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17 stories from 'Undefeated: Inside the 1972 Miami Dolphins’ Perfect Season’

Writer Mike Freeman explores the undefeated season of the Florida team in his book.

8. Team-oriented quarterbacks

Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin Hotel/PR Newswire
Coach Don Shula (second from right) and 1972 Miami Dolphins players (left to right) Larry Little, Earl Morrall, and Mercury Morris

  • By Ross Atkin Staff Writer

While lots of organizations pay lip service to teamwork, the 1972 Dolphins qualify as one the most selfless group of athletes to win a championship in the modern era. This attitude was epitomized at quarterback, where backup Earl Morrall and starter Bob Griese seamlessly handed off the assignment. Morrall, a well-seasoned veteran, came in when Griese was injured in the fifth game of the season and remained the starter all the way through the first half of the AFC championship game.

Feeling the Dolphins needed a spark against the Pittsburgh Steelers, Shula pulled Morrall and inserted Griese. Morrall never complained, even though he deserved much of the credit for guiding the team to its undefeated regular season. In the Super Bowl, Griese was perfectly agreeable to handing the ball off to Larry Csonka, Jim Kiick, and Mercury Morris a combined 37 times while he threw just 11 passes (last year’s Super Bowl MVP, Eli Manning, attempted 40 passes). The same run-run formula held the following year when in Super Bowl VIII, Csonka ran 33 times for 145 yards while Griese completed six of only seven passes.

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Mark Sappenfield
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