NEEDED, to add Offerdahl. I don't see anyone on the current RING OF HONOR, that I would remove and replace with him.
Zak Thomas - Larry Gordan - Bob Matheson - Bob Brudzinski - Mike Kolan - Joey Porter - Kim Bokamper - A.J. Duhe - Bryan Cox - Nick Buonicanti Top three is debatable. Honestly not my top 3. The Bagel man could play when he was healthy, he could hit when he wasn't injured, and he certainly made a name for his bagels. Great guy - Not in my top 3 Dolphin linebackers.
IMO Offerdahl was arguably our best MLB ever. I see him as being as smart as ZT, but with better size and possibly better speed (but on field speed was great for both). The only knock on him was the length of his career. I would put him in the ring ahead of Nat Moore.
Go back and watch Cliff Odom, John Grimsley, and Mike Reichenbauch fill in for John Offerdahl. Might change your mind. Sure he had the hernia injury that limited him.
Sounds like a failure. Not to be that guy because the effort was there. Still. Sent from my phone using Fapatalk 2
