We have completed only five weeks of the regular season and already the 1972 Miami Dolphins can drink champagne to celebrate being the only undefeated team to win a Super Bowl in National Football League history.
The Dolphins of the early 1970’s were a perfect blend of an efficient offense and suffocating defense. They didn’t do it with one unbelievable star attracting all the attention, but rather a team concept led by head coach Don Shula that left opponents out-played, out-witted and out-scored.
Quarterback Bob Griese was efficient and good, not unlike the role Bart Starr served while leading the Green Bay Packers to excellence a decade earlier. The offense had Larry Csonka to gain the tough yards inside, and Mercury Morris to skirt the outside for big gains. The receiving corps included one of the most beautiful athletes to ever watch, wide receiver Paul Warfield.
Then there was Miami’s defense. It didn’t have a sack leader or significantly better linebacker or defensive back. No, this stop unit was orchestrated by defensive coordinator Bill Arnsparger to work in perfect harmony to complement each other's skills. They became, appropriately, known as the “No Name Defense.”
This blend of talent and coaching guided the 1972 Dolphins to a perfect record despite starting quarterback Bob Griese being injured in the fifth week of the season and relieved by backup Earl Morrall until late in the perfect run. After beating the Cleveland Browns to open their postseason, they went into Pittsburgh, this was before home field advantage was determined by regular season records, and downed the Steelers the week after Franco Harris had eliminated the Raiders with the Immaculate Reception.
They were underdogs in the Super Bowl to the Washington Redskins, and the only points scored against them was on an ill-advised pass from kicker Garo Yepremian. The Dolphins completed their perfect season with a 14-7 triumph in Super Bowl VII.