|

Miami Dolphins
are a National Football League team based in Miami,
Florida.
Founded:
1966, as an American Football League expansion team.
Entered the NFL as part of the 1970 merger.
Home field:
They play home games at Sun Life Stadium, in the
suburb of Miami Gardens.
Uniform colors:
Aqua Green and Orange (Dark Blue was added to the
logo and uniforms as an accent color in the late
90's). the Dolphins primarily wear white jerseys
at home, except for night contests when they dress
in aqua jerseys.
|

|
 |
|
Miami Dolphins
Football
|
|
Miami Dolphins
Tickets
|
Miami Dolphins, professional
football team and one of the four teams in the Eastern Division
of the American Football Conference (AFC) of the National
Football League (NFL). the team is named for the dolphins
that inhabit the coastal waters of Florida.
For most of their history, the Dolphins
were coached by Don Shula, the winningest head coach in
professional football history. His Dolphins teams posted
losing records in only 2 of his 26 seasons with the club.
In 1972 the Dolphins became the first and only NFL team
to complete a 14-game regular season (and the entire postseason)
without a loss. Five future Hall of Fame members played
for Miami during the 1970s, including running back Larry
Csonka and quarterback Bob Griese. During the 1980s and
1990s quarterback Dan Marino became the most prolific passer
in NFL history. He piloted the Dolphins to numerous playoff
appearances and one Super Bowl, and he holds numerous NFL
career passing records.
Miami joined the American Football
League (AFL) when an expansion team franchise was awarded
to lawyer Joseph Robbie and actor Danny Thomas in 1965.
the Dolphins began play in 1966, and after four consecutive
losing seasons, Don Shula replaced George Wilson as head
coach. Miami joined the NFL in 1970 when the NFL and AFL
completed their merger.
the 1970s
the Dolphins were a successful team
during the early 1970s, capturing the AFC championship in
1971 behind quarterback Bob Griese and wide receiver Paul
Warfield. the AFC Divisional Playoff Game, in which the
Dolphins defeated the Kansas City Chiefs, was the longest
contest in NFL history (82 minutes 40 seconds). In Super
Bowl VI, however, Miami lost to the Dallas Cowboys 24-3.
In 1972 the Dolphins accomplished
an amazing feat, becoming the first NFL team to finish a
season undefeated (the 1948 Cleveland Browns had accomplished
the feat, but as members of the All-America Football Conference).
(This is sometimes called the "Perfect Season".) Miami went
on to win two playoff games and then Super Bowl VII, defeating
the Washington Redskins 14-7. During this season, Griese
and veteran quarterback Earl Morrall shared the passing
duties, and running backs Larry Csonka and Mercury Morris
became the first teammates to rush for more than 1,000 yards
each. the offensive line included future Hall of Fame members
Jim Langer and Larry Little. the 1972 Dolphins defensive
unit, called the No-Name Defense because Miami's impressive
offense received much more publicity, was the league's best
that year. It was led by linebacker Nick Buoniconti, end
Bill Stanfill, and safeties Dick Anderson and Jake Scott.
The Dolphins won 12 games during the
1973 season and repeated as Super Bowl VIII champions, routing
the Minnesota Vikings 24-7. Miami reached the playoffs again
in 1974 but lost in the first round to the Oakland Raiders.
After the disappointing defeat, several players, including
Csonka, Warfield, and running back Jim Kiick, joined the
short-lived World Football League. the Dolphins managed
to win ten games in 1975, aided by Griese's consistency
and the fine play of wide receiver Nat Moore. they did not
make the playoffs however, losing on a tiebreaker to the
Baltimore Colts.
Miami rebounded from a losing record
in 1976 by winning ten or more games in four of the next
five seasons. Shula built a solid defense around a new set
of stars, including linebacker A. J. Duhe and linemen Bob
Baumhower and Doug Betters. the Dolphins went 10-4 again
in 1977, but again lost the division title (and playoff
spot) to the Colts. they made the playoffs as a wild card
in 1978, but lost in the first round to the Houston Oilers.
Csonka returned to the Dolphins in
time for the 1979 season. After winning the division with
a 10-6 record, the Dolphins lost the divisional playoff
to the eventual champion Pittsburgh Steelers.
the 1980s
In 1980 the late David Woodley took
over at quarterback and Griese retired after the season.
the Dolphins finished 8-8 and out of the playoffs.
the Dolphins were back on top of the
AFC East in the 1981 season, with an 11-4-1 record. they
reached the divisional playoff against the San Diego Chargers,
regarded by some as one of the most memorable games in NFL
history. After being down 24-0, Miami tied it at 24. After
taking the lead, San Diego tied it up 38-38 late. Chargers
tight end Kellen Winslow, under exhaustion, blocked Uwe
von Schummann's field goal try on the last play of regulation,
and Rolf Benirschke kicked the game-winner for San Diego
in overtime.
In the strike-shortened season of
1982, the Dolphins, led by the "Killer B's" defense (Baumhower,
Bill Barnett, Lyle Blackwood, Kim Bokamper and Bob Brudzinski),
held five of their nine opponents to 14 or fewer points
en route to their fourth Super Bowl appearance. During the
first two rounds of the playoffs they got revenge for previous
losses. Late in the season in a snowy game against the New
England Patriots, a convicted felon on work release cleared
a path for Patriots kicker John Smith to score the game-winning
field goal. In the first round in Miami, they met again,
with the Dolphins winning easily. In the second round against
San Diego the Dolphins got revenge for their loss the previous
year, winning even more handily. After shutting out the
New York Jets in the AFC championship, they lost Super Bowl
XVII to Washington 27-17. Ironically after enjoying success
rooted in a defense-first philosophy, and employing a ball
control offense to take pressure off of lacklustre quarterbacks,
the next 17 seasons would be marked by an average rushing
game and defense that limited a great quarterback.
During the third game of the 1983
season, Shula replaced quarterback David Woodley with rookie
Dan Marino, who went on to win the AFC passing championship
and rookie of the year award. During the mid-1980s Marino
produced the most impressive set of passing statistics in
NFL history, setting single-season records for most yards
(5,084), touchdown passes (48), and completions (362) during
the 1984 season. Seldom sacked by defenders, Marino was
protected by an outstanding offensive line as he passed
to receivers such as Mark Clayton and Mark Duper. Despite
the regular season success (the Dolphins went 12-4, the
only team in the AFC East with a winning record), they were
upset in the divisional playoff by the Seattle Seahawks.
Defensive End Doug Betters was the Defensive Player of the
Year.
In 1984, the Dolphins won their first
11 games en route to a 14-2 season. Marino, in his first
full season, was voted MVP as he threw for over 5000 yards
and 48 touchdowns. Miami beat the Seahawks and Steelers
in the playoffs to get to Super Bowl XIX. In the title game,
however, Miami lost to the San Francisco 49ers 38-16. It
would be Marino's only Super Bowl appearance.
In 1985 Miami went 12-4 and was the
only team that beat the Chicago Bears all year. After beating
the Cleveland Browns in the divisional playoffs, many people
were looking forward to a rematch with Chicago in Super
Bowl XX. the Cinderella New England Patriots, the Dolphins'
opponents in the AFC Championship, had different plans.
New England forced 6 turnovers on the way to a 31-14 win
- the Patriots' first in Miami since 1969.
In 1986 the Dolphins, hampered by
defensive struggles, stumbled to 8-8, out of the playoff
picture. the problems continued in 1987, with an 8-7 record
in a strike-shortened year; their first at new Joe Robbie
Stadium. Miami had their first losing season in years in
1988, and were back to 8-8 in 1989.
the 1990s
By 1990 the Dolphins had finally shaped
up on defense, and finished with a 11-5 record, second in
the AFC East. they beat the Kansas City Chiefs in the wild
card round, but lost to the Buffalo Bills in the divisional
playoff. the team struggled with defensive injuries in 1991,
and narrowly missed the playoffs on an overtime loss to
the New York Jets the final week of the season.
the Dolphins finished 11-5 in 1992,
capturing the AFC East title in Mark Higgs' best season
as a running back and Keith Jackson (newly acquired from
the Philadelphia Eagles) leading the team in receiving.
they beat the Chargers in the divisional playoff, but were
stunned by the Buffalo Bills in the AFC Championship.
1993 turned into a disastrous year
for the Dolphins. Both Marino and backup Scott Mitchell
suffered season-ending injuries, and Miami lost its final
5 games to miss the playoffs at 9-7. With Marino back for
the 1994 season they won the AFC East again with a 10-6
record. After beating the Kansas City Chiefs in the wild
card round, they suffered a heart-breaking last-second loss
to the San Diego Chargers in the divisional playoff.
In 1995 Marino broke the career passing
records formerly held by Fran Tarkenton for yards (48,841),
touchdowns (352), and completions (3,913). the Dolphins
finished 9-7, second in the AFC East, but still made the
playoffs as a wild card; losing to Buffalo in the first
round. Following the 1995 season Don Shula became an executive
in the Dolphins' front office. Jimmy Johnson, who had won
a collegiate national championship at the University of
Miami and two Super Bowls with the Dallas Cowboys, was named
as Shula's replacement.
In 1996 Miami finished 8-8 and out
of the playoffs, with rookie Karim Abdul-Jabbar's 1000-yard
rushing season one of the lone bright spots. In 1997 Miami
stumbled late and backed into the playoffs with a 9-7 season,
losing to the New England Patriots in the wild card round.
Miami had a solid 10-6 season in 1998
with a career season for receiver O.J. McDuffie, but it
was not enough to get past the New York Jets into first
place in the division. the Dolphins beat the Bills in the
wild card round, but lost to the eventual champion Denver
Broncos (who lost only one of two games that season to Miami)
in the divisional playoff.
In 1999 Marino would be injured in
a game where backup Damon Huard led a comeback. In Marino's
first game back, he would have the worst game of his career,
on Thanksgiving in Dallas, throwing 5 interceptions and
having a passer rating of 0.0. Miami went 2-6 in their last
eight games, but still backed into the playoffs at 9-7.
After a close win over Seattle in the wild card round, they
suffered one the worst playoff losses in NFL history against
the Jacksonville Jaguars: 62-7. After the season, Jimmy
Johnson left the team and Marino retired.
the 2000s
2000–2001
Zach Thomas contributed
heavily to the Dolphins 00' and 01' playoff runs.Before
the 2000 season, Dave Wannstedt, formerly of the Chicago
Bears, became the new coach, and ex-Jacksonville Jaguars
backup Jay Fiedler became the new quarterback, even though
former Marino backup Damon Huard had been considered the
favorite. Despite lowered expectations, the defense broke
through with Jason Taylor and Trace Armstrong each getting
10 sacks, and four players (Sam Madison, Brian Walker, Brock
Marion and Patrick Surtain) tallying at least five interceptions.
All-pro linebacker Zach Thomas also contributed many tackles.
In addition, Lamar Smith rushed for 1,139 yards, and Miami
finished atop the AFC East with an 11–5 record. In the first
round of the playoffs, Miami took the Indianapolis Colts
to overtime and won on a Lamar Smith touchdown run. Smith
finished with 209 yards on 40 carries, but in the next round,
the Dolphins were shut out by the Oakland Raiders, and a
worn-out Smith was barely able to run.
The 2001 offseason
brought in rookie Chris Chambers at wide receiver, but Trace
Armstrong left, as did two offensive linemen, Richmond Webb,
a Pro Bowl anchor since 1990, and Kevin Donnalley. During
the 2001 season, the Dolphins relied on a strong defense
to finish 11–5, earning a Wild Card spot and finishing second
in the AFC East behind the eventual Super Bowl champions,
the New England Patriots. The Dolphins lost in the first
round of the playoffs 20–3 to the Baltimore Ravens.
2002
Ricky Williams during a Pro Bowl
stint Miami revitalized its running game in time for the
2002 season by trading for New Orleans Saints running back
Ricky Williams. In addition, rookie tight end Randy McMichael
made his presence felt. The Dolphins, behind a new offensive
scheme under freshly hired offensive coordinator Norv Turner,
and a power running game led by Williams, quickly rushed
out to a 5–1 start, including an incredible last minute
comeback by Fiedler against the Broncos. However, Fiedler
injured his thumb and would be out for an extended period
of time. This intrigued some Dolphins fans, who believed
backup Ray Lucas could outdo the much-maligned Fiedler.
However, Lucas was abysmal in his first two games and merely
average in his third, and the team dropped three straight.
Miami rebounded with wins over Baltimore and an impressive
thumping of San Diego, but lost to Buffalo. Still, Miami
pulled off an impressive win over the Oakland Raiders and
sat at 9–5 with two weeks left in the season, in prime position
to steal the AFC East. However, despite dominating the New
England Patriots for most of the game in Week 17, the Dolphins
blew an 11-point lead late in the fourth quarter of a devastating
loss. Due to a tiebreaker, both the Dolphins and Patriots
lost out on the playoffs as the Jets took the AFC East title.
Many fans called for Wannstedt's firing, but he was kept
on for the 2003 season. Despite it all, the team believed
it had plenty to look forward to, as Ricky Williams broke
Dolphins records with 1,853 rushing yards and 16 touchdowns
on the ground.
2003
The 2003 Miami
Dolphins were a hard team to pinpoint. The defense was again
solid and forced a lot of turnovers, and opposing offenses
found running the ball extremely difficult. However, poor
offensive line play (despite most of the starters returning)
gave little room for Ricky to run, and the offense was stagnant.
The Dolphins began with a repeat of 2002's season end, with
a complete meltdown against the Houston Texans, but they
rebounded to win four straight games. During a crushing
overtime loss at the hands of the Patriots, Jay Fiedler
was injured, forcing newly acquired backup Brian Griese
to lead the Dolphins to victory the next week over San Diego.
That, however, was Griese's high point, and after a good
showing against Indianapolis in a losing effort, he was
lousy against the Titans and highly ineffective against
the Ravens. When Griese and the Dolphins fell behind to
the Washington Redskins, Jay Fiedler came off the bench
and saved their season, leading them to a comeback victory,
24–23. Miami looked like it might rebound thanks to a victory
over the Dallas Cowboys that took them to 8–4, but two key
losses to the Patriots and the Eagles ended Miami's postseason
hopes. Miami finished 10–6.
2004
The 2004 offseason was disastrous for the Dolphins.
Tight end Randy McMichael was arrested for domestic violence
and wide receiver David Boston (signed from San Diego) suffered
an injury in training camp and missed the entire season
(Boston also failed a drug test for steroids later in the
season). But the biggest shock came when Ricky Williams
retired for then-unspecified reasons, until it was eventually
revealed that a) Williams had recently suffered his third
strike under the NFL's substance abuse policy, and b) to
a lesser degree felt he was unnecessarily overused by Wannstedt.
Many experts predicted a disastrous season for the Dolphins.
These predictions proved right as Miami dropped their first
six games of the 2004 season, marking the worst start in
franchise history at the time. After the team fell to 1–8,
Wannstedt resigned on November 9, 2004. He was replaced
on an interim basis by defensive coordinator Jim Bates.
The Dolphins fared slightly better under Bates, winning
three of their final seven games, including a 29–28 upset
victory over the defending champion Patriots on December
20 in a nationally televised Monday Night Football contest.
Despite this, the Dolphins decided not to hire Bates for
the permanent coaching position.
2005–2006
After a 4-12 season, the Dolphins selected running back
Ronnie Brown with their first pick.Instead of retaining
Jim Bates, the Dolphins hired LSU coach Nick Saban. With
the second pick the 2005 NFL Draft, Nick Saban elected to
go with Auburn running back Ronnie Brown. And with that,
the Nick Saban era kicked off with a 34–10 win against the
Denver Broncos. From there, however, the Dolphins struggled,
losing seven of their next nine games to fall to 3–7. The
two wins came over the Carolina Panthers and the New Orleans
Saints, a game that took place in Tiger Stadium due to Hurricane
Katrina. After a frustrating two months, however, the Dolphins
would rally late in the season, as they won their final
six games, including a win to end the season over the New
England Patriots. The team finished the year 9–7, and narrowly
missed the playoffs.
In Saban's second season, the
Dolphins were expected to contend for a playoff spot. The
season, however, turned out to be a major disappointment.
Quarterback Daunte Culpepper never recovered from his devastating
knee injury from the previous season, and was ultimately
benched after the fourth game of the season and eventually
put on Injured Reserve. After starting the season 1–6, they
won four straight games, back in the playoff hunt at 5–6,
but a few losses later ended their playoff hopes. This was
Saban's first and last losing season as a head coach of
the Miami Dolphins.
On January 3, 2007, Saban announced
that he had accepted a contract for eight years and a guaranteed
$32 million to coach at the University of Alabama. Saban
left despite making several public statements in the preceding
weeks assuring fans and owner Wayne Huizenga that he would
be staying on as coach of the Dolphins. Cam Cameron, previously
the offensive coordinator for the San Diego Chargers, was
then introduced as the new head coach of the Dolphins.
2007
The Dolphins began their season
with Trent Green as their starting quarterback but after
four games, Green was put on the injured reserve. For the
rest of the way, the Dolphins went with Cleo Lemon and rookie
John Beck as their quarterbacks. The Dolphins also suffered
another setback with then NFL leading rusher Ronnie Brown
went down for the season with a knee injury.
Midway
through the 2007 season, the NFL scheduled the Dolphins'
home game against the New York Giants to be played in London's
Wembley Stadium; this was the NFL's first regular-season
game to be played outside of North America. The Giants defeated
the Dolphins, 13-10. Shortly afterwards, one of Miami's
top wide receivers Chris Chambers, who was acquired in 2001,
was traded to the San Diego Chargers. On December 16, the
Dolphins ended a 16 game losing streak by defeating the
Baltimore Ravens at home 22–16 in overtime on a 64 yard
touchdown from Cleo Lemon to Greg Camarillo, making the
wideout an instant cult hero with the fans. Despite the
win over the Ravens, the team would lose its next two games
to finish an NFL worst 1–15, which tied the then NFL record
for most losses in a season with 15, a record shared by
7 other teams, according to Steve Hirdt of the Elias Sports
Bureau. The record for most losses has since been held by
the 2008 Detroit Lions with an 0-16 record.
2008
Late in the 2007 season, two-time Super Bowl winning
coach Bill Parcells was named Executive Vice President of
the Dolphins football operations. Shortly after the season
finale, Parcells fired general manager Randy Mueller and
on January 3, 2008, head coach Cam Cameron was fired along
with almost all of his staff. That same offseason, the Dolphins
also parted ways with two Pro Bowlers and long-time Dolphins,
releasing linebacker Zach Thomas (who later signed with
the Dallas Cowboys) and trading defensive end Jason Taylor
to the Washington Redskins for a second round draft pick.
Parcells then proceeded to hire Tony Sparano, who was
previously an assistant under Parcells during his days as
the head coach of the Dallas Cowboys. The Dolphins ultimately
took Jake Long, star offensive lineman out of the University
of Michigan with the first pick of the 2008 draft and drafted
quarterback (Chad Henne) with their second round pick for
a second consecutive year. After the New York Jets traded
for Brett Favre and released quarterback Chad Pennington
the same day, the Dolphins quickly signed Pennington, who
was a former Parcells draft pick.
Going into their
bye week (week 4), the only Dolphins victory was over the
New England Patriots in week 3. Their next game was against
the San Diego Chargers on October 5, 2008 in which the Dolphins
prevailed 17–10 and earned a .500 record 2–2; however, the
two wins were against the two teams that contested the 2007–08
AFC Championship game. The implementation of the "Wildcat"
offense or single-wing offense was covered heavily by the
media, despite the package being used sparingly during their
two upset victories vs. the Patriots and Chargers.
Early on, Miami suffered the narrowest of defeats when
they lost 29-28 to the Houston Texans. The team, however,
would bounce back with four consecutive victories over the
Buffalo Bills, Denver Broncos, Seattle Seahawks, and Oakland
Raiders. After a crushing twenty point loss to New England,
the Dolphins fell to third in the AFC East division. Again
Miami rebounded to win their next four games, against the
(St. Louis Rams, Bills in Toronto, 49ers, and Chiefs). This
brought their record to 10-5 and let them control their
destiny against the New York Jets in the regular season
finale.
Pennington, the former Jet, outdueled future
Hall of Famer Brett Favre to lead the Dolphins to victory
24-17 to win the AFC East past the New England Patriots.
A year after going 1–15, the Dolphins completed a remarkable
turnaround under first-year coach Tony Sparano, joining
the 1999 Indianapolis Colts as the only teams in NFL history
to make 10-win improvements. Miami, which ended the regular
season by winning five straight and nine of 10, made the
playoffs for the first time in seven seasons. It was the
Dolphins' first AFC East title since 2000. However, the
Dolphins lost in the first round of the playoffs to the
Baltimore Ravens 27–9.
2009
On March
25, 2009 it was reported by ESPN reporter Chris Mortensen
that the Dolphins intend to have Chad Henne be the starting
quarterback by the 2010 season. Leaving current starting
quarterback, Chad Pennington's future with the team in doubt
after the 2009 season. Henne will receive at least 12 quarters
of play in the 2009 preseason to prepare him for the 2010
season.
|