Pope: ’72 Dolphins on a run as team clinches playoff berth, moves to 10-0 behind Morrall
The Earl of Miami becomes The Fisherman of Naples today. Royalty on a vacation, sort of.
He’ll have a throne — a chair on a boat in Florida West Coast waters. This Earl definitely won’t be running.
Earl Morrall got enough of that Sunday in the Orange Bowl as the Dolphins made it 10 down and seven to go, counting postseason.
The Jets got enough of it, too. They couldn’t believe it when the 38-year-old quarterback busted a 31-yard touchdown run that put the Dolphins ahead, 21-17, in their ultimate 28-24 rouser over New York, guaranteeing themselves the American Football Conference East Division championship and a playoff opportunity.
Morrall was more surprised than the Jets.
“Shades of Little League,” he grinned. “It’s been .. Wow, I don’t know how long . . . since I made a run like that. For sure not in the pros, for a touchdown.”
Maybe back in college, about 1925 or so, for Michigan State?
“Whoa, don’t make me that old. But you know, I think I did run about 25 yards for Detroit against Minnesota about 10 years ago.
“Was this run planned? Are you kidding? They don’t plan runs for me. I’m a 10-second man for the 40-yard dash. I’m so slow the coaches are embarrassed to tell me my time.”
Morrall’s third-quarter ground-bomb was supposed to be a pass to either Howard Twilley or Jim Mandich. “Mandich was open,” he said, “but Steve Tannen was guarding Twilley, and I was afraid Tannen still might be able to get back over to Mandich if I threw it to him.”
Morrall ducked Jets right end Mark Lomas “and took off for the sticks.” He needed only a little more than seven yards for a first down. But when Jets cornerback Rick Wise stumbled as Morrall neared the sideline, “I had a surge of energy. Believe me, I was giving myself a pep talk all the way.”
Jets cornerback Earlie Thomas got a hand on Morrall’s right foot “but I knew by then I was going on in.”
That was more than Mercury Morris knew. “I was shocked,” Morris said. “I was blocking on the play. I saw Earl take off and I said, ‘Oh no, we don’t want anybody messing him up, hurting him.’
“That run must have taken 35 or 40 seconds. I felt like I was watching it forever. The greatest was the sideline move Earl put on Wise. I’ve got to study that move and use it myself.”
Morrall was quarterbacking his sixth straight victory since Bob Griese was hurt in the fifth game.
His confrontation with Broadway Joe Namath gave him no special pleasure, although Broadway Joe publicly put him down before the Jets zapped Morrall’s Baltimore Colts, 16-7, in Super Bowl III.
“The happiness I got today was in helping to keep us going. It had nothing to do with Namath.”
However, there was coolness between the two when they met for the mock coin-toss after the Jets had won the real toss 30 minutes before kickoff.
“Our captains shook hands with theirs, including Namath, but he didn’t offer to shake my hand. He didn’t even look at me. So I didn’t offer, either. That’s just incidental, though. I don’t think of Namath. I think about their defense.”
Today, off Naples, all The Old Earl has to think about is fishing. Best of all, he can sit down while he’s doing it.