Pope: Uptight Warfield finally gets loose in ’72 Dolphins’ playoff victory against Browns
Even slithering into the American Football Conference finals, the Dolphin offense Sunday looked like a centipede that couldn’t decide which feet to move forward first.
And the irony remains that this club which busted the all-time National Football League rushing record basically continues to win on defense.
Paul Warfield faced those corollary facts after the main fact of Miami’s 20-14 playoff victory over Cleveland. He didn’t duck any conclusions.
“We must play better than we’ve played lately if we’re going to beat Pittsburgh for the conference championship,” he said.
Maybe, he suggested, the Dolphins were “too tight” against the Browns.
How can a club be “too tight” after a historic 14-O regular season and going in as heavy favorites over the Browns? “Too loose” would seem a more logical explanation. Or “too complacent.”
“No, not for me anyway,” Warfield said, although he was one of the few large contributors on offense. He provided the game-busters on two important pass-receptions and an interference penalty.
“This is a relaxed team,” Warfield explained. He’s ordinarily a relaxed guy too. “But we were all so anxious to get past this first obstacle. After all, you can’t get to the Super Bowl if you don’t win your first playoff. I think we were too cautious.”
Warfield admittedly was “nervous and emotional” about this one. “I was playing against the team that traded me here in 1970. I live in Cleveland during the offseason. I have to answer a lot of questions — face a lot of ridicule when we lose. And remember we were playing against the team that wiped us out 28-0 in 1970.
“That’s what I mean up too tight.”
I thought Coach Don Shula committed himself to an overly dangerous degree on an Earl-Morrall-orelse policy when he refused to warm up Bob Griese even when Earl Morrall was floundering the first half.
But Shula’s golden touch did in the Browns after all when Morrall and Warfield delivered the death chops after the defense had stood off the Browns most of the day,
They punched out 60 of the 80 yards the Dolphins needed on the money drive.
Warfield, who had run for 50 yards on two end around plays earlier, got the Dolphins off winging on a 15-yard catch up to his 35. Then when the unbeatens — behind 14-13 and looking perilously close to beaten — reached the Miami 45, Morrall under pressure looped one long for Warfield.
“Ben Davis and I were playing bump and run for 10 yards downfield, with me trying to get inside,” Warfield said. “When I finally got free, the ball was over my head. I got a hand on it, then had to turn all the way around with it to hold it, juggling a bit.”
Two plays later, officials flagged linebacker Bill Andrews for zapping Warfield during his pattern. Warfield said he was hit from behind “and it was a good call. You can’t use your hands against a receiver from behind at any time.”
The ball was placed at the 8 and Jim Kiick barged in to validate the Dolphins’ tickets to Pittsburgh.
Cleveland’s Mike Phipps completed only nine of 23 passes for 131 yards and a touchdown. Thus were evoked the inevitable references to Miami’s surrender of a draft choice to Cleveland (which the Browns used for Phipps) in return for superstar Warfield
“Too much is made of that trade,” Warfield said with what for him is considerable heat. “It’s unfair for Phipps to have to play with the burden of people always saying the Browns did the wrong thing. He’s a fine young quarterback. I just wish that talk would die down.”
It won’t die today, he was assured.
“Ah,” Warfield sighed, “maybe I’m just an idealist.”
The idealist was a realist coming into Sunday’s game though. Just the day before, Warfield had watched on TV as Pittsburgh stunned Oakland on a freak play and Dallas came back to tag San Francisco
“It occurred to me very definitely that the mysterious things that happened to Oakland and San Francisco also could happen to us. That’s the kind of thing that happens in a playoff.
“And I knew when we got that 10-point lead, it wouldn’t be enough. After nine years in the pros, you realize 10 points is no lead at all.”
Warfield was wary as well of Cleveland’s soft-soap approach.
“They came in trying to lull us to sleep, saying they were just happy to be here, all that. Well, back in 1964, when I was with the Browns and we played Baltimore for the world championship, we were in the same position as the Browns were today.
“All we heard all week was how great the Colts were. And we laid it on them 27-0.
“You’ve got to be leery of teams that low-rate themselves. The Colts found it against the Browns in ‘64. And it almost killed us today.”
One wondered just how the Dolphins who barely bumped Cleveland would do against the Pittsburgh team that murdered the Browns 30-0 in one game, although Cleveland sneaked out with a 26-24 triumph in their earlier meeting?
“Pittsburgh has a heck of a defense, but our offense will be better next week,” Warfield promised.
It had better be.