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Miami Dolphins 1983-99: FOF2k7 6.1a dynasty
Skydog's Greatest Show on Turf Gameplan has worked so well in testing that it inspired me to do a new Fins dynasty.
This one aims to help us Fins fans forget the horrible current state of the franchise. We will go back to 1983 and re-create Dan Marino's career. Dynasty rules: 1) I cannot draft a running back or defensive player in the first two rounds, with the exception of rule #3 coming in to play. 2) I cannot sign a running back or defensive player until Late FA. 3) My 1st round pick must be a player the Dolphins drafted that year. He must be kept on the roster for the entirety of his rookie contract. 4) Rex will be handling the defensive gameplanning. He can't possibly do worse than Olivadotti. 5) I will try to get Marino to play his full 17 seasons, even if I have to reload. Dynasty will end after 17th season. |
Here is the 1983 Preseason roster:
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Strock is a mentor, which works out nicely, both because it fits the historical context and because I don't have to dig for one. Code:
Nathan, Tony 25 RB RB 5 67 67 5 yrsNathan looks very nice here, especially as a receiver, which will work out well in the Greatest Show offense. Woody Bennett is also pretty good out of the backfield. Code:
Rose, Joe 16 TE TE 4 51 61 4 yrsDecent pair of TE's in Rose and Hardy. The receiving corps hsould be fine if Duper and Clayton develop like they should. Thankfully, Duriel Harris is a mentor. Code:
Stephenson, Dwight 58 C C 4 82 92 5 yrsA pretty good line to protect Marino, with the notable exception of the RG spot, which will be addressed in the offseason. Code:
Roby, Reggie 13 P 1 61 79 7 yrsThese guys are both money. No "laces out" situation here. Code:
Betters, Doug 74 LDE LDE 6 46 46 5 yrsYoung and unproven. Will be pretty good if they develop, but I have my doubts. Code:
Rhone, Earnest 56 SILB 9 51 51 2 yrsWith Duhe and Tautolo, the game is screaming at me to run the 3-4, which is not my preferred style. Code:
McNeal, Don 44 LCB LCB 4 43 48 7 yrsThe corners will probably get attacked alot, but the Blackwoods should be able to stop the long ball. |
Preseason notes:
*I bring in mentor DE Greg Boyd to help out the youngsters on the line. *I extend contracts for Duriel Harris and Eric Laakso. *Strickland looks promising at QB, so he'll get a chance to play in preseason instead of David Woodley, who will remain inactive all year unless something horrible happens. *Good news in preseason is that Marino (and Strickland) are running the offense really well. Bad news are the multiple injuries. LT John Geisler is out for 4 weeks. DE Doug Betters is out for 3 weeks. Also banged up are WR Anthony Carter and CB Don McNeal, but they should be able to play. *Preseason rankings have us listed as the #6 team in the NFL and #1 in the AFC East. Marino is 3rd on the Green Page, behind only John Elway and Richard Dent. Cedric Strickland and Mark Clayton are also on the list. |
Week 1 - at Washington
Tough start for Marino as he throws 3 picks against the Redskins. Meanwhile, Art Monk burns our secondary with 5 catches for 147 yards and 2 TD's. Despite Marino's poor play, we actually led at the half due to an outstanding game from Tony Nathan (140 total yards), but the Redskins took over as Theismann hit Monk on two long scoring plays in the 3rd quarter. Washington, 34, Miami 20 Week 2 - vs. Dallas Another awful game from Marino. He throws 4 picks and only competes 23 of 50 passes. However, the defense comes up big and harasses Danny White all day. Dorsett had a strong game (137 yards), but Uwe von Schamann's 4 FG's led us to victory. Miami 19, Dallas 13 Week 3 - at NY Jets Marino throws two more picks, but he leads us to the first of what should be many 4th quarter comebacks. Facing a 20-17 deficit in the 4th quarter, he drives the Fins 80 yards for the winning score. A huge divisional victory on the road. Miami 24, NY Jets 20 Week 4 - vs. Oakland Marino still struggling here. He only manages 153 yards passing and the Dolphin offense only converts 5 of 15 3rd down attempts. Emotional moment as David Overstreet scores on a 35 yard TD run to get us back in the game, but it wasn't enough as the Raiders held on for victory. Oakland 14, Miami 10 |
Week 5 - at Houston
Marino's best game of the season so far. He throws for 268 yards and no picks to defeat former Dolphin QB David Woodley. It was tied heading into the 4th, but the Dolphins dominated the final quarter with two TD runs and a 65 yard INT return by Mike Kozlowski. Miami 34, Houston 13 Week 6 - at Cleveland A confident Marino strikes early with a 97 yard TD pass to Nat Moore. It was the first of 3 TD's he would throw in the game, and the defense was able to thwart a comeback attempt by Browns QB Brian Sipe. Doug Betters dominated with a sack 4 hurries, and 3 blocked passes. Miami 24, Cleveland 21 Week 7 - vs. New England In another tough division game, Marino doesn't have the prettiest numbers, but he once again comes up with a key 4th quarter drive to put the Dolphins ahead with 1:19 left. Grogan throws 4 straight incompletions and the Dolphins win. Week 8 - vs. NY Giants The defense comes up big this week, as an awful Giants offense can't get anything going. Two early Marino TD passes were all the Dolphins offense needed, as the Giants could only manage 204 total yards. Marino had one of his better games with a 22-34-239-2-0 performance. |
Rough start, but Dan the Man is putting it together.
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Midseason notes...
Marino has 11 TD-13 INT which is certainly not a good number, but he's shown much improvement over the last few game. This not so surprisingly coincided with Geisler's return at LT. Despite his struggles, we still have a two game lead in the weak AFC East. Mark Clayton has not played well in the starting FL spot and I may move Nat Moore in to replace him for the rest of this season. |
Week 10 - vs. Buffalo
An easy victory for the Fins. Marino throws an early TD pass and Nat Moore returns a punt 55 yards for a TD to blow the game open. We get 5 sacks from our defensive line to completely disrupt Buffalo QB Joe Ferguson.The Dolphins are running away with the division. Miami 26, Buffalo 3 Week 11 - at Philadelphia It's a tough road stadium and Marino had a horrible first visit to Philadelphia. Despite throwing an early 2nd quarter TD pass to Tony Nathan that gave Miami the lead, Marino had a mmiserable afternoon, going 17 of 41 for 126 yards, 2 TD and 2 INT. The Eagles took control with 17 points to close out the half and Jaworski threw two TD passes in the 4th to seal it. Philadelphia 37, Miami 17 Week 12 - at Pittsburgh This one really hurt. Another tough road outing and Marino threw 3 picks. The Killer Bees kept us in this one, holding Bradshaw's offense to 10 points, but the Dolphins only managed 222 combined yards and fell short in the final drive. Worse news is that LT John Geisler is probably out for the year. Pittsburgh 10, Miami 7 Week 13 - vs. NY Jets The last couple of weeks have been terrible, but this totally makes up for it. Marino goes 19 of 27 for 211 yards and 2 TD in leading to Dolphins to a complete destruction of their division rivals. The Killer Bees held th eJets to only 120 total yards and 0/11 on 3rd down conversions. Doug Betters and rookie Corwin Morrison combined for 4.5 sacks on the day. This leaves us with a 3 game lead on the 2nd place Jets, meaning we are one win away from clinching the division title. Miami 36, NY Jets 0 |
Week 14 - at Buffalo
Another ugly loss as Marino gets picked 4 times in a rainstorm with 17 mph winds. Bills QB Jim Kelly can't generate offense, but they get by with an INT return for a TD (by Jim Haslett) and three Joe Danelo FG's. More bad news as Dwight Stephenson left this game and will be out for 3 weeks. Week 15 - vs. Baltimore Marino has his best game as a pro as the Dolphins beat up on the hapless Ravens. Two TD passes helped stake the Fins to an early 21-0 lead. The Ravens came back with two TD's of their own, but Marino broke the game open with a 56 yard TD pass to Mark Duper and an 11 yard TD to Joe Rose. He finished the day 23 of 27 for 319 yards, 4 TD, and 0 INT. Week 16 - at New England Marino throws three TD passes to Mark Duper, in the first quarter. The stunned Patriots could not regroup and the Fins just blew by them. Duper would catch a 4th TD pass later on, but this one was from Don Strock as Marino left the game having done enough damage. He finished with 368 yards and 4 TD passes. Miami 45, New England 7 Week 17 - vs. Cincinnatti With nothing left to play for, the Dolphins take a nap for the season finale. The offense only managed 244 total yards and Bengals QB Ken Anderson led his squad to an easy victory. Cincinnatti 30, Miami 6 |
Week 18 - Wildcard Round
Kansas City Chiefs at Miami Dolphins Led by QB Bill Kenney (32 TD passes) and WR Henry Marshall (1436 yards), the Chiefs had an outstanding year. A disappointing 1-2 finish cost them the AFC West title to San Diego, but they still finished the season 11-5 and entered the playoffs with confidence that they could rattle turnover prone Marino. It didn't quite work out that way. Marino was unstoppable as he led the Dolphins on 4 consecutive scoring drives, one of them ending in a 45 yard TD pass to Duper, and Miami led 24-6 at the half. Marino then put the game away early in the 3rd quarter with a 5 yard TD pass to Joe Rose. The Chiefs launched a comeback effort and finally got the ball moving but they still couldn't stop Marino, who threw two more TD's on the day to finish 24 of 28 for 337 yards and 4 TD. Other Wildcard games: Tennessee 38, Cincinnatti 20 Green Bay 24, Dallas 14 Philadelphia 38, Dallas 20 |
Week 19 - Divisional Round
Miami Dolphins at San Diego Chargers Air Coryell was in top form this season as the Chargers averaged 31.1 pts and 422 yards per game, both league bests. They were led by future hall of famer Dan Fouts, who threw for 4239 yards and 38 TD's for a league best 114.2 QB rating. His supporting cast was solid, with Wes Chandler, Charlie Joiner, and Kellen Winslow all having excellent years. We need to put up a lot of points to contend with this squad. Bad start to the game as Nat Moore fumbles the opening kickoff and Fouts only needs three plays to throw a 22 yard TD pass to Chandler. Two plays into the next drive, Marino is intercepted. The Chargers turn another short field into a field goal and now lead 10-0. The Dolphins offense stopped turning the ball over, but they still could not get any drives going. Marino only managed 4 first downs in the 1st half. A couple of FG's and another Fouts TD pass to Chandler made the score 23-0 at the half. It looked like the Dolphins might have a slim chance to come back as early in the 4th quarter, David Overstreet broke free for a 30 yard TD run. Unfortunately, the play was called back and the Fins had to settle for a FG. The Chargers kick a FG with 12 seconds left to pad the score. They'll pay for that. Final Score: San Diego 26, Miami 3 Other divisional round games: St. Louis 29, Green Bay 17 (Ferragamo 380 yards passing) Philadelphia 29, Washington 17 (Montgomery 104 yards rushing) Pittsburgh 19, Tennessee 3 (Harris 123 total yards) Conference Championships St. Louis 40, Philadelphia 17 (Mike Williams 51 yard INT return) San Diego 28, Pittsburgh 10 (Fouts 292 yards passing) |
Superbowl XVIII
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Game MVP: Ken Greene, San Diego Chargers Rushing Statistics
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Not a bad season for us overall. Marino had some growing pains but we still won the division and the experience has helped him shoot up to 58/83. There's a good core of younger players that should keep us strong for the next few seasons. Here are the final 1983 numbers...
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1983 Summary for Miami Dolphins |
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1983 Regular Season StandingsSeason MVP: QB Dan Fouts, San Diego Superbowl MVP: S Ken Greene, San Diego OPOY: QB Dan Fouts, San Diego DPOY: DE Jack Youngblood, St. Louis OROY: RB Eric Dickerson, St. Louis DROY: DT Steve Koch, Jacksonville Dolphins Award Winners: 1st Team DT: Bob Baumhower |
Offseason Notes:
*Only Dolphins retiree is G Bob Keuchenberg. *Other notable retirees include QB Ken Stabler, FB John Riggins, WR Charlie Joiner, WR Cliff Branch, WR Harold Carmichael, T Dan Dierdorf, K Jan Stenerud, DE Lyle Alzado, OLB Ted Hendricks, CB Mel Blount *I franchise CB Gerald Small. He's only 50/50, but is my best CB and I cannot let him go. *Marino will be tearing the European league up this summer. |
Note: Had to redo FA because I stupidly forgot my own house rules...
Free Agency Week 1 *Contract extensions go to Uwe Von Schamann, Gerald Small, and Duriel Harris. The axe falls on veteran Jimmy Cefalo. *Re-signed several RFA's, including QB Cedric Strickland and T Junior Flint. *Scouted the draft and free agency lists. Biggest need position is MLB, where 8th year vet Terry Tautolo goes to free agency and his backups Earnest Rhone and AJ Duhe have bad attitudes. Also looking at holes at DE, G, and CB. Unfortunately, G is the only one I can address right now. Week 2 *I only have $8 million to spend, but with 48 players already signed, so this should be plenty. *Initial targets are TE Junior Miller (71/71), FB Pete Johnson (66/66), C Blake Moore (55/56), G Roy Simmons (53/53), and T Warren Bryant (47/47). Can't sign any of those good looking defensive players... Week 3 *FB Pete Johnson signs 3 year, $3.56 million deal. *G Roy Simmons signs 4 year, $4.23 million deal. *TE Junior Miller signs 4 year, $4.28 million deal. *Backup Center Mark Dennard signed away by the Ravens. I let him go because he had no pass blocking skills, which obviously won't work here in Miami. Week 4 C Blake Moore signs 4 year, $4.55 million deal to take Dennard's place. Week 5 *T Warren Bryant signs 4 year, $5.19 million deal. *We have no targets left and 51 players under contract, so time to move on to the draft. |
interesting
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The Draft
1(23) - RB Joe Carter, Alabama Due to my house rule, I have to use my 1st round pick on a player the Dolphins actually drafted that year. Since most of the 1984 draft was a dud, this didn't leave me with many choices. It was down to Carter, LB Jackie Shipp, LB Jay Brophy, T Jim Boyle, and S Bud Brown. Eventhough he's listed as Very Overrated, Joe Carter is clearly the best of this group. 2(22) - T Jim Boyle, Tulane I'm limited to non-RB offensive players in the 2nd round. That caused some problems here. WR Gary Clark was available but I aleady have 6 WR's rated above 40. Boyle was another Dolphins guy, but I picked him just because he was the best guy left. 3(21) - CB Frank Minnifield, Louisville Somehow I overlooked scouting this guy before the draft, so this is a risky pick, but he's the best CB available and has strong combines. 4(20) - G Paul Fairchild, Kansas Once again, strong combines and a scout rating of "Very Underrated" make this a very easy pick. Bars look terrible, but I'm trying to go by Skydog's "bars are meaningless" mantra. 5(19) - DE Freddie Gilbert, Georgia My scout says he's overrated, but I can't ignore his combine scores, four of which are in the blue. 6(24) - RB Mel Gray, Purdue Drafting him solely for his dynamic punt and kick returning skills. Also could be a good 3rd down back. 7(23) - S Stacey Toran, Notre Dame Had a great PSpec score and that's enough to get you drafted this late. |
Now let's take a look at how the FOF world is departing from the historical world. Here are some notable FA moves:
*Released players include QB Steve Grogan (NE), QB Dave Krieg (SEA), K Mark Moseley (WAS), and WR Freddie Solomon (SF). *It should be an exciting summer league this year. Joining Dan Marino will be QB Jim Kelly, QB John Elway, QB Tony Eason, and RB Eric Dickerson. *Veteran DE Harvey Martin signs with the Chargers. QB Steve Deberg joins the Panthers. Saints steal TE Billy Joe Dupree from the Cowboys. *Steve Young goes 1(1) to the Panthers. He is followed by Warren Moon to the Ravens, Boomer Esiasion to the Lions, and Irving Fryar to the Saints. The Falcons get Ron Rivera at 1(18). *Potential late round steals include 2nd rounders Earnest Byner (JAX) and Wilber Marshall (IND), 3rd rounder Gary Clark (BUF), 4th rounder Jeff Hostetler, and 7th rounder Al Del Greco (DET). |
Late Free Agency
Week 1 *All draft picks are signed except for holdouts DE Freddie Gilbert and S Stacey Toran. I'll probably give Gilbert what he wants, but Toran can go fuck himself. *Now I can target some defensive players. Still a few decent ones available, and I'll be going after DE Corwin Morrison (41/53), S Jeff Delaney (44/44), and I'll take a chance on DE Dave Browning (71/71), who has a serious injury and won't be ready until midseason but has a very low asking price. Week 2 No responses Week 3 No responses *Morrison and Browning both sign with us, but Delaney is stolen away by the Saints. Week 4 *S Alfred Green (39/39) fills in where Delaney would have gone and we're all done with Late FA. Pre-Training Camp *I sign a few undrafted FA's, including RL Dolphins MLB Jay Brophy and FB Tony Paige. Gilbert signed to the higher deal, while Toran caved and accepted the lower deal. |
Notable training camp results...
Rookie movement RB Joe Carter - 33/50 to 33/45 RT Jim Boyle - 17/62 to 20/53 CB Frank Minnifield - 19/41 to 22/42 G Paul Fairchild - 17/27 to 20/33 DE Freddie Gilbert - 15/37 to 20/38 RB Mel Gray - 22/44 to 22/40 (completely red 100's in Kick and Punt Returns) S Stacey Toran - 13/29 to 16/30 FB Tony Paige - 19/33 to 22/35 Very impressed with this draft once we got out of the house rule rounds. Several of my guys look like creepers, especially Fairchild. Gray dropped but he hit the ratings where it counted and he will get an active roster spot. Even Paige looks like a nice find, but I doubt I have room for him. Veteran Movement QB Dan Marino - 54/83 to 63/83 QB Don Strock - 43/43 to 33/33 FB Pete Johnson - 65/65 to 56/56 WR Mark Clayton - 58/66 to 63/66 C Dwight Stephenson - 95/95 to 98/98 G Roy Foster - 53/71 to 59/71 LT Junior Flint - 27/60 to 33/60 WR Nat Moore - 47/47 to 40/40 The Pete Johnson FA signing appears to be a bust now, as he might not even win the starting job. Otherwise, nothing to worry about. Moore would've been low on the depth chart anyways. Very pleased with Foster and Flint. |
Here is the 1984 Dolphins roster after final cutdown...
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Week 1 - at NY Jets
Marino gets off to a fast start by hitting Mark Duper for two 1st quarter TD passes. The Jets hang in with three Pat Leahy FG's, but the 2nd half was all Dolphins. Marino threw two more TD passes, both to Tony Nathan and the Dolphins ran away with the game. Marino had a fantastic game, going 27 of 33 for 276 yards, 4 TD's, and 0 INT's. Final Score: Miami (1-0) 34, NY Jets (0-1) 9 Other AFC East Buffalo (1-0) 10, New England (0-1) 0 Players of the Week... OPOTW: QB Joe Theismann, Washington - 19 for 25, 288 yards, 5 TD, 0 INT DPOTW: DE Dexter Manley, Washington - 4 Tackles, 2 Assists, 2 Sacks, 4 Hurries, 5 QBKd |
Week 2 - at San Francisco
Looked good as Marino found Clayton for a 34 yard TD pass early in the 1st. Unfortunately, Montana was on top of his game and thoroughly ripped our defense apart. The main victim was rookie CB Frank Minnifield, who gave up 8 completions all by himself. Marino threw for 291 yards and 2 TD's, but it wasn't enough to overcome Montana's 334 yard day. Final Score: San Francisco (2-0) 26, Miami (1-1) 20 Arizona (1-1) 28, Buffalo (1-1) 27 Seattle (2-0) 23, New England (0-2) 19 NY Jets (1-1) 19, LA Rams (0-2) 3 OPOTW: QB Dan Fouts, San Diego - 19 for 30, 314 yards, 4 TD, 0 INT DPOTW: DE Ezra Johnson, Green Bay - 5 Tackles, 1 Assist, 3 Sacks |
Week 3 - at Houston Oilers
Don't know what to write about this one. We just got our asses kicked. Behind RB Earl Campbell (200 total yards), the Oilers controlled the clock for 43:29. We only had two drives longer than 4 plays. Marino didn't throw any picks, but could only complete 10 of 25 passes for 87 yards. Ouch. Final Score: Houston (2-1) 38, Miami (1-2) 6 Buffalo 20, Baltimore 10 NY Jets 26, Cincy 21 Houston Texans 23, New England 14 OPOTW: QB Matt Cavanaugh, New Orleans - 15 for 18, 251 yards, 4 TD, 0 INT DPOTW: OLB Matt Blair, Minnesota - 7 Tackles, 1 Assist, 1 Sack, 1 INT |
Week 4 - vs. Buffalo
Finally get our home opener in week 4, and it's just what the doctor ordered. Jim Kelly tried to keep Buffalo in this game, but Marino directed an extremely efficient offense that scored on the first 5 possessions of the game. By the time we were forced to punt, we had a 27-14 lead. Marino sealed the game with a 4th quarter TD pass to Mark Duper. Final Score: Miami (2-2) 35, Buffalo (2-2) 21 Kansas City 19, NY Jets 10 New England 27, LA Raiders 23 OPOTW: QB Joe Theismann, Washington - 22 for 30, 332 yards, 4 TD, 0 INT DPOTW: DE Eddie Edwards, Cincinnatti - 5 Tackles, 4 Sacks |
larry - great job on the dynasty so far...there have been a bunch of Fins dynasties this year, and yours looks to be one of the coolest with the house rules. Love the format, too, so I'll be checking in frequently! :)
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Thanks! |
Week 5 - at San Diego
We take a trip to San Diego to face the defending Superbowl champions and reigning league MVP Dan Fouts. Marino isn't impressed and shows it by throwing three TD passes in the first half. A Von Schamann FG leaves us with a 24-3 halftime lead. The Chargers are a good team and Fouts furiously brings them back with 2 TD's to make it a one possession game early in the 4th quarter. Ourt offense goes into ball control mode and Von Schamann kicks two more FG's in the 4th to wrap it up. Marino outplayed the MVP with a 279 yard, 3 TD day. Final Score: Miami (3-2) 30, San Diego (2-2) 17 Buffalo 23, Denver 10 New England 34, NY Jets 17 QB Joe Montana, San Francisco - 26 for 36, 357 yards, 3 TD, 0 INT MLB Gary Spani, Kansas City - 9 Tackles, 1.5 Sacks, 1 INT |
Week 6 - vs. Denver
Another big QB matchup as Marino faces fellow highly touted rookie John Elway. This is more of a mismatch because Elway isn't quite surrounded by the same talent and suffers a 14 of 33 for 164 yard day. Meanwhile, Marino throws for 285 yards and 3 TD's, while Von Schamann adds 4 FG's. Final Score: Miami (4-2) 33, Denver (1-4) 10 Oakland 14, Buffalo 10 San Diego 34, NY Jets 13 OPOTW: QB Joe Theismann, Washington - 30 for 36, 306 yards, 3 TD, 0 INT DPOTW: DE Jesse Baker, Houston Oilers - 4 Tackles, 2 Sacks, 5 Hurries |
Week 7 - bye
New England 23, Kansas City 3 NY Jets 40, Oakland 14 OPOTW: QB Richard Todd, NY Jets - 23 for 31, 319 yards, 4 TD, 0 INT DPOTW: OLB Robin Cole, Pittsburgh - 7 Tackles, 2 Assists, 3 Sacks |
Good stuff. Get Marino a ring!
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Week 8 - at Kansas City
We're clearly on a roll as we walk into Arrowhead and completely dominate the Chiefs. Marino had another solid game with 277 yards and 2 TD's, but it was Bob Brudzinski that made waves by picking off 3 Bill Kenney passes. Final Score: Miami (5-2) 31, Kansas City (3-4) 8 San Diego 38, Buffalo 7 Denver 17, New England 10 OPOTW: QB Joe Theismann, Washington - 26 for 35, 334 yards, 4 TD, 0 INT DPOTW: OLB Bob Brudzinski, Miami - 9 Tackles, 1 Assist, 3 INT |
Week 9 - vs. La Raiders
In real life, the Raiders handed Miami one of their two regular season losses. Raiders RB Marcus Allen ran all over the Killler Bees. Allen did the same in this game, running for 103 yards on only 14 carries, but we were able to limit his productivity by scoring fast and early, forcing the Raiders into a passing offense. Marino hit Duper twice in the 4th quarter and found Clayton in the 2nd quarter. Raiders QB Gary Danielson was not up to the task and threw 3 INT's on the day. Final Score: Miami 30, LA Raiders 9 San Diego 28, New England 24 NY Jets 27, Buffalo 21 OPOTW: QB Dan Marino, Miami - 24 for 30, 304 yards, 3 TD, 0 INT DPOTW: DE Ezra Johnson, Green Bay - 7 Tackles, 5.5 Sacks |
Here we are at midseason:
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AC North W L T Pct PF PA Conf Div |
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Year 1984 |
Midseason Notes:
*Looks like Marino will have to carry the offense again. Nathan has struggled this year and his backups have been worse. Marino seems up to the task, though. After throwing 25 INT's his rookie year, he only has 1 INT through 8 games this season. *As good as Marino has been, Theismann has been even better. He has completed 74% of his passes for a 9.16 YPA and 23 TD's with only 3 INT. This gives him the league leading QB rating at 128.3 and his Redskins appear to be unstoppable. *I've been starting rookie Guard Paul Fairchild eventhough he's only rated 24/33. I suspect that he's a creeper and there's some masking going on. He has only allowed 1 sack in 201 pass plays and has 10 KRB's with 20 KRO's. *Steelers WR John Stallworth already has 1043 yards receiving. His average per target is an astounding 12.42. *DE Dave Browning recovered from his injuries faster than expected and has played sparingly in the last few games. He will make his first start next week and will hopefully boost our anemic pass rush. |
Week 10 - at New England
A trip to Foxboro leads to a much closer game than expected. Marino threw two TD passes int he 1st quarter, helping lead the Fins to a 17-0 lead. The Pats came firing back with a Pat Ryan TD pass and a Craig James TD run. Suddenly they were within 3 and the Dolphin offense was struggling. The Pats drove to midfield, looking for the go ahead score, but Glenn Blackwood picked off a Pat Ryan pass and Marino made New England pay with a 12 play TD drive that put the Fins up 24-14 in the 4th quarter. The Pats made it close with a late TD, but Marino was able to run out the clock. Marino was 26 of 36, for 217 yards and 2 TD. Final score: Miami (7-2) 24, New England (3-6) 21 Denver 27, NY Jets 13 Kansas City 27, Buffalo 21 OPOTW: QB Bill Kenney, Kansas City - 30 for 38, 323 yards, 3 TD, 0 INT DPOTW: MLB Rich Wingo, Green Bay - 6 Tackles, 1 Assist, 2.5 Sacks |
Week 11 - vs. NY Jets
Tragedy strikes in this one as Marino injures his foot and will probably miss 3 weeks. Thankfully, Cedric Strickland came in and directed the offense without problem. He went 22 of 27 for 260 yards and 1 TD. The Jets offense was shut down in the first half but finally broke through in the 3rd quarter to make it a 14-7 game. However, they were unable to get a single first down in the 4th quarter and Von Schamann added three FG's. Final Score: Miami (8-2) 23, NY Jets (4-6) 7 Buffalo 24, New England 13 OPOTW: WR JT Smith, Kansas City - 11 receptions, 207 yards, 3 TD DPOTW: DE Neal Elshire, Minnesota - 8 Tackles, 1 Assist, 3 Sacks |
Week 12 - vs. Arizona
This was an ugly game. Cedric Strickland struggled in his first career start, but that's to be expected when he was sacked 9 times. The Dolphins also lost 4 fumbles, one of which was returned for a TD early in the 4th quarter to put the Cardinals on top 14-3. Strickland finally led us on a TD drive to make it close, but Arizona immediately responded to put the game away. Final Score: Arizona (5-6) 21, Miami (8-3) 10 Buffalo 38, LA Rams 31 San Francisco 10, New England 3 Seattle 16, NY Jets 13 OPOTW: QB Steve Bartkowski, Atlanta - 21 for 30, 277 yards, 3 TD, 0 INT DPOTW: CB Gary Green, Carolina - 3 INT's |
Week 13 - vs. Pittsburgh
Strickland is much better this time out, but the offense still struggles for most of the game. Thankfully the defense is able to keep the Steelers and QB Terry Bradshaw at bay and we take a 10-6 lead at the half. Strickland finds Mark Clayton and Anthony Carter for 2nd half TD passes, while the Steelers fumble and turn it over on downs twice. We went 2-1 in the non-Marino games which is much better than we could have hoped for. Dan the Man will be back next week. Final Score: Miami (9-3) 24, Pittsburgh (10-2) 6 Buffalo 34, Jacksonville 13 NY Jets 28, Indianapolis 21 New England 16, Cleveland 9 OPOTW: QB Phil Simms, NY Giants - 27 for 28, 330 yards, 2 TD, 0 INT DPOTW: DE Jacob Green, Seattle - 6 Tackles, 4 Sacks |
Week 14 - at LA Rams
The Rams are not a very good team, but they are always dangerous with Dickerson in the backfield. Three Marino TD passes stake the Dolphins to an early 21-0 lead. The Rams wisely do not completely give up on the run, and Eric Dickerson helps get them back in the game. He would come up 218 total yards on the day. The Rams fought back and got as close as 28-20, but Marino's 5th TD pass of the game with onlly 5:30 left sealed the deal. This victory clinches the AFC East. Final Score: Miami (10-3) 35, LA Rams (4-9) 27 New England 34, Arizona 16 Seattle 24, Buffalo 21 NY Jets 24, San Francisco 19 OPOTW: WR James Lofton, Green Bay - 11 catches, 181 yards, 2 TD DPOTW: DE Rulon Jones, Denver - 5 Tackles, 2.5 Sacks |
Week 15 - at Buffalo
The Killer Bees come up big in this one, holding Jim Kelly to 111 yards passing and the Bills offense to only 189 total yards. The Dolphins offense struggled on 3rd down and only held a 13-3 lead heading into the 4th quarter. That's when Marino found both Clayton and Duper for TD's to put the game out of reach. David Overstreet filled in for an injured Nathan and finished with 90 yards rushing and a TD. Final Score: Miami (11-3) 34, Buffalo (6-8) 3 NY Jets 33, New England 20 OPOTW: RB Earl Campbell, Houston Oilers - 36 carries, 211 yards, 2 TD DPOTW: DE Art Still, Kansas City - 5 Tackles, 4 Sacks |
Week 16 - vs. Seattle
We're still fighting for home field advantage and a first round bye, so all these remaining games count. The Seahawks are similarly fighting for playoff position and showed up in a big way. After Marino opens the game with a 2 yard TD pass, Seattle takes over with a tough defense that harasses Marino into four sacks and two INT's. They take advantage of three Dolphins turnovers to take a 24-10 lead late in the 3rd quarter. In comeback mode, Marino began throwing every down (he ended up with 60 attempts). He eventually tied it up with a 2 yard TD pass to Pete Johnson, and Uwe Von Schamann hit the FG in OT for the victory. Marino was 31 for 60, 313 yards, 3 TD, 2 INT. DE Doug Betters led our much improved pass rush with 2 sacks. Final Score: Miami (12-3) 27, Seattle (10-5) 24 NY Jets 21, Arizona 10 Buffalo 20, San Francisco 7 New England 33, LA Rams 23 OPOTW: WR Tim Smith, Houston Oilers - 12 receptions, 179 yards, 4 TD DPOTW: DE Art Still, Kansas City - 4 Tackles, 2 Assists, 4 Sacks |
Week 17 - vs. New England
New England's season was over several weeks ago, and now all they could hope to do was ruin our shot at home field advantage. They played an inspired game and took a 17-7 lead late in the 3rd quarter. With the defense showing nickle and dime sets to try and stop Marino, the Dolphins turned to the ground. Tony Nathan and David Overstreet took turns running right through the Pats defense. They would end up with a combined 177 rushing yards and took turns on the game tying and game winning TD runs. The Dolphins finish with the best record in the NFL. Final Score: Miami (13-3) 24, New England (6-10) 17 NY Jets 24, Buffalo 10 OPOTW: QB Dan Fouts, San Diego - 20 for 28, 377 yards, 5 TD, 0 INT DPOTW: DE Elvis Franks, Houston Texans - 3 Tackles, 3 Sacks |
Week 18: Wild Card Round
Cincinnatti 31, Houston Oilers 9 (Stanley Wilson, 107 yards rushing, 2 TD) Atlanta 34, Green Bay 7 (Steve Bartkowski, 287 yards passing, 2 TD) San Diego 35, LA Raiders 27 (Marcus Allen, 186 yards rushing, 2 TD not enough) San Francisco 19, Seattle 6 (Ronnie Lott 4 Tackles, 1 INT, 2 PD) |
Week 19: Divisional Round - vs. Cincinnatti
This was a wild game from beginning to end. Miami takes advantage of a Ken Anderson fumble to take a 7-0 lead on a Marino to Duper TD pass. The Bengals regrouped and drove to midfield, where they would catch the Dolphins in the first of what would be several major defensive errors. Anderson found RB Stanley Wilson for a 13 yard completion, who then raced 36 yards down the sideline for a TD. The fast pace continues as Marino leads the Dolphins right back down the field and hits Clayton for a 17 yard TD pass and 14-7 lead. The 2nd quarter continued in similar fashion as Cincy drove down the field to hit a 19 yard FG. An 80 yard drive is keyed by a 31 yard completion from Marino to Anthony Carter and the Dolphins lead 21-10 after Nathan catches Marino's 3rd TD pass. The momentum was going our way, but Cincy put a stop to that when Anderson found Cris Collinsworth for a 74 yard TD pass. The offenses slowed down for the rest of the half, but the Bengals hit another FG to narrow the Dolphins lead to 21-20 at halftime. Desperately trying to get momentum back, Marino looked off his superstar receivers and used the backs and TE on the next series. Tony Nathan, Pete Johnson, and Junior Miller all had key catches on the opening 2nd half drive. It was capped with a 2 yard TD pass that gave the Dolphins a 28-20 lead. Another long pass to Collinsworth (we just couldn't cover him in this game) set the Bengals up for a FG which made the score 28-23. With the pressure on and Marino facing a 3rd and long, this amazing play took place: Code:
Miami: Single-Back formation, strength is left. The defense is in a 43 with nickel personnel and 2-deep bump-and-run coverage, keying aggressively on the pass. That's certainly not something you'll see every day. The Dolphins still had to punt, but it was from much better field position. The next Bengals drive resulted in another FG, making the score 28-26. The Dolphins offense goes 3 and out and the Bengals start off their next drive with a 38 yard completion to Collinsworth (I fucking hate this guy). Thankfully, the drive stalls after DE Dave Browning comes up with a huge 3rd down sack that puts them out of field goal range. Facing 3rd and long and the prospect of giving the Bengals the ball back with only a 2pt. lead, Marino went up top and connected with Mark Clayton, who kept on running for an 80 yard TD. Looked like a backbreaker for Cincy, especially when they had to punt on the next series. However, they pinned us inside the 1 and Tony Nathan was stopped in the end zone for a safety that made it a one possession game again. With excellent field position at their own 40 and a chance to tie it, the Bengals go to Collinsworth again, but this time Bob Brudzinski is waiting for him. Brudzinski's devastating hit knocks the ball loose and the Dolphins recovered. It was all Dolphins from here on out as they added two more FG's and a TD for a 20 pt. victory. Marino had a terrific day, going 20 for 31, for 343 yards and 5 TD's. On the Bengals side, Cris Collinsworth had 8 catches for 231 yards and a TD. Final Score: Miami 48, Cincinnatti 28 Other games: Chicago 19, Atlanta 17 (Dean Biasucci, 4-4 FG's, including 52 yarder with :20 left) Pittsburgh 24, San Diego 21 (Terry Bradhsaw, winning TD pass with 1:24 left) San Francisco 24, Washington 21 (Joe Montana, 394 yards passing, 2 TD) |
Week 20: Conference Championship - vs. Pittsburgh
A rematch of the actual 1984 AFC conference championship. Interesting to note that the NFC will also be a rematch. Great job on those player files, guys! It wasn't the best of starts for our Dolphins. After getting one 1st down, the Dolphins are forced to punt it. The Steelers come right down the field, converting three first downs on an 80 yard drive to take a 7-0 lead. Marino comes back and drives us to the Pittsburgh 32, but Uwe von Schamann's FG attempt is blocked (thankfully he didn't try to pick it up and throw it.) Pittsburgh took advantage of this and drove for a FG and a 10-0 lead. However, Marino gets us right back into it with a 49 yard completion to Mark Clayton, which sets up a 2 yard TD pass to Woody Bennett. With only a few minutes left in the half, the Steelers stall at midfield but a great punt pins the us at our 1 yard line. In very dangewrous territory, the following play happens: Code:
1-10-MIA01 (2Q: 03:32) Tony Nathan ran inside the right tackle for 99 yards and a TOUCHDOWN! Key block delivered by Warren Bryant. Miami 13, Pittsburgh 10And just like that, the Dolphins are up 14-10 at the half. The Steelers regroup and march downt he field on the opening 2nd half drive to take a 17-14 lead on a Bradshaw-Stallworth TD pass. The defenses wake up at this point, and both offenses are forced into consecutive three and outs. Finally, the Dolphins break through when Don McNeal picks off a Bradshaw pass at midfield. On the first play of the 4th quarter, Marino finds Anthony Carter for a 16 yard TD pass. The Killer Bees once again keep Bradshaw from a first down. A great punt return by Mel Gray sets up Marino at midfield. Eight plays later, Marino threw a 5 yard TD pass to take a 28-17 lead with only 8:30 remaining. The Steelers get two more chances, but turn the ball over on downs both times and the Miami Dolphins are headed to the Superbowl!! In the NFC game, the BEars take a 21-7 lead over the Niners. Joe Montana expertly leads his team back with two TD passes to Dwight Clark and a Ray Wersching FG. However, Bears QB David Whitehurst throws a 30 yard TD pass with 3:44 left for the 28-24 victory. It will be the Dolphins and Bears in the Superbowl. |
Congrats on the Super Bowl appearance! Now bring Danny a ring!!! :)
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Something I've always done in my dynasties when my teams make the Superbowl is to post the gamelog as the action unfolds. Here is the gamelog of the 1985 Superbowl. It will be posted drive by drive...
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