NFL Channel just showed the ‘72 Dolphins’ perfect season and they started the show with the Super Bowl VI thumping the Cowboys handed them. (That’s the first Super Bowl I was cognizant of watching. My dad tells me I watched Super Bowl III but at 6 years old I don’t recall.)
The theme when the 71-72 season started was perfection. Like the Rams they only scored 3 points in SBVI, and Shula told them before the season started that they would go undefeated. Czonka stated he didn’t think Shula was serious at the time and was saying it for motivation. But the clear message was striving for perfection.
As the winning streak grew, they were telling themselves that they’d have to work even harder to stop obsessing on the streak so that they could focus on being perfect.
An interesting side note is the score the Redskins made on the blocked kick and the Yupremian “pass” with Mike Bass scoring the TD for the Skins, Shula wanted to attempt the field goal so that the Dolphins could finish the perfect 17-0 season with a 17-0 victory. Czonka wanted to go in the the touchdown.
It goes to show you don’t try to fluff up the game...you go for the victory. I think this was the mistake Kyle Shanahan made when the Falcons snatched defeat from the jaws of victory. He—and the near entire country—wanted to pour on the lead to humiliate the Patriots and so he kept passing, despite the running game getting 5 yards a crack in the 4th quarter.
Just win the damn game. Stop trying to write a fairy tale story, Peter Carroll, Kyle Shanahan et al.
Having said all that, it appears McVay is approaching this season in the same manner as Shula. Funny how he has a Shula on his staff.
