• Garber: The rise of Brady | Wojciechowski: Explaining Belichick
• Zoom Gallery: Check out the record-breaking Patriots
BILL SIMMONS: The Sports Guy
Bill's playoff awards
• Hardware for LT, Tiki
|
• Sports Guy's World
NFL Blog
Hashmarks with Matt Mosley
Brady makes clean break from last season
6/07/2008 2:36 ET
Podcasts
- Tirico & Van Pelt Download | Subscribe | iTunes
- The Herd with Colin Cowherd
- The Herd with Colin Cowherd
-
PodCenter | Radio | Listen Live
1972 DOLPHINS-2007 PATRIOTS ZOOM GALLERIES
Dolphins vs. Patriots | New England's season
Compare the teams and relive the Patriots' season in pictures. The '72 Dolphins had six future Hall of Fame players (Nick Buoniconti, Bob Griese, Larry Little, Paul Warfield, Larry Csonka, Jim Langer) and a Hall of Fame coach (Don Shula). QB Tom Brady and coach Bill Belichick appear to be HOF locks from the Patriots.
DOLPHINS-PATRIOTS COMPARISONS
| Category | '72 Dolphins | '07 Patriots |
| Opponents' record | 70-108-4 | 120-136 |
| Record vs. winning teams | 2-0 | 7-0 |
| Points scored/allowed | 385/171 | 589/274 |
| Passing yards/TDs | 2,235/17 | 4,731/50 |
| Rushing yards/TDs | 2,960/26 | 1,849/17 |
| Offensive ranking | 1 | 1 |
| Defensive ranking | 1 | 4 |
| Patriots stats are for 16 regular-season games | ||
THE PERFECT SEASONS
With their Week 17 win over the Giants, the Patriots became the first team since the '72 Dolphins to go undefeated in the regular season. A breakdown of their perfect seasons:
| 1972 Dolphins | Game | 2007 Patriots |
| Dolphins 20, Chiefs 10 | 1 | Patriots 38, Jets 14 |
| Dolphins 34, Oilers 13 | 2 | Patriots 38, Chargers 14 |
| Dolphins 16, Vikings 14 | 3 | Patriots 38, Bills 7 |
| Dolphins 27, Jets 17 | 4 | Patriots 34, Bengals 13 |
| Dolphins 24, Chargers 10 | 5 | Patriots 34, Browns 17 |
| More … | ||
THE ROSTERS
| Pos. | 1972 Dolphins* | Pos. | 2007 Patriots** |
| Offense | |||
| QB | Bob Griese | QB | Tom Brady |
| RB | Larry Csonka | RB | Laurence Maroney |
| RB | Jim Kiick | ||
| Defense | |||
| DT | Bob Heinz | NT | Vince Wilfork |
| DT | Manny Fernandez | DE | Ty Warren |
| DE | Bill Stanfill | DE | Richard Seymour |
| *-Super Bowl VII lineup | **-Team depth chart | ||
| More … | |||
HEADLINES
- Ultimate Standings '09: Team rankings
- Patriots' Bruschi unsure of future beyond 2009
- Veteran corner Bryant to retire after 10 seasons
- Pats release RB Pass one week after signing
- Wilfork back with Pats for mandatory minicamp
- Pio Sagapolutele, ex-NFL lineman, dies at 39
- Pasquarelli: Harrison a Canton candidate?
- Holdout DL Wilfork appears at Pats golf tourney
- Pats' Brady tees it up in break before minicamp
- 2009 NFL training camp dates
Featured Comment
Any true fan of the game has to feel just a bit disappointed having missed out on a chance to witness history.
INSIDE NFL
Is there a great divide between the Chargers' offense and the rest of the AFC West's?
