2007 Patriots vs. 1972 Dolphins: Who Would Win Batttle of the Undefeateds?

Rangy end Bill Stanfill. 6'6" end Vern Den Herder. Tackles Manny Fernandez and Bob Heinz. Fernandez was a great tackler in the mold of Lyle Alzado. The ends were tough to see over, much les pass over. The line was also young, quick, and pursued well. No superstar names, but great performers who stood up against the best during the playoff run.

Richard Seymour is the cream of the Pats' crop, and while Vince Wilfork is steady, Miami was more balanced.

LINEBACKERS: Edge: New England

The Patriots have the names, but the Dolphins were an innovative, mobile trio. Let's take the old guys first. Buoniconti, a Pro Bowl Patriot before Miami acquired him, was an all-time great in the middle. A bowling ball and a leader of an otherwise young and unheralded "D". Doug Swift of Amherst was a very good cover man on the outside, no Pro Bowler, but light on his feet. Bob Matheson, after whom the "53 Defense" was named, was a steady player.

These guys were no match for either Bruschi, Vrabel or Seau in their respective heydays. Yet none of the Patriots' crew is in their heyday. But athletic Adalius Thomas was added in the offseason, and he is but 30. Junior's 38, Bruschi's 34, the versatile Vrabel is 32. Their combined smarts, the availability of Roosevelt Colvin, and their overall talent, even with the longtooths, gives the Pats the upper hand.

SECONDARY: Edge: New England

Miami had great safeties: All-Pro's Jake Scott and Dick Anderson. Both had a nose for the football, and Scott, a Super Bowl MVP, was a vicious hitter. The corners—Tim Foley and Curtis Johnson—not so much. They were the weakest link on a team with a perfect record, unspectacular and nothing special at the NFL level. Neither was a big playmaker (the exact opposite of the safeties). Nickel man Lloyd Mumphord made his share of key plays, and was the best in the league at blocking FG's on special teams.

Asante Samuel, ballhawk Ellis Hobbs, James Sanders, and cagey Rodney Harrison get the nod. Not as good as the Ty Law, Lawyer Milloy group of several years ago, but they're not being compared to them.

SPECIAL TEAMS: Edge: Dolphins

Larry Seiple was a decent punter who was a threat to run. Garo Yepremian, his Super Bowl gaffe notwithstanding, had a long and stellar kicking career. Miami covered punts and kickoffs well, and the aforementioned Mumphord had knack at getting to field goal attempts from the end. The special units helped keep this team in games. Kick returners Hubert Ginn and Charlie Leigh were not breakaway threats, however.

On the Pats' side, Larry Izzo and Kelley Washington stand out on coverage, but the kicking game is nothing special.

We won't rate the coaches, since the game is won on the field—right, Joe Gibbs?—and neither Shula (in the late 1980s and early 1990s) nor Belichick (with the Browns) were proven to be geniuses when they lacked the horses. Given the way the various units match up, you may decide who would have triumphed had the teams met. Bear in mind today's linemen are much heavier, and that if the teams clashed more than once, the victories might have become evenly distributed, or nearly so.

In a dream, one-time contest, we'd have to favor the Patriots, what with Brady at the helm, the lack of cornerbacks who could cover Moss and the rest, the size advantage, and the fact that New England's success has been more prolonged than Miami's (as the Dolphins, while undefeated once, were coming off a 24-3 Super Bowl loss to Dallas the previous year, and in years subsequent to '72 fought tooth and nail with the Steelers and Raiders for AFC supremacy.

It is worth noting, however, that the '73 Dolphins went 15-2, and beat a very strong, future Hall of Famer laden Viking team 24-7 in Super Bowl VIII.

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