From 1960 On: Miami Dolphins (Yet Again!)

[Izulde]

Super Bowl XXX Preview

Miami Dolphins Out
SS Lonnie Young

Los Angeles Rams Out
RG Tom McHale
LDT Mitchell Benson

Quarterback
Dan Marino missed most of the season with a foot injury, but he's shown absolutely no signs of rust in the playoffs, throwing for a 61.8% completion for 594 yards, 4 TDs and 0 picks in his two postseason games. Rookie Steve Walsh played excellently in relief, compiling a 9-2 record in the regular season, completing 60.4% of his passes for 2,931 yards, 25 TDs and 13 INTs, looking like anything but a first year 6th round pick.

The Rams are stacked at QB, led by Warren Moon, who completed an astounding 67 percent of his passes for 3,909 yards, 32 TDs and 10 interceptions in the regular season despite missing 3 games to a pulled triceps and like Marino, has yet to be picked off in the playoffs. Mark Rypien was solid in relief, going 2-1 and 3rd stringer Wade Wilson is a possible starter on some teams himself.

Advantage: Tie

Running Back
Eric Dickerson kept his 1,000 yard rushing streak alive with 1,178 yards and 20 TDs in the regular season, but he posted a career-worst 3.62 YPC average. He's been terrible in the playoffs, limping along with a 2.49 YPC average. He's fast on the decline and probably won't be back with the Dolphins next season. Merril Hoge is an average backup, but it's probably time the Dolphins admitted that experiment's a wash. Herman Fontenot's an underused, brilliant receiver and David Meggett and Mel Gray form the league's most dangerous 1-2 return punch.

Earnest Jackson rushed for 1,294 yards and 12 TDs in the regular season and has posted a 4.45 YPC average in the postseason. He's got good outside speed and even in his 7th season, this back still has the legs to be a workhorse when he has to. Curt Warner's a great change of pace, a power runner with good hole execution and a good receiver out of the backfield.

Advantage: Rams

Wide Receiver
TE Jay Novacek has blossomed into one of the league's best at his position, but the Dolphins are so stacked at WR, he's not as involved in the passing game as he could be. Explosive FL Jerry Rice had 1,238 yards and 13 TDs in his first season in Miami. SE Louis Lipps was a little disappointing, dropping 8 passes. FL Art Monk caught 44 passes for 644 yards and 6 TDs in his 10th season and he's still so good he could start for almost any team in the league. SE Steve Watson is always dangerous, the 1987 League's Fastest Man still able to use his speed in his 11th year as Miami's 4th receiver.

TE Joe Rose never was much more than a glorified LS and he's a non-entity in the passing game. Second year FL Sterling Sharpe reminds a lot of people of a young Irving Fryar and he lit up the league this season for 1,831 receiving yards and 17 TDs. He's been on fire this postseason as well, with 262 yards and 4 TDs in two games. SE Lionel James is nothing to write home about. FL Buster Rhymes is simply not very good and SE Gregg Garrity is more known for his special teams work.

Advantage: Dolphins

Offensive Line
C Dermontti Dawson is one of the better centers in the league in just his second season. LG Sean Farrell really improved his pass protection this year and has been dominant in the playoffs. RG Russ Grimm can't run block to save his life, but he holds up well in pass protection. Horrible year in run-blocking for four-time All-Pro 1st Team LT Gary Zimmerman, but it's hard to argue with his 8 pancake blocks and just 3 sacks surrendered. RT Paul Blair has never lived up to the lofty 2nd round expectations, awful in the run-blocking, solid in pass protection.

C Jay Pennison is solid and has improved each of his four years in the league. LG Doug Dawson is a monster run-blocker, but gives up too many sacks to be considered a truly elite guard and the exact same thing can be said of RG Tom Newberry. LT Chris Hinton is a solid runblocker for a LT and has really improved his blocking strength and pass protection, the latter of which still needs some more work. RT Jeff Criswell had an absolutely sensational campaign in his first year as a starter.

Advantage: Tie

Kickers
P Dan Melville is still accurate, with a very strong leg and a knack for coffin corner placement. K Scott Norwood had a rough regular season, but he's still the most clutch kicker in the NFL.

P Rick Engles has a booming leg even in his 14th season, but P Mark Royals is patiently waiting in the wings to take over. K Uwe von Schamann converts between 70-80% of his FGs a year and can hit from any distance and has yet to miss any kick attempted in the playoffs this year.

Advantage: Tie

Defensive Line
Miami boasts one of the most fearsome pass rushes in the NFL, LDE Bruce Smith and RDE Clyde Simmons both in double-digit sacks in the regular season. Simmons in particular is brutal, amassing 45 tackles, 18 assists, 15.5 sacks, 7 blocks, 39 hurries and 41 knockdowns in the regular season, showing why he was a 1st Team All-Pro last season. LDT Greg Kragen has a non-stop motor and is equally adept at stuffing the run and rushing the passer, as his 59 tackles and 7 sacks in the regular season show. RDT Dan Saleumula doesn't have the sexy numbers of his three linemates, but on a weaker team, he'd be a standout.

Conversely, the Rams made the Super Bowl in spite of their defensive line rather than because of it. LDE Art Still is a shell of his former self in his 12th season, although 1st round RDE Jake McCulllough recorded 8.5 sacks in his rookie campaign. Fellow rookie and 4th round pick LDT Lawrence Pete scares no one and RDT David Galloway has been hampered by a strained triceps. More importantly, the Rams have absolutely no depth to speak of.

Advantage: Dolphins

Linebackers
Second year MLB Jeff Herrod showed off great pass rush skills in amassing 7 sacks to go with his 86 tackles in his first season as a starter. He was a lot better in coverage than thought he would be and looks like a rising start. SLB Andre Tippett is no longer fearsome like he used to be, though he's still to be respected. WLB Gary Cobb is terrific in coverage and one of the more underrated LBs in the league.

In terms of talent, second year MLB Chris Spielman is one of the top 5 in the NFL, but while he's been extremely good, he hasn't yet reached the elite level he's capable of. Undrafted rookie SLB Tony Post is a joke, as is second year WLB Travis Hand, also an undrafted rookie last season. If Spielman can get better players around him, he might just be able to reach that elite level.

Advantage: Dolphins

Secondary
LCB Gill Byrd is criminally unrecognized year in and year out despite being one of the best corners in the NFL. He's been incredible this postseason with a 98.6 pass defense percentage and two picks in two games. Rookie RCB Deion Sanders looked great in the regular season, with 3 interceptions and an 85.1% pass defense, but he's been exposed for his greenhorn status in the playoffs. Nickelback CB Vito McKeever isn't great, but isn't horrible either. SS Lloyd Burrus is still an excellent safety in his 9th season, with no weaknesses and FS Thomas Everett is as wrongly unsung as Byrd. Together, Burrus and Everett form one of the league's top safety tandems.

LCB Darrell Green has struggled this postseason, but he's still a high-quality, dangerous corner. RCB Garcia Lane is prone to getting burned and gets picked on often. Nickel CB Randy Robbins is one of the more underrated defensive backs in the league and should be starting ahead of Lane. SS Tim McDonald is the best in the league, period. Three straight seasons of 100+ tackles and a pass defense percentage of 87.2 in the regular season this year don't lie. He's a beast in the playoffs as well. FS Keith Bostic isn't a playmaker, but he's a solid free safety who will get the job done and done well.

Advantage: Dolphins

Keys for the Miami Dolphins

1. Stay the course with a balanced offense.
As tempting as it's going to be to utilize the incredible aerial assault, attacking the soft underbelly of the Rams' D-line and rushing to the outside where they're atrocious at OLB will not only be effective, it'll force the Rams' defense to make adjustments and slow down the pace of the game.

2. Double-team Sterling Sharpe all game long.
The Dolphins have had trouble against elite single WRs before (see Irving Fryar and if Miami doesn't keep at least two players on Sharpe at all times, he'll burn them and burn them good.

3. Protect Dan Marino
As successful as Steve Walsh was during the regular season, you don't want a 6th round rookie having to go in the championship game unless it's a blowout. Especially not when the Rams have somebody like Warren Moon on the other side.

Keys for the Los Angeles Rams

1. Bring lots of blitz packages from the secondary
The Rams don't want to give Dan Marino time to throw, because with the Dolphins' obscene WR corps and the weakness of L.A.'s linebackers, he can pick them apart all game long. By rushing from the secondary, there's a chance to rattle him and possibly stop outside runs from the Dolphins rushing attack.

2. Use as much no-huddle as possible
Los Angeles's best shot in this game is to turn into a shootout. So don't give Marino time to throw and don't give the Dolphins' superior defense time to get set. Have the play in hand and go no-huddle to speed up the pace of the game.

3. Flood the field with receivers.
Against a sterling defense like Miami's, the best shot for the Rams is to play to their strength at QB. Force the Dolphins into one on one coverage on Sharpe, or, if Miami insists on doubling Sharpe, have Warren Moon find the resulting hole in the defense and attack. No matter how weak the Rams might be at WR outside of their star, an open receiver is still going to catch the pass more often than not, especially in the NFL.

Final Thoughts
The teams are a lot closer than they look on paper. Los Angeles actually has a better overall offense than Miami and the Rams have the secondary to contain the Dolphins' high-octane attack, even with their weaknesses elsewhere. Warren Moon to Sterling Sharpe is going to be a combination we hear called a lot this game and given Miami's traditional difficulties with an elite receiver like that, we're going to call the Rams to pull out the upset in a barnburner.
Prediction: Rams by 1

[RetroNFL]

Hi, just finished reading all of this dynasty and enjoyed it immensely. It is extremely well done. Any chance of an update soon?

[Izulde]

Originally Posted by RetroNFL

Hi, just finished reading all of this dynasty and enjoyed it immensely. It is extremely well done. Any chance of an update soon?

Thanks. Unfortunately, I've pretty much scratched this one off my list to update. It stopped being fun after I built this powerhouse up.

[steved18]

Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo! All those weeks wasted on my lunch hour reading from the very beginning. Come on Izulde at least let us know what happened in the Superbowl to finish this season (hopefully once you start again you'll get the FOF bug again and continue this wonderful dynasty)! Pleassssssssssssssssseeeeeeeee!

[Izulde]

Originally Posted by steved18

Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo! All those weeks wasted on my lunch hour reading from the very beginning. Come on Izulde at least let us know what happened in the Superbowl to finish this season (hopefully once you start again you'll get the FOF bug again and continue this wonderful dynasty)! Pleassssssssssssssssseeeeeeeee!

Thanks for the high praise I may post the Super Bowl at some point (it's already simmed), but I'm officially killing this.

Don't be too sad, though. There may yet come another historical FOF dynasty from me.