I was a big Viking fan in the 70s, but I also followed the George Allen Skins, and this particular RB gave the football world a lesson in guts and desire.
Perhaps, pound for pound, the toughest NFL player I've ever seen..
I remember going to RFK Stadium when I was a boy in the 70's and watching those Redskins teams..Sonny, Billy, Larry, Jerry, Roy Jefferson, etc....this is when football was about football and being tough. Hard-nosed-toughness...not like today wheren all they seem to care about is image and how many tattoos they have. IThis is when the NFL was great and respectable. It's sad what the NFL has let happen to the NFL....it's embarrassing.
Those Redskin teams and the 80's-early 90's teams were some of the most fundamentally sound blocking teams ever. Team blocking schemes are a mostly lost art, everything now is based on misdirection and athletic ability of the runner.
After watching some of the hard running backs playing now, I tried to think of some of the toughest guys from back in the day, and Larry Brown popped in my head. Man, talk about tackle breaker. Great body lean, and incredible determination and balance. similar to Walter Payton. taking a beating but dishing it out too. incredible RB.
Anyone who grew up in the 1970's ( I am 47) and was into sports knew who Larry Brown was. Hell, I wasn't even a Redskins fan and I knew who he was (and loved his style of play).
totally loved Larry Brown....I grew up emulating his running style while I played in little leaque and high school. Loved his heart, reverance and dedication to the game. A total professional.
@bradominus interesting comment and i think i agree with you......i really believe that larry brown was the hardest runner i have ever seen period, the guy ran like he didnt care about his body, he is one of my favorites
I don't think Portis is faster than Brown.( comapred to the given competition at the time) . Portis IS fast, but I see him get caught form behind sometimes.
I haven't seen a lot of Larry Brown he was out of the NFL before I was born or I was like 1 year old. But he seemed like to me to be a undersize, quick inside runner with not a lot of speed. A small version of Walter Payton.
Clinton Portis is a 5'11 220 LBS RB with power & breakaway speed. Great package as a RB>
Ok. See what you mean. I grew up watching 70's football.Was a Vikings fan but admired many players from that period.I will forever treasure to those memories.
Larry Brown wa a phenomenal player, he was like a heart with legs.Unbelievable courage, weekly the man took a resolute pounding. WAY overused.
Excellent analogy, a small version of Payton. I live in Miami and use to see Portis play with the Canes,as of late t, he doesn't seem as fast ??.He has been in the league a few years though.
I thank you sir. I actually learned to speak English when I was a kid beacause of NFL Films. I was just transfixed ( still am ) when it came on. I'd tackle every family member in the living room. What a country we stumbled upon!!
I still watch football today, but only know the names of a handfull of players. Now ask me the Vikings players in SB IV, I can name ALL of them. I can also name many of the Over The Hill Gang". They may have been long on the tooth......but man could they play !!
There only 2 sports that I love Football & Baseball. These are the only 2 sports that I can follow the whole season without getting board. When it comes to Hockey & Basketball I don't get into them until Playoff Time. I love going to Hockey games it's much better @ the game then on TV but I do enjoy watching Playoff Hockey. Playoff Hockey is almost as interesting as Playoff Football. There rivalry's are almost as intense. But NBA Basketball is just not that interesting to me any more.
Take a look at about 2:40. The Giants player is Richmond Flowers #44. After Brown is down he comes at his back side with his knees.!!
I have tons of 70's footage and this is one constant. Richmod Flowers coming in late and burrying his knees into somene already down AND on their backs. If EVER there a DIRTY football player, this guy Flowers takes the cake.
For sheer courage few players couold match Larry Brown's. His talent goes without saying and year in and year out he was atop league leaders in rushing. Yet after his retirement it's almost as if he never played./ Never dod you hear his name metioned. Great videot here, all should remember him as one great back .
I mean watch the Miami defenders in that1971 playoff game against the Chiefs and Ed Podolak,if you can find any of the Miami defenders during that game. Miami had a garbage defense,and an OL that was not good in pass protection. Now look at that 72 dvision, Jets? Broadway Joe never defeated a team with a winning record after SB3,so they were horribleThe 4-10 Bills had the foundation of the AFC's worst team of the 70s,the Colts had a firesale Joe Thomas style,and the Pats wereworse than them all.
Nice try but no you don't. That 1975 game was NOT a playoff game. Simpson could not get out of his own way in the PLAYOFF game against Pittsburgh 9 months before that. He had just 48 yards.
Yes it was. I got a tape of it from NFL Films on Christmas 1985 for most memorable games of the decade. It was accompanied by the Raider Colt game in 1977. So I when I watch the game I don't believe that Miami's defense played well.
Excellent point on your part. I have often wondered whether the Colts at that time were still championship caliber themselves, or were they walking the plank, never to win another playoff game until 1995? Perhaps shutting out the Colts was an accomplishment. If it was, if the Colts offense still had life, then it was a far more difficult accomplishment than anything Miami accomplished in 1972. I do know that Unitas did not have much left in his arm by 1971,but Colts had a strong offense in 1971
What about Miami going undefeated despite losing their starting QB for 11 weeks? Griese didn't return until the 3rd QT of the AFC Championship at Pittsburgh. Griese's first pass went for 50+ yds to Warfield. Morral was 38 yrs old for
But they did NOT keep their starting QB healthy did they? Now like I said before, by 1972, there was no competition in NFL too prevent Miami from going undefeated. I thad NOTHING to do with them being a great team or even a good one. I have to go to work now & do auditing. I audit the real history of the NFL as a hobby.
It was at that time of 1972,that Brown was so beat up, that the'72 Dolphins lucked out from it.After the NFC title game that the skins beat Dallas 26-3,and George Allen is doing that celebration with all the players"HeyHeyHey", Brown came in late and you could see he just walked right on by because bythen he was too beat up to even celebrate or to be effective in the super bowl, much to Miami's fortune. Brown could not even block even on the long TD pass to Charley Tayloragainst Dallas.MiamiLuck
I agree with your comment. Ever wonder what more years with Lombardi would have done for Brown, FB Charlie Harraway, & TE Jerry Smith? QB Sonny Jurgensen had a career year with Lombardi. In Brown and Harraway we had all purpose backs and Smith was a very underrated TE. Allen never used them to his best advantage. Instead he played each game close to the vest. He overused Brown in the ground game and sadly shortened his career. Thanks for the comment and your objectivity.
I don't thinkyou understand the big picture here.The '72 dolphins are the worst team ever to win the Super Bowl.When Duane Thomas said to heck with football,and Brown arrived to SB7 crippled(as was Sonny Jurgenson)Miami got another break.they beat Pitt in title game with Swann,Stallworth,Lambert,andC Webster still juniors in college,and bradshaw struggled his first 5 years.Pitt barely made it there with IMMACRECEP 1 week before.AFC EAST was worse dividion ever.Miami defense was actually garbage
plntntvzn,that's a rediculous statement. Miami's defense was great in the early 70's,led the NFL in total defense in 1972 and 1973. Miami's defense was hardly garbage. Washington's offense couldn't have scored on the 1972 Miami defense if they had played two superbowls that year(that's how dominant they were in that game)
Any defense would dominate against what was a crippled Larry Brown,an undeveloped Terry Bradshaw,a Cleveland Browns team running on fumes,an already over-the-hill Joe Namath led NY Jets team,a Buffalo Bill team that was AFC's worst of the decade,a Baltimore Colt team that had been dismantled, and a New England Patriot team that was worse than them all. Jim Plunkett once wrote that when they went 3-11,they were lucky to win the three. It is a shame how overrated that Miami team forever will be.
Also, Sonny Jurgenson,who would have carved that Miami defense to shreds,was lost for the season in week #4. At some point, we really have to open up our eyes,instead of shrugging our shoulders and really objectively look long and hard at those Miami teams of the early 1970s,once and for all.
Bullsh*t Jurgenson, a great player was old, fat and burnt out by then. THe dophins defense would have swarmed him. Technically, if not for a stupid play by the field goal kicker, the redskins get shut out in that SB.
One of Kilmer's passes hit the goalpost,and Charlie Taylor slipped on another pass at the goal line. Miami was the better team,but Jurgenson was a handful to defend against even in his last year of 1974.
Skins called themselves over the hill! They would not even win a playoff game for 10 years. Brown & Jurgenson were both already crippled. Though Brown played, he was already crippled. The game before against Dallas on that long Kilmer to Taylor TD, Brown could not even block in the backfield. That was his specialy but by then he was crippled. In the postgame with George Allen and the whole team doing their "Hey! Hey! Hey!" you can see Brown not joining in because he was crippled BEFORE SB 7.
But I DON'T respect that Redskin team as a championship team. That is the whole point. Jurgenson pulled an Achilles was lost for the year. Miami did not beat a single championship caliber team that whole year. Dwight White said,"Terry Bradshaw was terrible his first 5 years". Bradshaw said himself,"I was not an overnight success, so everyone thought I was dumb". With Swann & Stallworth & Lambert still in college, Pittsburgh was a championship caliber either. Nobody was in 1972, especially Miami.
sonny would win another passing title in 1974, at age 40, so he clearly wasn't burnt out. in fact, he had one of his greatest games beating the dophins in the 74 season, with a last-minute comeback. given the low score in the 72 superbowl, the odds are good sonny would have put a couple of tds on the board.
@yusufu9 Total speculaition. There are alot of scenerios in super bowls that could have potentially made a difference. I always respected Billy Kilmer. He had a GREAT year in 71 AND 72. The guy was a tough bastard.
@zigomanis18 yes, kilmer was a tough guy. he played pro football after a car accident left him without much chance to walk, according to the doctors. and he was an inspiring leader. but he clearly was not a dangerous passer who kept the dbs under pressure. sonny was that guy, and as willismtn documented, a 40 year old jurgensen riddled the vaunted dolphin defense. even shula admitted the superbowl would have been a different game if sonny had played.
@zigomanis18 Really? In 1974 that old, fat, and burned out Jurgensen beat Griese and the Dolphins 20-17. Sonny had 300 yards passing and 2 TDs against Shula's D on October 13, 1974. Kilmer's 3 INTs, the goalpost blocking a TD pass to wide open Jerry Smith, and Charlie Taylor slipping on a goal line pass for possibly another TD were the difference in SB VII. Miami outgained Washington by 25 yards (253 to 228). These are the facts. You can't dismiss Sonny's absence in SB VII!
@willismtn Excuses are like a-holes my friend. everybodies got one. THe better team won..period end. You also seem to forget that if it were not for a STUPID gift by Garo Yepremian, the Skins would have suffered the ONLY shutout to date in the SB. You had ZERO offensive points.
@zigomanis18 I won't resort to profanity as you have nor did I make excuses or say the Skins were the better team. Miami was superior that game and deserved to win. I merely pointed out facts supported by plntntvzn! You're description of Jurgensen was inaccurate so I replied. In 1972 he was playing great until an Achilles injury sidelined him for the season. He still had a cannon for an arm, great accuracy, and a quick release...hardly what I call burnt out.
@willismtn Using your mentality, I could ALSO say that the Cowboys, who lost the 1970 SB to Baltimore by 3 points, could have won if they had played a MUCH better Roger Staubach than the slow goofy Craig Morton, but I don't. I am a cowboy's fan and I conced the BETTER team won..the colts! Staubach proved that by WINNING the following year.
@zigomanis18 You made my point. The Cowboys possibly could have won if Staubach started or replaced Morton who threw a costly, game changing interception in that game. He was a vastly superior QB to Morton as Jurgensen was to Kilmer. If I were making excuses I'd say something imbecilic such as "If Lombardi doesn't die of cancer in 1970 the Skins would have won Super Bowls in the 70's", etc. Just remember, Kilmer's success was in part due to the talents of the subject of this video.
@willismtn Well we agre here but actually , i did not make your point. I am a Cowboy's fan but I refuse to use that as an excuse. I also had TONS of respect for the skins in the 70's..TONS. Loved George allen and trusted his judgment. THe man brought the Redskins back from mediocracy. he personally started the Cowboys/Redskins rivalry. Like Landry , a deep devout family man.
The NFL's competition in 1972 was non-existent. How many 1,000 yard rushers were there that year despite a 14-game season? This does not even include Atlanta's Dave Hampton. It was because defense was becoming an endangered species. The greatness of the NFL during the late 1960s had turned into garbage and the Dolphins were there to collect off of it. They have been celebrating about it ever since. The competition disappeared and it was a truly garbage time for the NFL.
I have no problems with what they did in 1975, Especially with injuries hitting the defense early that year. That year Norm Bulaich, Don Nottingham, & Charlie Babb stepped up. After beating Bills 35-30 on October 26, they looked home free. But Oilers upset them 20-19, &then got clobbered 33-17 to Colts at home when they lost Griese. Don Strock led them to 31-21 victory over Bills but then they lost to Colts in the fog 10-7. I just live for telling the truth about the REAL history of the NFL.
Well that was because Norm Bulaich & Don Nottingham stepped it up in 1975. This has nothing to do with whether or not the 1972 Miami Dolphins are the greatest team ever, or the worst team ever to win a Super Bowl. They are actually the worst team ever to win a Super Bowl.
The greatest Dolphin defense was in the early 1980s right before Marino arrived. In reality the Killer Bees won the battle against Riggins in the Super Bowl. I am sorry but they were on the field way too much and would have won if David Woodley were an NFL caliber QB. Prior to the end of the 4th quarter, Riggins had not really helped core any of the points they had scored. Woodley kept the Redskins and Riggins in the game. Unfortunately for Marino, 1982 was the last year Miami had good defense.
@plntntvzn - Certainly Woodley was a lousy QB and I was happy that he started over Donnie ( Stork ) Strock. I once went on spring break with a bball player friend at VA. tech and Strock was with us. He was a great guy with a rocket arm and I played catch with him on the beach.
I am a DC boy so naturally I rooted for the Skins but Strock never got his due. He followed Griese and along comes Marino. That season he should have started but Shula erred. Strock was other star of the Winslow game.
@plntntvzn - Strock was probably the best career backup in NFL history. He knew how to win and get the team behind him. If Shula had have started Strock that season Miami might have never even drafted Marino.
Fact is the Redskins were the best team that year. The next year the Gibbs offense scored a league record 541 points at that time. The defense and offensive lines were monsters. Dave Butz nullified nearly any runner who came his way. Dickerson et al were held at by Petitbon's genius.
Killer Bee's were for real. In 1981, NT Bob Baumhower led the line in tackles, unusual for nose guy. He was 6-5, 260, & while he stayed low & kept his feet, Baumhower was even better at plays ran away from him. He was very active & managed 9 sacks in 1981, an impressive feet considering all the double-teams he confronted. He was more quick than fast,& got after QBs better than any NT in NFL back then. He had strong legs & excellent balance,& was proficient on plays moving down the line.
Left end Doug Betters was another long-limbed NBA type at 6-7, 260. He was big & strong but limited. What he lacked in speed & quickness, he made up for with quickness & determination. He lacked the mobility of the good pass rushers, he played stronger at the point than Baumhower, & controlled the blockers well. He was a fighter though could occasionally be cut blocked. He helped in the run defense a lot. Kim Bokamper had fine speed & quickness. Bob Baumhower tied up 2 blockers & kept LBs clean.
Bob Brudzinski was loaded with talent & was so complete a player. He could take on blockers & shut down the run at him, make plays in pursuit & take care of business against the pass. He was a tough, instinctive player & quick, strong & smart. he was a strong-side run stuffer & used his 1st-rate strength & techniques to his advantage. He also had a feel for being in the right place at the right time helping him to be always such a steady performer.
LB Earnest Rhone was a quick & active sort. In 1981, he led the team with 171 tackles, 60 more than anybody else. Not a big basher at 224 pounds, accelerated off blocks, pursued well laterally & was nimble in pass defense. He had 6 sacks in 1981 & was the club's most active LB. I am not going to tell you 1982 stats because of short season. Rhone just would not stay blocked, kept his feet & accelerated quickly to the ball. He was capable in coverage & was active & very mobile for inside LB.
AJ Duhe was big, strong, active vs the run & worked very well together with Bob Baumhower on stunts & games when Duhe rushed. He was the Dolphins' most spectacular defender & a big play machine. He attacked from anywhere. He had the strength to play DE, intelligence to process plays rapidly & mobility to get to the action. He excelled as a blitzer with amazing quickness for someone 6-4, 250. He had a knack for exploding through splits before offensive linemen could react.
AJ Duhe -half LB, half lineman- was the special talent that gave that defense its unpredictability . An opposing QB had to 1srt locate him in the defense, then guess what the explosive Duhe was going to do, then pray somebody was in position to block him. He had excellent quickness & attacked from every angle. Against the run, he was mobile & stepped up with authority.
But the noun on that sentence was team,an over-the-hill-team led by Namath. Besides,on NFL Films Lost Treasures volume # 3, Steve Sabol said,"By the early 70s,the greatness was gone. It was painful to watch. That stiff leg set him up for punishment. After winning Super Bowl 3,Joe never again defeated a team with a winning record". Now,I am not sure just how exact that last comment was,but you get the idea. That was the toughest competition Miami faced out of their own division.
Lombardi found his man in unheralded rookie Larry Brown, an eighth-round draft pick. It didn't take long for the coach to identify Brown's talent. At the first practice in training camp, he told Sonny Jurgensen, "See that (rookie) over there in the overalls?" pointing at Brown. "When the rest of these guys are gone, he'll still be here."
I was a big Viking fan in the 70s, but I also followed the George Allen Skins, and this particular RB gave the football world a lesson in guts and desire.
Perhaps, pound for pound, the toughest NFL player I've ever seen..
MultiNewEnglander 3 weeks ago
Don't click on the Larry Csonka highlights. Someone has placed a Trojan there.
sashacougar 3 months ago
Until he was slowed down from overwork and abuse Larry Brown was arguably the best RB in the NFL at that time.
bailinnumberguy 6 months ago
The only other 195 to 200 pound back I've seen run this tough is Walter Payton.
DeeNice681 7 months ago
Tough as nails! Guy took more punishment but kept pounding away. Thanks for posting!
Mrviking4ever 7 months ago
He was born to play this game.
carrier1231 9 months ago
I remember going to RFK Stadium when I was a boy in the 70's and watching those Redskins teams..Sonny, Billy, Larry, Jerry, Roy Jefferson, etc....this is when football was about football and being tough. Hard-nosed-toughness...not like today wheren all they seem to care about is image and how many tattoos they have. IThis is when the NFL was great and respectable. It's sad what the NFL has let happen to the NFL....it's embarrassing.
lidoplace 9 months ago
Not big, but durable enough to take the punishment. Great running back.
NkrumahTure 9 months ago
Those Redskin teams and the 80's-early 90's teams were some of the most fundamentally sound blocking teams ever. Team blocking schemes are a mostly lost art, everything now is based on misdirection and athletic ability of the runner.
pretorious700 10 months ago
dig the guy in end zone @ 1:33... Great video and music... ah the good ole days
irish89055 1 year ago
can you upload the rest of the 73 and 74 highlight reels? thanks
porter4 1 year ago
At 0:36 Jim Carter #50, comes in late . Looks painfull.!!
6400az 1 year ago
What a tough bastard. He took some ridiculous hits. Gotta love those hard-nosed, grind-it-out running backs.
kbuchanan44 1 year ago
After watching some of the hard running backs playing now, I tried to think of some of the toughest guys from back in the day, and Larry Brown popped in my head. Man, talk about tackle breaker. Great body lean, and incredible determination and balance. similar to Walter Payton. taking a beating but dishing it out too. incredible RB.
1Delta 1 year ago
Loved watching Larry run but man he worked for every yard on the field!!
leanidis300 1 year ago
What a stud. Wish I could find his jersey...
choponic 1 year ago
Anyone who grew up in the 1970's ( I am 47) and was into sports knew who Larry Brown was. Hell, I wasn't even a Redskins fan and I knew who he was (and loved his style of play).
rayjr62 1 year ago
I have larry Brown's book that he autographed and gave to Warner Wolf. Wolf later autographed it.
PeteKwiatkowski 1 year ago
Larry Brown; my hero!
LawrenceKennard 1 year ago
seek out larry brown and punish him
brucedavis76 1 year ago
Don't remember Larry Brown, but he kicks some serious ASS on Madden. No wonder. And no wonder he had a short career. Dude was a Maniac!
bouncedrealitycheck 1 year ago
@bouncedrealitycheck He ran so hard he burned his body out! He played so hard it was ridiculous!
MoeHailstone 1 year ago
@MoeHailstone
totally loved Larry Brown....I grew up emulating his running style while I played in little leaque and high school. Loved his heart, reverance and dedication to the game. A total professional.
ALICEDAY61 1 year ago
I loved Larry Brown, but his problem was George Allen... After Charlie Taylor got injured, he ran Larry into the ground...
bradominus 1 year ago
@bradominus interesting comment and i think i agree with you......i really believe that larry brown was the hardest runner i have ever seen period, the guy ran like he didnt care about his body, he is one of my favorites
Stallion67 1 year ago
Larry Brown was my here growing up
drl20895 2 years ago
Great running back that unfortunetly burnt out quick. By 1974, he was useless.
zigomanis18 2 years ago
Way overlooked great player that was tough and fun to watch.
kub73158 2 years ago
Check out the dude standing in the middle of the end zone at 1:33. In today's NFL you would be thrown in jail for doing that! LOL
cptsilverhart 2 years ago
Portis is very good, but sometimes he fights the ball when trying to catch it. larry Brown had way better receiving skills.
plntntvzn 2 years ago
See Clinton Portis's running style reminds me of Larry Brown not John Riggins. But Portis is bigger & faster then Brown.
FrsBigeasy 2 years ago
I don't think Portis is faster than Brown.( comapred to the given competition at the time) . Portis IS fast, but I see him get caught form behind sometimes.
6400az 2 years ago
I haven't seen a lot of Larry Brown he was out of the NFL before I was born or I was like 1 year old. But he seemed like to me to be a undersize, quick inside runner with not a lot of speed. A small version of Walter Payton.
Clinton Portis is a 5'11 220 LBS RB with power & breakaway speed. Great package as a RB>
FrsBigeasy 2 years ago
Ok. See what you mean. I grew up watching 70's football.Was a Vikings fan but admired many players from that period.I will forever treasure to those memories.
Larry Brown wa a phenomenal player, he was like a heart with legs.Unbelievable courage, weekly the man took a resolute pounding. WAY overused.
Excellent analogy, a small version of Payton. I live in Miami and use to see Portis play with the Canes,as of late t, he doesn't seem as fast ??.He has been in the league a few years though.
6400az 2 years ago
I can respect that.
I'm an admitted Football Junky who's a die hard lifelong Redskin fan. I'm also an admirer of Old School Football I have a Playlist dedicated to it.
FrsBigeasy 2 years ago
I thank you sir. I actually learned to speak English when I was a kid beacause of NFL Films. I was just transfixed ( still am ) when it came on. I'd tackle every family member in the living room. What a country we stumbled upon!!
I still watch football today, but only know the names of a handfull of players. Now ask me the Vikings players in SB IV, I can name ALL of them. I can also name many of the Over The Hill Gang". They may have been long on the tooth......but man could they play !!
6400az 2 years ago
There only 2 sports that I love Football & Baseball. These are the only 2 sports that I can follow the whole season without getting board. When it comes to Hockey & Basketball I don't get into them until Playoff Time. I love going to Hockey games it's much better @ the game then on TV but I do enjoy watching Playoff Hockey. Playoff Hockey is almost as interesting as Playoff Football. There rivalry's are almost as intense. But NBA Basketball is just not that interesting to me any more.
FrsBigeasy 2 years ago
Portis is playing with no heart right now. He could never endure the punishment that Brown experienced in his day. Brown was one tough SOB.
dnaman1960 2 years ago
I don't know about no heart but Larry Brown was about as ballsy of a RB as the NFL has seen.
FrsBigeasy 2 years ago
larry was my favorite as a kid...72 fun to watch as a skins fan...thanks!
christophorM 2 years ago
Take a look at about 2:40. The Giants player is Richmond Flowers #44. After Brown is down he comes at his back side with his knees.!!
I have tons of 70's footage and this is one constant. Richmod Flowers coming in late and burrying his knees into somene already down AND on their backs. If EVER there a DIRTY football player, this guy Flowers takes the cake.
6400az 2 years ago
For sheer courage few players couold match Larry Brown's. His talent goes without saying and year in and year out he was atop league leaders in rushing. Yet after his retirement it's almost as if he never played./ Never dod you hear his name metioned. Great videot here, all should remember him as one great back .
6400az 2 years ago
I mean watch the Miami defenders in that1971 playoff game against the Chiefs and Ed Podolak,if you can find any of the Miami defenders during that game. Miami had a garbage defense,and an OL that was not good in pass protection. Now look at that 72 dvision, Jets? Broadway Joe never defeated a team with a winning record after SB3,so they were horribleThe 4-10 Bills had the foundation of the AFC's worst team of the 70s,the Colts had a firesale Joe Thomas style,and the Pats wereworse than them all.
plntntvzn 2 years ago
Ed Podolak's great playoff performance in
'71 =garbage defense for Miami???
So, I guess O.J. Simpson's 225 yds rushing against Pittsburgh in 1975=garbage defense for Steel Curtain?
That's the insanity of your logic.
dolfangirl1 1 year ago
Nice try but no you don't. That 1975 game was NOT a playoff game. Simpson could not get out of his own way in the PLAYOFF game against Pittsburgh 9 months before that. He had just 48 yards.
plntntvzn 1 year ago
I never said it was a playoff game, it was
a regular season game from 1975 that
followed the thrashing they took in a '74
playoff game against Pittsburgh. That '71
game at Kansas City was Miami's first
ever post-season victory.
dolfangirl1 1 year ago
Yes it was. I got a tape of it from NFL Films on Christmas 1985 for most memorable games of the decade. It was accompanied by the Raider Colt game in 1977. So I when I watch the game I don't believe that Miami's defense played well.
plntntvzn 1 year ago
???...I was referring to the Buffalo/Pitt reg
season game in 1975...I never said the
KC/Mia game from 1971 was a reg seas...
Hey, every defense has a game they look
bad in sooner or later, but this was No-Name's second year of existence. They
shutout the defending SB champs the following week. 1971 was a learning experience for Miami.
dolfangirl1 1 year ago
Excellent point on your part. I have often wondered whether the Colts at that time were still championship caliber themselves, or were they walking the plank, never to win another playoff game until 1995? Perhaps shutting out the Colts was an accomplishment. If it was, if the Colts offense still had life, then it was a far more difficult accomplishment than anything Miami accomplished in 1972. I do know that Unitas did not have much left in his arm by 1971,but Colts had a strong offense in 1971
plntntvzn 1 year ago
What about Miami going undefeated despite losing their starting QB for 11 weeks? Griese didn't return until the 3rd QT of the AFC Championship at Pittsburgh. Griese's first pass went for 50+ yds to Warfield. Morral was 38 yrs old for
cryin' out loud.,,that's a pretty good line
to keep him healthy for 11 1/2 games.
dolfangirl1 1 year ago
But they did NOT keep their starting QB healthy did they? Now like I said before, by 1972, there was no competition in NFL too prevent Miami from going undefeated. I thad NOTHING to do with them being a great team or even a good one. I have to go to work now & do auditing. I audit the real history of the NFL as a hobby.
plntntvzn 1 year ago
It was at that time of 1972,that Brown was so beat up, that the'72 Dolphins lucked out from it.After the NFC title game that the skins beat Dallas 26-3,and George Allen is doing that celebration with all the players"HeyHeyHey", Brown came in late and you could see he just walked right on by because bythen he was too beat up to even celebrate or to be effective in the super bowl, much to Miami's fortune. Brown could not even block even on the long TD pass to Charley Tayloragainst Dallas.MiamiLuck
plntntvzn 2 years ago
I agree with your comment. Ever wonder what more years with Lombardi would have done for Brown, FB Charlie Harraway, & TE Jerry Smith? QB Sonny Jurgensen had a career year with Lombardi. In Brown and Harraway we had all purpose backs and Smith was a very underrated TE. Allen never used them to his best advantage. Instead he played each game close to the vest. He overused Brown in the ground game and sadly shortened his career. Thanks for the comment and your objectivity.
willismtn 2 years ago
I don't thinkyou understand the big picture here.The '72 dolphins are the worst team ever to win the Super Bowl.When Duane Thomas said to heck with football,and Brown arrived to SB7 crippled(as was Sonny Jurgenson)Miami got another break.they beat Pitt in title game with Swann,Stallworth,Lambert,andC Webster still juniors in college,and bradshaw struggled his first 5 years.Pitt barely made it there with IMMACRECEP 1 week before.AFC EAST was worse dividion ever.Miami defense was actually garbage
plntntvzn 2 years ago
plntntvzn,that's a rediculous statement. Miami's defense was great in the early 70's,led the NFL in total defense in 1972 and 1973. Miami's defense was hardly garbage. Washington's offense couldn't have scored on the 1972 Miami defense if they had played two superbowls that year(that's how dominant they were in that game)
MDSJR100 2 years ago
Any defense would dominate against what was a crippled Larry Brown,an undeveloped Terry Bradshaw,a Cleveland Browns team running on fumes,an already over-the-hill Joe Namath led NY Jets team,a Buffalo Bill team that was AFC's worst of the decade,a Baltimore Colt team that had been dismantled, and a New England Patriot team that was worse than them all. Jim Plunkett once wrote that when they went 3-11,they were lucky to win the three. It is a shame how overrated that Miami team forever will be.
plntntvzn 2 years ago
Also, Sonny Jurgenson,who would have carved that Miami defense to shreds,was lost for the season in week #4. At some point, we really have to open up our eyes,instead of shrugging our shoulders and really objectively look long and hard at those Miami teams of the early 1970s,once and for all.
plntntvzn 2 years ago
so who was Sonny's backup?
quincee33 2 years ago
A good but not great Billy Kilmer.
plntntvzn 2 years ago
Bullsh*t Jurgenson, a great player was old, fat and burnt out by then. THe dophins defense would have swarmed him. Technically, if not for a stupid play by the field goal kicker, the redskins get shut out in that SB.
zigomanis18 2 years ago
One of Kilmer's passes hit the goalpost,and Charlie Taylor slipped on another pass at the goal line. Miami was the better team,but Jurgenson was a handful to defend against even in his last year of 1974.
plntntvzn 2 years ago
What about Griese's 50+ yard play-action
TD pass to Warfield that was called back
for a lame holding call? Miami routed the
skins in this one.
dolfangirl1 1 year ago
Skins called themselves over the hill! They would not even win a playoff game for 10 years. Brown & Jurgenson were both already crippled. Though Brown played, he was already crippled. The game before against Dallas on that long Kilmer to Taylor TD, Brown could not even block in the backfield. That was his specialy but by then he was crippled. In the postgame with George Allen and the whole team doing their "Hey! Hey! Hey!" you can see Brown not joining in because he was crippled BEFORE SB 7.
plntntvzn 1 year ago
Check out my comments on the 1972 NFC Championship game video here on
YouTube...you'll find I have great respect
& admiration for that "Over-the-Hill Gang"
era Redskin team. Sonny Jurgenson is to
this day one of my all-time fave QBs.
dolfangirl1 1 year ago
But I DON'T respect that Redskin team as a championship team. That is the whole point. Jurgenson pulled an Achilles was lost for the year. Miami did not beat a single championship caliber team that whole year. Dwight White said,"Terry Bradshaw was terrible his first 5 years". Bradshaw said himself,"I was not an overnight success, so everyone thought I was dumb". With Swann & Stallworth & Lambert still in college, Pittsburgh was a championship caliber either. Nobody was in 1972, especially Miami.
plntntvzn 1 year ago
On line 6 here, I meant to say Pittsburgh was NOT a championship caliber team either.
plntntvzn 1 year ago
@zigomanis18
sonny would win another passing title in 1974, at age 40, so he clearly wasn't burnt out. in fact, he had one of his greatest games beating the dophins in the 74 season, with a last-minute comeback. given the low score in the 72 superbowl, the odds are good sonny would have put a couple of tds on the board.
yusufu9 1 year ago
@yusufu9 Total speculaition. There are alot of scenerios in super bowls that could have potentially made a difference. I always respected Billy Kilmer. He had a GREAT year in 71 AND 72. The guy was a tough bastard.
zigomanis18 1 year ago
@zigomanis18 yes, kilmer was a tough guy. he played pro football after a car accident left him without much chance to walk, according to the doctors. and he was an inspiring leader. but he clearly was not a dangerous passer who kept the dbs under pressure. sonny was that guy, and as willismtn documented, a 40 year old jurgensen riddled the vaunted dolphin defense. even shula admitted the superbowl would have been a different game if sonny had played.
yusufu9 1 year ago 3
@zigomanis18 Really? In 1974 that old, fat, and burned out Jurgensen beat Griese and the Dolphins 20-17. Sonny had 300 yards passing and 2 TDs against Shula's D on October 13, 1974. Kilmer's 3 INTs, the goalpost blocking a TD pass to wide open Jerry Smith, and Charlie Taylor slipping on a goal line pass for possibly another TD were the difference in SB VII. Miami outgained Washington by 25 yards (253 to 228). These are the facts. You can't dismiss Sonny's absence in SB VII!
willismtn 1 year ago 2
@willismtn Excuses are like a-holes my friend. everybodies got one. THe better team won..period end. You also seem to forget that if it were not for a STUPID gift by Garo Yepremian, the Skins would have suffered the ONLY shutout to date in the SB. You had ZERO offensive points.
zigomanis18 1 year ago
@zigomanis18 I won't resort to profanity as you have nor did I make excuses or say the Skins were the better team. Miami was superior that game and deserved to win. I merely pointed out facts supported by plntntvzn! You're description of Jurgensen was inaccurate so I replied. In 1972 he was playing great until an Achilles injury sidelined him for the season. He still had a cannon for an arm, great accuracy, and a quick release...hardly what I call burnt out.
willismtn 1 year ago 2
@willismtn Using your mentality, I could ALSO say that the Cowboys, who lost the 1970 SB to Baltimore by 3 points, could have won if they had played a MUCH better Roger Staubach than the slow goofy Craig Morton, but I don't. I am a cowboy's fan and I conced the BETTER team won..the colts! Staubach proved that by WINNING the following year.
zigomanis18 1 year ago
@zigomanis18 You made my point. The Cowboys possibly could have won if Staubach started or replaced Morton who threw a costly, game changing interception in that game. He was a vastly superior QB to Morton as Jurgensen was to Kilmer. If I were making excuses I'd say something imbecilic such as "If Lombardi doesn't die of cancer in 1970 the Skins would have won Super Bowls in the 70's", etc. Just remember, Kilmer's success was in part due to the talents of the subject of this video.
willismtn 1 year ago
@willismtn Well we agre here but actually , i did not make your point. I am a Cowboy's fan but I refuse to use that as an excuse. I also had TONS of respect for the skins in the 70's..TONS. Loved George allen and trusted his judgment. THe man brought the Redskins back from mediocracy. he personally started the Cowboys/Redskins rivalry. Like Landry , a deep devout family man.
zigomanis18 1 year ago
32-2 from 1972-73, plus they lost their starting QB for 11 weeks in 1972...they were for REAL.
dolfangirl1 1 year ago
The NFL's competition in 1972 was non-existent. How many 1,000 yard rushers were there that year despite a 14-game season? This does not even include Atlanta's Dave Hampton. It was because defense was becoming an endangered species. The greatness of the NFL during the late 1960s had turned into garbage and the Dolphins were there to collect off of it. They have been celebrating about it ever since. The competition disappeared and it was a truly garbage time for the NFL.
plntntvzn 1 year ago
You're obviously a very bitter & frustrated
fan. Miami went 10-4 in 1975 despite losing Csonka, Kiick, & Warfield. They continued as a competetive team beating
the NFL's best teams for many years.
dolfangirl1 1 year ago
I have no problems with what they did in 1975, Especially with injuries hitting the defense early that year. That year Norm Bulaich, Don Nottingham, & Charlie Babb stepped up. After beating Bills 35-30 on October 26, they looked home free. But Oilers upset them 20-19, &then got clobbered 33-17 to Colts at home when they lost Griese. Don Strock led them to 31-21 victory over Bills but then they lost to Colts in the fog 10-7. I just live for telling the truth about the REAL history of the NFL.
plntntvzn 1 year ago
Spare me...your trying to undermine what
a truly GREAT team accomplished. Their
10-4 record in 1975, despite losing 3 of
their best offensive players, that alone
proves how good they were.
dolfangirl1 1 year ago
Well that was because Norm Bulaich & Don Nottingham stepped it up in 1975. This has nothing to do with whether or not the 1972 Miami Dolphins are the greatest team ever, or the worst team ever to win a Super Bowl. They are actually the worst team ever to win a Super Bowl.
plntntvzn 1 year ago
So "the Worst Ever Team to Win a Super
Bowl" just somehow lucks out & wins the
whole enchilada the following season, with every team gunning for them...wow.
dolfangirl1 1 year ago
It looks like it.
plntntvzn 1 year ago
lol...I gotta respect your stubborn prejudice.
dolfangirl1 1 year ago
The greatest Dolphin defense was in the early 1980s right before Marino arrived. In reality the Killer Bees won the battle against Riggins in the Super Bowl. I am sorry but they were on the field way too much and would have won if David Woodley were an NFL caliber QB. Prior to the end of the 4th quarter, Riggins had not really helped core any of the points they had scored. Woodley kept the Redskins and Riggins in the game. Unfortunately for Marino, 1982 was the last year Miami had good defense.
plntntvzn 1 year ago
Yep, I agree with you on that. I always
felt Shula should have put Strock in by the
start of the 2nd half. I think the NY Sack
Exchange Defense of the Jets would have
shut down Riggins that year also.
dolfangirl1 1 year ago
@plntntvzn - Certainly Woodley was a lousy QB and I was happy that he started over Donnie ( Stork ) Strock. I once went on spring break with a bball player friend at VA. tech and Strock was with us. He was a great guy with a rocket arm and I played catch with him on the beach.
I am a DC boy so naturally I rooted for the Skins but Strock never got his due. He followed Griese and along comes Marino. That season he should have started but Shula erred. Strock was other star of the Winslow game.
42marisol1 1 year ago
@plntntvzn - Strock was probably the best career backup in NFL history. He knew how to win and get the team behind him. If Shula had have started Strock that season Miami might have never even drafted Marino.
Fact is the Redskins were the best team that year. The next year the Gibbs offense scored a league record 541 points at that time. The defense and offensive lines were monsters. Dave Butz nullified nearly any runner who came his way. Dickerson et al were held at by Petitbon's genius.
42marisol1 1 year ago
Killer Bee's were for real. In 1981, NT Bob Baumhower led the line in tackles, unusual for nose guy. He was 6-5, 260, & while he stayed low & kept his feet, Baumhower was even better at plays ran away from him. He was very active & managed 9 sacks in 1981, an impressive feet considering all the double-teams he confronted. He was more quick than fast,& got after QBs better than any NT in NFL back then. He had strong legs & excellent balance,& was proficient on plays moving down the line.
plntntvzn 1 year ago
Left end Doug Betters was another long-limbed NBA type at 6-7, 260. He was big & strong but limited. What he lacked in speed & quickness, he made up for with quickness & determination. He lacked the mobility of the good pass rushers, he played stronger at the point than Baumhower, & controlled the blockers well. He was a fighter though could occasionally be cut blocked. He helped in the run defense a lot. Kim Bokamper had fine speed & quickness. Bob Baumhower tied up 2 blockers & kept LBs clean.
plntntvzn 1 year ago
Bob Brudzinski was loaded with talent & was so complete a player. He could take on blockers & shut down the run at him, make plays in pursuit & take care of business against the pass. He was a tough, instinctive player & quick, strong & smart. he was a strong-side run stuffer & used his 1st-rate strength & techniques to his advantage. He also had a feel for being in the right place at the right time helping him to be always such a steady performer.
plntntvzn 1 year ago
LB Earnest Rhone was a quick & active sort. In 1981, he led the team with 171 tackles, 60 more than anybody else. Not a big basher at 224 pounds, accelerated off blocks, pursued well laterally & was nimble in pass defense. He had 6 sacks in 1981 & was the club's most active LB. I am not going to tell you 1982 stats because of short season. Rhone just would not stay blocked, kept his feet & accelerated quickly to the ball. He was capable in coverage & was active & very mobile for inside LB.
plntntvzn 1 year ago
AJ Duhe was big, strong, active vs the run & worked very well together with Bob Baumhower on stunts & games when Duhe rushed. He was the Dolphins' most spectacular defender & a big play machine. He attacked from anywhere. He had the strength to play DE, intelligence to process plays rapidly & mobility to get to the action. He excelled as a blitzer with amazing quickness for someone 6-4, 250. He had a knack for exploding through splits before offensive linemen could react.
plntntvzn 1 year ago
AJ Duhe -half LB, half lineman- was the special talent that gave that defense its unpredictability . An opposing QB had to 1srt locate him in the defense, then guess what the explosive Duhe was going to do, then pray somebody was in position to block him. He had excellent quickness & attacked from every angle. Against the run, he was mobile & stepped up with authority.
plntntvzn 1 year ago
Joe Namath was hardly over the Hill,He went to the Pro Bowl following the 1972 season.
MDSJR100 2 years ago
But the noun on that sentence was team,an over-the-hill-team led by Namath. Besides,on NFL Films Lost Treasures volume # 3, Steve Sabol said,"By the early 70s,the greatness was gone. It was painful to watch. That stiff leg set him up for punishment. After winning Super Bowl 3,Joe never again defeated a team with a winning record". Now,I am not sure just how exact that last comment was,but you get the idea. That was the toughest competition Miami faced out of their own division.
plntntvzn 2 years ago
Lombardi found his man in unheralded rookie Larry Brown, an eighth-round draft pick. It didn't take long for the coach to identify Brown's talent. At the first practice in training camp, he told Sonny Jurgensen, "See that (rookie) over there in the overalls?" pointing at Brown. "When the rest of these guys are gone, he'll still be here."
willismtn 2 years ago
Thanks for this Hardnose, great video HTTR
BigC003 2 years ago