My Beloved Miami Dolphins: From the Perspective of a Lifelong Fan

By Romain DuFour III

My Beloved Miami Dolphins (From the Perspective of a Lifelong Fan) is a book that highlights the rich history of the NFL's only undefeated team in the modern Super Bowl era. It is told from the perspective of lifelong Dolfan, Romain U. DuFour, III whom has support

• Language: English
• Publisher: ReadersMagnet LLC
• Release date: May 2, 2024
• ISBN: 9798890915467

Romain DuFour III

Romain U. DuFour, III is known locally as an educator, for his great support of the NFL's Miami Dolphins football team. He is a die-hard and historical enthusiast of the professional football team that hails from Southeastern Florida. Dufour, III is an author of six literary titles that captures a broad range of subject matter. He credits his Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, for granting him the knowledge of the various subject matter, he has been fortunate to share with his readers.

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My Beloved Miami Dolphins: From the Perspective of a Lifelong Fan

Copyright © 2024 by Romain DuFour lll

Published in the United States of America

ISBN Paperback: 979-8-89091-545-0

ISBN eBook: 979-8-89091-546-7

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any way by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording or otherwise without the prior permission of the author except as provided by USA copyright law.

The opinions expressed by the author are not necessarily those of ReadersMagnet, LLC.

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Cover design by Jhie Oraiz

Interior design by Dorothy Lee

Table of Contents

Chapter 1 The Year of 1984

Chapter 2 The Consistent Years

Chapter 3 The Shula Effect

Chapter 4 Heartbreaking Losses

Chapter 5 The Search to Replace Dan Marino

Chapter 6 The Lost Years

Chapter 7 The Bridesmaids of the A.F.C. East

Chapter 8 Dolphins New Era

Chapter 9 The Dolphins should have motivation to win

Chapter 10 Are the Days of Glory Ahead?

Chapter 11 Memorable Wins

Chapter 1

The Year of 1984

My love affair with the Miami Dolphins commenced in 1984. I was a ten- year old kid in the sixth grade. On opening day of the 1984 NFL regular season, the Miami Dolphins game against the Washington Redskins set the tone for a season of fun and excitement. The black and white twenty inch RCA television that I had during that time, prominently showed the long touchdown pass from the second year quarterback, Dan Marino to wide receiver, Mark Duper. At that very instant, my life-long love of the Miami Dolphins commenced. There was a young, handsome, curly-haired quarterback who looked similar to the actor, David Hasselhoff, who played on hit the television show, during that time, called , Knight Rider.

Marino’s long flowing locks would flow effortlessly in the back of his helmet when he threw a touchdown pass to his speedy wide-receiver core. Each football game during that 1984 season for the Miami Dolphins featured a plethora of offensive excitement. In the former Orange Bowl Stadium in Miami, Florida, I can vividly recall the tall palm trees that were in back of the scoreboard, which would blow from side to side each time there was a South Florida breeze.

Though, there were twenty-seven other teams that played in the National Football League during that time, no other team captured the fun and excitement of football like the Marino lead, Dolphins. I did not know much about football in the genesis of the 1984 season, but at the end of it, my football knowledge would drastically increase, due to the Dolphins’ offensive power. The catalyst to the Dolphins offense was none other than, Dan Marino.

Each offensive play commences with the quarterback, and Marino’s talent shined as brightly as the Florida sun. Coming out of the University of Pittsburgh in 1983, Marino displayed his talent throughout his entire college career, but in his senior year, he and his college team did not have the year that they anticipated and hoped for. Although, Marino was deemed talented by the consensus of coaches and talent scouts in the N.F.L., he was the last quarterback taken in the first-round of the 1983 draft.

The Miami Dolphins did not know that the quarterback who slid down to them in the 1983 draft would have the type of year that he had in his second season. In 1984, Marino threw for a then record, 48 touchdowns and 5,084 passing yards, which stood for many years after his subsequent retirement at the end of the 1999 season. 1984, was the year of Dan Marino.

He won the award for Most Valuable Player during that year, and his influence in the Dolphins organization, as well as league wide, catapulted him into one of the young faces of the N.F.L. The Dolphins adapted their playing style from a run-oriented, balanced team to primarily a pass- oriented team. It was Dan Marino’s golden arm that would thrust the Dolphins’ organization into the national spotlight, and help the team to become one of the most exciting offenses in the National Football League.

Dan Marino could not enjoy being one of the most gifted quarterbacks in the 1984 season on his own. His receiving core during that time, which consisted of Mark Duper, Mark Clayton, Nat Moore, Jimmy Cefalo, Bruce Hardy, Joe Rose, and Dan Johnson provided the hands that received many of Marino’s strong-armed passes. The speedy receivers, Mark Duper and Mark Clayton were instrumental in the Dolphins’ offensive fire- power. Week after week during the 1984 season, the trio of Dan Marino, Mark Duper, and Mark Clayton were always on the highlight reels during that season. Both receivers, who stood at 5’9 inches became affectionately known as, the Marks Brothers. Duper and Clayton always had a friendly competition to become Marino’s leading receiving target.

I believe that due to this competitive drive for both men, the Dolphins’ receiving core became one of the elite receiving corps in the entire league in 1984. As a fan during that season, it was exciting to see two receivers who were considered diminutive by professional football standards thrive and succeed. I can recall thinking as a child that the Marks Brothers gave many children around the nation hope that a small to average height individual can succeed in playing a big man’s game.

Though, the Marks Brothers, Duper and Clayton, were not the biggest individuals, both exhibited brute strength and toughness. They were not just speedy and fast, but they were also strong throughout their whole bodies. Mark Duper and Clayton had world-class speed, especially Duper, who ran track in his younger days.

Clayton, on the other hand, was deceptively blessed with the strength of a burly, offensive lineman. It was amazing to see an individual who was considered small by many in the National Football League prove that he belonged in spite of his stature. Once Duper and Clayton’s receiving talents became displayed throughout the 1984 season, they too, would enjoy national recognition.

Defenses could not stop Marino, Duper, and Clayton for almost the whole entire season of 1984. The Marks Brothers, with their special individual talents, became the example of how wide receivers who were less than 6’0 tall, could also enjoy success in the league, as much as their larger counterparts. Duper and Clayton were just as much responsible for the success of the Miami Dolphins during the 1984 campaign as quarterback, Dan Marino was.

As I reflect back on the 1984 season of the Miami Dolphins, it was a season filled with excitement and anticipation. I can recall how I could not wait to see the Dolphins play on Sundays during that particular year because they started out the season winning their first eleven games. There was a period during that season that I thought that the Dolphins could rival another Dolphins team, which were the unprecedented 1972 Dolphins. Personally, I did not know about the 72’ undefeated Dolphins before the 1984 season because ironically I was born in the following Super Bowl winning season of 1973. Also, I was just a young boy and a new fan of the National Football League. Marino and the Marks Brothers proved in the 1984 season that winning could become fun and infectious.

In the 1980s, offensive styles commence to change. Most teams in the decades prior to the decade of the 1980s relied upon a sound running game. Teams like the 1960s Green Bay Packers and Cleveland Browns won the majority of their games with that particular style.

For the Miami Dolphins, prior to the 1984 season, they were winning with a potent running attack. The Dolphins of the 1970s won primarily with the legs of Hall of Fame fullback, Larry Csonka, and halfbacks Mercury Morris, and Jim Kiick. When these players left the organization, after their playing days, the Dolphins transitioned into more of a balanced attack.

Legendary Hall of Fame and Super Bowl winning quarterback, Bob Griese played his entire career with the Miami Dolphins from 1967-1980. During the years that he played, he was not known for throwing bombs like his divisional rival, former New York Jet and Hall of Fame quarterback, Joe Namath. Though Griese enjoyed pass catchers, such as, Paul Warfield, the Dolphins prior to Marino’s arrival were not known for scoring 50- yard touchdowns through passing.

Their primary offensive attack was moving the chains and methodically advancing the ball downfield. Before the Marino era commenced in 1983, the Miami Dolphins were not known primarily for their offense. Good defense and a solid running game was the primary way that the Dolphins won the majority of their games in the 1970s and early 1980s.

Many of the Dolphin fans prior to Dan Marino’s arrival did not have any clue that the brand of football that they have grown to become accustomed to would dramatically change. Quarterbacks Don Strock and David Woodley were not known for throwing long touchdown passes. They managed to help the Dolphins get to Super Bowl XVII after the 1982 regular season.

Though Strock and Woodley were talented enough to manage the Dolphins passing attack, they did not have as much talent and arm ability as quarterback, Dan Marino. When the Dolphins fans of that era learned about the drafting of Marino, I do not know if they envisioned an offense that was bombs away. In a 1983 regular season loss against their AFC East, division rival, the Buffalo Bills, Marino displayed glimpses of what his sophomore season of 1984 would be like.

The Dolphins made the playoffs in 1983, but after Marino took the helm, 1984 was a season for the organization and fans, which would become one of the franchise’s most memorable seasons yet. Marino throwing long touchdown passes to Duper and Clayton became a normal sight and experience for fans. It also marked the beginning of the Dan Marino national phenomenon.

Some fans of professional football might not have been Dolphins fans, but after seeing the second year quarterback dominate the National Football League during that year with his long touchdown passes each week, his legend grew into superstardom. The comparisons to former New York Jets quarterback, Joe Namath, became more prevalent among fans and league officials because of Marino’s cannon of an arm. Touchdowns and bombs in the 1984 season eventually became synonymous with the Miami Dolphins franchise.

Offensive football became one of the contributing factors of why the National Football League grew in television audiences and attendance in the 1980s. Teams like the San Diego Chargers, now playing in Los Angeles, and the Miami Dolphins played a style of football that appealed to the average fan. There is not anything more exciting in watching a football game than seeing a quarterback launch a football 60-yards in the air to the waiting arms and hands of a wide receiver ready to catch the ball.

When I would watch the Dolphins games on television as a young lad in the 1984 season, I can still recall the stands in the Orange Bowl being packed with excited fans. The excited Dolphins fans were there to see Marino and the Marks Brothers score a plethora of points and offensive touchdowns threw the air. I learned that offense does bring fans into the stands, but defense is responsible for winning championships.

It is a beautiful sight to see offensive football at its best. In 1984, the Dolphins passing offense was tops in the National Football league that year. Previously, in 1983, the Dolphins offense could not boast that ranking.

Thanks to the trio of Marino, Duper, and Clayton, the Dolphins franchise enjoyed one of the best offensive passing ranks in franchise history. Mark Clayton set a then record for pass receiving touchdowns with 18. The 1984 season also marked the beginning of a prolific passing touchdown combination between Marino and Clayton. Although, the passing combination of Marino to Clayton was lethal to opposing defenses, the combination of Marino to Duper was also dominant.

With the emergence of Dan Marino, Mark Duper and Mark Clayton on the Miami Dolphins offensive side of the ball, all of them became household names not only in the local Miami-Dade County and Broward area, but in 1984, they all would be linked together during that season and also in the succession of years to come. As a Dolphins fan in the 1984 season, it seemed as though the offense of the Dolphins could score a passing touchdown at will. The offense during that season did not have to worry about getting first downs.

Scoring became second nature for the Dolphins in 1984. Now the running game was not featured prominently on offense because that unit had the three young stars in the passing attack. I can recall how during the 1984 campaign how Marino, Duper, and Clayton basically carried the whole team that year.

Because of the influence of these young stars, the Miami Dolphins became an attraction and a sensation throughout the once run-dominant league. The Dolphins demonstrated to the league, as well as fans nationwide that a team can become victorious and successful with a trio of passing talent. Though, the team finished with a 14-2 record, the team became the premier team in the A.F.C. (American Football Conference). What I gathered from the 1984 season is that the young passing trio of the Dolphins would be one to become reckoned with, due to their talent, heart, and passion.

Football can be a brutal game. It is a sport that does not welcome finesse. In the 1980s, the game of football was not played with the three yards and a cloud of dust mentality. With the rules change of 1978, which introduced what is commonly referred to as pass interference, offensive football would commence to change.

Before the 1978 rules change which favored defenses, football was a game that was played with the mentality that anything goes. For example, defensive backs and linebackers could jam the wide receivers at the line of scrimmage before the receivers were able to run their passing routes. When the wide receiver did get a chance to run down the field, the receiver could be hit and knocked down before the football had a chance to reach the pass catcher.

Teams like the Oakland Raiders and Pittsburgh Steelers benefited and thrived on that brand of football that was played in the 1970s that favored bone- crushing hits. If the average fan of the 1970s and previous decades, loved to see hard-hitters on defense deliver hard hits, like the Oakland Raiders’ defensive back Jack Tatum, or the Pittsburgh Steelers’ defensive nightmares, defensive back Mel Blount and linebacker Jack Lambert, hit wide receivers down the field and impede their routes, football in the 1980s was beginning to favor the quarterback and wide receiver tandems instead. After the rules change of 1978 became official, which was primarily due to Pittsburgh Steelers defensive back, Mel Blount’s dominance at the line of scrimmage against wide receivers who were not able to run routes, or catch a pass down field because of Blount’s intimidation and hard hitting persistence, pass interference was a rule that had to become implemented.

Teams that had a strong armed quarterback, such as, the Miami Dolphins with quarterback, Dan Marino, were now able to complete 50 yard passes down the field without becoming too concerned about whether or not the wide receiver’s routes would become impeded due to an overaggressive defensive player. In the 1984 season, alone, many teams who had a reliable quarterback and receiving tandem were flying high because of the defense not becoming able to impose their will on offenses. Do not mistake me. Football was still played aggressively on the defensive side of the ball with hard-hitting players, such as, the New York Giants, Hall of Fame linebacker, Lawrence Taylor and San Francisco 49ers Hall of Fame defensive back, Ronnie Lott, who also invoked fear into opposing offenses.

The Miami Dolphins offense for the majority of the 1984 season made football look easy and effortless. Fans during that season could not take a long snack break because Marino, Duper, and Clayton were too busy throwing and receiving touchdown passes, which could be scored anywhere on the field, quickly and immediately. During that magical regular season in 1984, as a young fan, I thought to myself that football is not so difficult to play and watch. Before the 1984 season, I was more interested in music and playing video games, but the 1984 Dolphins changed my perception of football with their effortless offensive play.

As a young Miami Dolphins fan, in the regular season of the 1984 campaign, I viewed the Dolphins as a dominant team, especially, in the A.F.C. (American Football Conference). During that year, the