Maybe you are too young to remember Dan Marino, and that is a shame. Every Sunday you just KNEW you had a chance to win with Dan at QB. Even when the defense was bad, Dan would just throw for 400 yards and 4 TDs. We were never out of a game. That's what I miss.

 

The good old days were the early to mid 70's.

Marino days were fun, but not like the good old days!

 

I also started wearing my phin stripes in 1970 and have scene lots of great and bad teams in that time. I want people out there who haven't been a phins fan very long to know we were once the team that everyone wanted to play for, there were people begging to play for us. Here is a story many of you may not know, end of the 1968 the Patriot's traded Nick Bouniconti to the Miami Dolphins, Nick was so thrilled about playing for Miami he actually sent the Patriots organization a Christmas card thanking them for trading him. And as the other person posted when Dan Marino and Don Shula were around you always believed you had a great chance to win, you never doubted as matter of fact you could count on it.

 

The good ole days were in the orange bowl...Dan Marino will tell you the exact same thing..

 

The good ole days seem like a lifetime ago. But there were some damn good ones.

 

[video]https://www.youtube.com/embed/7SF0RaXR4nI?rel[/video]People say the good old days style of football would never win today. I have my doubts. But, the problem would be to put a team together that had the early 70's defense and offense at the same time. The defense would stop you when you got close, somehow, someway, or club you when you weren't expecting anything. Then the offense would just drive you back down the field and run right over you doing it. Except for that ever to be cursed Oakland game.... Clarence Davis should have been mauled.

Then, there is this....
[video=youtube_share;7SF0RaXR4nI]http://youtu.be/7SF0RaXR4nI[/video]

 

How exactly was Welker a better weapon in his time here than Bess or even Hartline? Marty Booker was a better offensive weapon here too.

 

Duh Stitches, remember when Welker was the First Camarillio?

 

Hell, Ted Ginn was at worst as much an offensive weapon in his 1st 3 years here as Welker was as a Dolphin. Obviously Welker is a much better WR, but Ginn was at least as productive his 1st 3 years here.

Ginn won a freaking game almost by himself (2 100+yd KR vs the Jets). Welker scored all of 2 TDs in his time here.

 

None that I can contribute. Only been a fan since 2007? I think...

 

You are correct. From an offensive standpoint, the Marino years were exciting and fun, but the GOOD OLD days of championships and the Dolphins being the dominant team in the NFL was the early to mid 70's. Of course that was when you could actually hit a QB and wide receivers were mugged all the way down the field. It was when football was actually football and not the ticky tac game it is today. I still enjoy football but sometimes I don't recognize the game today when it is compared to the game years ago. I just can't imagine Johnny Unitas looking up at a referee and pleading for a flag after he just got knocked on his a**.
He must be rolling over in his grave laughing at how sissy the QB's of today are.

Young people of today don't remember when football was a real man's game and not the wide open game it is today where players have to be careful about how hard they hit another player. I don't want to see players needlessly hurt but football is a game of violence and it appears that the NFL is doing everything they can to legislate violence out of the game. If they keep going in the direction they have been in recent years, the NFL players will eventually be taken out of pads, put in shorts and given flags.

 

I don't really miss this as much as it's just funny because it was one of our main concerns back then and now it seems trivial since we've had more than a couple of backs go over 1,000.

But the yearly, will our RB go over 1,000 yards????...question.

I remember how big of a deal it was when Higgs and Parmalee would get close.

 

I was going through my jerseys and came across my Mcduffie, cox and Jabbar. I actually liked Karim a lot when he was here.

 

I won't argue that Welker and Ginn has similar stats during their first three years but that is only part of the story. Welker came to the Dolphins after being cut by the Chargers. He was bought here only to be a KO returner and was an afterthought as a WR. He was not utilized as a WR at all in his first year with the Dolphins and only on a limited basis in his second year. It wasn't until his third year with the Dolphins that the coaching staff actually gave him the playing time he deserved and he has a breakout year that season. In fact Belichick wanted to sign Welker because had seen in the two games the Dolphins and Patriots had played that season, no one could cover Welker. Belichick stated after getting Welker that he wanted him on the Patriots because he certainly didn't want to have his defense playing against him anymore. He has played so well with the Patriots that this former free agent, cut by the Chargers is now one of the highest paid WR's in the NFL and the latest franchise player for the Patriots. The expectations for Welker were low when he came to the Dolphins and he far exceeded these expectations in the NFL.

Ted Ginn on the other hand was the first round draft choice of the Dolphins. Expectations for him were extremely high and he was given the opportunity from day one to be the #1 receiver for the Dolphins. While he may have had similar stats to Welker over their first three seasons in the NFL, it had a lot more to do with the fact Ginn was given far more opportunities to succeed as an NFL WR in his first few years in the league than Welker was. This had everything to do with Ginn being a first round draft pick and Welker being a player who was picked up after being cut by another team. It had absolutely nothing to do with whether Ginn was actually a better player or as good a player in his first three years in the league as Welker was.

In fact I think if Welker had been given the same opportunity to be a starter in the NFL as Ginn was given, he would have far exceeded the receptions, yardage, and TDs, Ginn recorded during his first three years in the NFL. Welker has proved to be one of the top receivers in the game over the last half dozen years. All Ginn has proved is that when it comes to getting out of bounds and avoiding a hit, he is one of the fastest players in the NFL. Ginn is a decent kick returner who on occasion can break one for a TD if he can avoid running out of bounds. Welker though is one of the top WR's in the NFL and one of Saban's biggest mistakes was trading Welker to the Patriots.

 

I don't care about last year anymore, much less the good old days.

I'm much more interested to find out if the Dolphins have finally found a good HC.

 

It's pretty sad that Anthony Fasano is on that list.

 

When they only played 12 games a year, 1000 yards meant something because a RB had to average over 83 yards a game to achieve this mark. Today with 16 games, a RB only has to average 62.5 yards a game to gain 1000 in a season. A running back who only averaged a little over 62 yards a game used to be considered a very average back. Now since this gets them into the 1000 yard club, they are seen as some of the better backs in the NFL. I find this ridiculous.

To compare with the running backs of the past, today's RB's need to run for 1328 yards in a season to be compared with the runners of the past who ran for 1000 in a season during a 12 game season. They need to run for 1142 yards to match the backs who ran for 1000 yards during the years the NFL played a 14 game schedule. One thousand yards may still be the magic number for RB's in the NFL, but it certainly isn't what it used to be.

 

I remember not being able to sleep the night before a game.It was so exciting because when we were behind you always knew dan could will us back to victory.

 

I agree with you, but for some of us, the good old days are the only thing we have to cling to after the last decade following this team. I too pray the Dolphins have finally found a good HC, but if they haven't, I can always close my eyes and remember all the games I attended over the years when the Dolphins had a great HC and great players. I only hope I am able to see these same type players and coach on the Dolphins sideline again before I am six feet under.

 

Is this thread about missing the good old days of dolphins, or just remembering what players who at one time played for the dolphins have done? Because I don't see how I could possibly be accused of wearing aqua colored glasses when saying that Bess and Hartline are as good here as Welker was.

I never said Welker wasn't a great WR, but he wouldn't be held anywhere near his current national regard if he had stayed here in Miami.


Also, I really don't understand this sentence much at all:

Wes was so overlooked by opposing defenses that in 96 career receptions here he scored all of 1 receiving touchdown? So if they had tried to shut him down he'd not have scored any? :confused:

 

I'm not talking about expectations, or necessarily even opportunity, I'm talking about results. Ginn was far more of an offensive weapon in Miami than Welker. (edit: You may very well be right about Welker producing more had he been given more opportunities, but I think Welker's shown that you make your own opportunity in the NFL at a certain point. Looking at just the 2nd and 3rd years, Ginn still outproduced Welker here).

I'm not even going to try and argue that he's close to as good a WR as Welker, but had Welker stayed here, he's not becoming one of the highest paid WRs in the NFL or likely even a multiple-time pro-bowler.

 

He may not have always made the play to bring the Dolphins victory, but at least you knew that as long as he had the ball at the end of the game and enough time on the clock, he was capable of driving the offense the length of field and scoring the winning TD. I have never felt that any QB's since Marino has been able to instill in his teammates the confidence that he could win the game in the final minutes when the game is on the line.

Pennington was a good QB for the Dolphins for one season but he was more about not turning the ball over. He wasn't the type QB who you felt was going to take a team on a long drive at the end of the game to win it. In recent years, when the Dolphins fall behind in the fourth quarter, the feeling seems to be that the game is over and it basically has been. I can't remember the last time the Dolphins got the ball on their final drive and actually drove it down the field to win a game. Marino provided excitement and many wins on those final drives. The QB's since Marino have provided only disappointment and failure except on very rare occasion.

 

the game that made me a miami dolphin fan at 7 despite being from new england

[video=youtube;8Ki0j3GL2cY]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Ki0j3GL2cY[/video]

 

I didn't argue that their stats weren't similar during these years. I admitted that. Yet if you don't think that a player chosen in the first round of the draft isn't given more opportunities early in his career than a player picked up on waivers from another team, you just aren't accepting the reality of what happens in the NFL. Certainly waiver players are given an opportunity to make the team but they are not expected to be starters in most cases. They are picked up to be provide an upgrade to special teams, as Welker was when he was picked up to be a kick returner for the Dolphins, not a WR.

Wannstedt and the offensive coaching staff were very slow in discovering how effective Welker could be as a slot receiver. I see this more as a coaching error than I feel Welker wasn't prepared to be a WR when he first came to the Dolphins. I just feel if Welker had been a first round pick and Ginn had been a player picked up waivers, the stats of these two players would not even be close over the first three years they were in the NFL. Opportunity means everything in the NFL as it does in every job. Ginn was given the opportunity from day one to be an NFL WR. Welker wasn't given this same opportunity when he was signed by the Dolphins.

I do agree that Welker would never have become the star receiver he has in New England if he had remained in Miami. This would not be because Welker isn't a great slot receiver. It is because the Dolphins have been stuck with below average QB play since Welker was traded to the Patriots, while with the Patriots he has been able to play with one of the best QB's in the history of the NFL. Of course if Ginn had been traded to the Patriots and not the 49er's. I don't think he would be anything but a kick returner on the Patriots, while Welker would continue to catch 100 plus passes a year. When all is said and done, Welker has proven to be one of the best WR's in the game and Ginn has proven he isn't.

 

If you honestly think Chambers was better than Brandon Marshall you need your head examined.
Marshall is an elite WR. Chambers never came close. He had one great year and thats it. He is an overrated #2 WR.

 

The 1st Dolphins game I attended was December 2, 1985. I'm sure you were there. I had just moved to Florida to take a job and a client asked me to go. That night rates as one of the coolest experiences I have ever had in my life. The OB was rocking. I could dwell on the fact that the Dolpins have never been in the Super Bowl since the year before that but I chose not to.

I probably should have stuck with the Gmen but who knew?

 

Chris Chambers had 11 td's twice as a dolphins and over 40 touchdowns, Yeah Brandon Marshall is a better receiver but production wise as a Dolphins it doesn't even compare. Chris Chambers was definitely a better receiver in a Dolphin uniform.

 

His great year here, was better than Marshall's "great" year here. Similar yards and about twice the TDs.

 

Ok, we agree on many of the same things (especially the bolded), we just weren't saying the same things. :up:

 

You just made me realize that we could have had the absolute Dolphin perfect storm - we could have had Wannstedt as coach and Millen in the front office here. Oh, the horror. IIRC, there was a poison pill in the Welker signing that made the trade the better way to go because of an acceleration in Welker's salary if certain relatively easily attainable statistics were met. (I think it would have made him the highest paid receiver on the team if we had matched New England's offer) So the trade factor was not the problem - he was gone because of the conditions existing at the time in Free Agency and on the team - the presence of the oblivious Wannstedt.

I still maintain that the current disaster on this team can be traced to Huizenga's decision that Shula was 'past it' and his forced retirement and the subsequent hiring of Jimmy Johnson. A lot of us were certain that Johnson could not duplicate his success at Dallas in Miami because he could not make a 'Herschel Walker' trade. Every decision since then has been a decision of desperation to correct the absolute collapse of the Dolphins by 2004 when Wannstedt's ineptitude in drafting and game management became obvious enough that the vultures were circling overhead. The team hired three 'heroes' who failed - the last one worst of all in Parcells.

Right now, I am hearing things about stability and building through the draft and being patient (which Dolfans have been [somewhat] for a very long time). I think we are stuck in the Churchillian conundrum... and the answer is "When you find yourself deep in hell, keep going!" Sooner or later, the flying fickle of finger will find another target and we will see some glimmer of daylight. And as one poster has written I, too, hope it happens while I am still here to see it. Who know, maybe one of the remaining Quarterback targets will actually turn out to be something. But I fear that what we all wish for en masse is another Marino. I will be happy with another Griese who knows when and where to pass and keeps the defense honest while we run their @$$&$ into the turf. There is still an advantage in keeping their offense off the field and their defense exhausted.

Got to go to work...

 

Ah yes, the good old days when men were men and women were kept pregnant! Please

Finally we have an Owner, GM, and HC who have a plan for the long term success of the Dolphins, what a refreshing state of affairs. This is what has been lacking since Shula and Joe Robbie were young men! Somewhere along this road that got lost in the shuffle, JJ didn't have one, Whanny wouldn't know a plan if it kicked him in the ares, Bates and Cameron:no:, Tuna and his bully boy attitude, Sparano and the fist pump and every one of the yahoos brought on board by Wayne H, the buy low and sell high guy!

As for the violence of the game being cut out and the game becoming mamby pamby lets not forget the guys flying around today are MUCH bigger, stronger, faster, and more lethal than in "The Good Old Days" too. Just go back and compare the weight of Shula's 70's O and DL to todays! Even todays OLs that are the lightest are much heavier and faster today. And that fact hold true for every position on the field. Honestly could you see any of these heavy weights playing both sides of the ball for 60 minutes? They did in the "GODs", Johnny U weighted 180 lbs soaking wet, hmmm, wonder how long would he be standing in todays NFL without those mamby pamby rules?

Now please don't get me wrong I've loved watching the Dolphins from the first day I saw them in 66 and each era, save the last 17 frustrating ones have been days well spent but no I don't want to go backwards, only forwards, to a future filled with the excitment of a winning Miami Dolphins Football team!

GO FINS!:yes:

 

Even though I am a Jets fan, I liked watching Jim Jensen (aka Crash) play. He could do it all.

-Ed-

 

You know it's bad when the only good ol' days I remember is Chris Chambers having a monster, and meaningless game against Buffalo in the regular season.

 

When he caught the one yard fade to win the game as time expired? I think that was the same game. We stormed back, I was pumped.

 

I remember listening on the radio to Lamar Smith single handedly take out the Colts in the playoffs. And subsequently never be an effective RB again.

 

Yeah, he garnered about a quarter of his season stats in that one game.

 

Isn't THAT the truth!!!!!

Imagine if you will...the first time you watch professional football...WTLV, Channel 12 in Jacksonville and you see the Miami Dolphins...they play, they win. Then the next week, again...they play, they win...and then the next week...and the next....and the next....on and on and on until they win some game called the Super Bowl.

1972, the first year I watched football and saw the Dolphins play every Sunday and win every Sunday...and I never missed a game after that.

Yep, THOSE were the good old days!!!