Previous entry: 
Next entry:
Shula on Patriots-Colts, Brady v. Manning, competitive balance
With the NFL’s two undefeated teams facing each other Sunday, you have to know that Don Shula, the league’s winningest and only coach to lead a team to a perfect season, is considering the possibility that another team might be … perfect. Shula recently weighed in on Patriots-Colts and other NFL issues.
On another team having a perfect season: “Someone asked me that the other day, they asked me what I thought was tougher going 16 and 0 or 0 and 16? And I said, there’s no question in my mind 16 and 0 is a lot tougher. When you go 0 and 16 you’re not a very good football team. To win them all, it’s only been done once. You’ve got to think 50 years before and 35 years after, it’s only been done one time that’s how tough it is. Losing them all? I don’t even want to think about that.”
On whether the Patriots or Colts will go undefeated: “They’ve got to play each other, we know one of them is going to lose there. The one that comes out of that a winner, I think has got a shot, New England they just looked so awesome, everything they do they look so much better than the competition. Brady is at the top of his game, [Patriots Coach Bill] Belichick, the whole deal, they look strong, but Peyton Manning is very good also. ... [The Colts] won the Super Bowl, so they beat [the Patriots] along the way.”
On whether he’s resigned that another team will go undefeated: “You have to think it’s certainly possible it could happen, to think about how tough it is to do. You only have to look at the history of before and after shows you how hard it is to do. Somewhere along the line somebody’s going to do it. This year, even whoever comes out of that game [Patriots-Colts]… they’ve still got to go to the playoffs. The other thing you have is if you clinch early and you go into the last part of your season, and you don’t need the games, are you going to play Peyton Manning or Tom Brady the whole ballgame, like you would if it were a regular season game that meant something? So if you take them out and give somebody else a chance a play, that’s really what you should do in order to get your team ready for the playoffs, so that’s a big decision to make, I think [Colts Coach Tony] Dungy had to make that decision a couple of years ago when they were 13-0. You’ve got to do what’s best for your team and you can’t play that somebody that should maybe rest a week or so."
Brady or Manning?: “Peyton Manning is unbelievable in what he does in the way that he manages the offense. Tom Brady is more of a drop back quarterback, throwing the football. I like to compare Peyton Manning to a combination of a [Bob] Griese and a [Dan] Marino, two Hall of Fame quarterbacks that were entirely different and Peyton manning seems to be a combination of those two. Brady is more of a Marino type of quarterback.”
On the Dolphins: "The Dolphins are just struggling right now. They’ve got a lot of questions to answer, a lot of rebuilding to do."
On competitive balance: “Everything in the league is set up for competitive balance. The weakest team gets the first draft pick, gets the first player available on waivers. It’s all designed, to help the weaker teams get strong and tougher to stay on top for that reason, because you get the worst draft pick if you win. You win the Super Bowl, you get the last pick in the draft in the first round. That’s been a great formula for the NFL, because every city thinks their team, if they’re not good this year, next year they have a chance to get back into the hunt.”
On a Super Bowl overseas: “I think that would be the last thing I would want to do or do, is to take a Super Bowl out of this country, put it in Europe or Asia or someplace like that. The fans here certainly have earned the right to have the Super Bowl in areas they’ve supported right from the beginning.”
Comments
Don should concentrate on his name sake steak houses.
we ate at the one in miami beach after watching the mighty jets romp. just aweful from top to bottom.
the dolphins outperformed the steakhouse
Posted by: Ash Remmer | December 3, 2007 6:47 PM
I like the Packers 10-1
Check out Favre's new book:
"Ten to Four"
view the book at:
www.markmchalefootball.com
Posted by: markmchalefootball | November 29, 2007 11:15 AM
Shula personifies all of So Fl sports. Senile even bereft with alzheimers. Pair him up with Pat Riley, Schnellenberg, and Huizenga too. Hide them from the public eye cause only in illeterate pathetic So Fl would anyone even pay them any mind
Posted by: Patriots Make Shula | November 7, 2007 10:18 PM
Did Shula really say that? If there's going to be an asterisk, it should be applied to the '72 Dolphins whose 14 game regular season schedule included ZERO teams that made the playoffs and only ONE team that finished with a winning record (the unforgettable 8-6 NYGiants). Back then non-division schedules were set by a simple record-blind rotation and the Fish lucked into playing all of the league teams having bad years. Since the 80's scheduling was changed to pit winning teams against other winning teams which made it considerably tougher for anyone to win them all not to mention adding 2 games onto the year.
Posted by: Swampie | November 7, 2007 9:01 PM
Shula is a grumpy old man who is afraid that he and his grumpy old players won't be able to do their stupid champagne toast while singing "Glory Days" this year. I think we should do a toast when his Dolphins go 0-16 this year and boycott his overpriced restaurant.
Posted by: Pats 16-0 | November 7, 2007 10:03 AM
Hey Shula, I went to your steakhouse, overpriced and not worth the $$. Morton's is much better!!
Posted by: patsfan | November 7, 2007 10:00 AM
I am NO FAN of the Patriots, but I believe it would be far more appropriate to put asteriskS next to the names of Shula's two silly sons. Both David at the Bengals and Mike at Alabama only got those jobs as a result of their last names.
It's like what Maureen Dowd said in the NY Times about "Hillary would be President at Wellsley and W would be pumping oil out of the ground in Texas-and I don't mean as a result of exploration"---Well, just contemplate if David and Mikey ever get their names in a list of NFL and collegiate coaches without the pull of the old man.
I'll give the Pats an asterisk if he so desires,BUT at the same time let's not neglect the Shula Steakhouse greeters.
Posted by: Louis Vales | November 7, 2007 8:56 AM
SHULA SAYS PATS SHOULD BEAR AN ASTERISK IF THEY GO UNDEFEATED
IF SO, THEN THE '72 DOLPHINS SHOULD ALSO...IN FACT, ANYSHULA COACHED 'FINS TEAM SHOULD.
Posted: Tuesday, November 6, 2007 11:01 PM
AHHHHHHHHH...those good ole dolphins of 72...hmmm let's take a peek at 'em. it's only fair since shula wants the pats to have an asterisk if they go undefeated...but first, even if there does end up being an asterisk, someone remind shula that the scandal took place in week 1...which would still leave the pats with a better undefeated record(minus the jets game)...now onto reality shula...BURIED IN THE HISTORY OF THE MIAMI DOLPHINS LIES THE SCANDAL THAT STARTED THE ENTIRE DEBATE ...IT JUST WASN'T A DEBATE TIL NOW, BECAUSE THE FINS KNOW THEIR LEGACY IS BEING THREATENED BY THE ALMIGHTY PATRIOTS... The 1970s: The Perfect Season and the Super Bowl Titles
The Dolphins had a combined 15-39-2 record in its first four seasons when Shula, a former Paul Brown disciple who had been lured from the Baltimore Colts after first losing Super Bowl III two seasons earlier to the AFL's New York Jets and finishing 8-5-1 the following season, was hired as head coach. The Colts charged the Dolphins with tampering in gaining Shula, which cost them their first round draft pick in 1970. Shula introduced himself to the Miami press by saying that he didn't have any magic formulas and that the only way he knew to make his teams successful was through hard work.
HOW IRONIC...LOL
Posted by: Kevin | November 6, 2007 11:36 PM
Shula, I had alot of respect for you, but after your comments about the pats getting an asterik if they go 19-0 this year is really stupid, stop crying like a little girl, your perfect season record is about to be broken, and that is with 16 games not 14.
Posted by: Patsfan | November 6, 2007 7:08 PM
Zim's right. Your average fan cannot afford to go to the Super Bowl these days, even if it's in his zip code. On the other hand, they could probably sell out the Super Bowl in Outer Mongolia. I think it's only a matter of time before you see the Super Bowl in some exotic locale.
Posted by: Kevin Grierson | November 6, 2007 4:31 PM
Don Shula is the reason Im a Dolphins Fan it was a sad day to see him go and I long for his return...
Posted by: shulas a hero | November 6, 2007 4:23 PM
Its telling that the guy who blasts Don (showing his stupidity) also signs "anonymous" (showing his cowardice).
Don has been nothing but a class guy and I'm proud of his time as the Dolphins coach. He has had nothing but a positive impact on the organization, the NFL and the community.
Posted by: Matt Court | November 6, 2007 3:58 PM
who the hell cares what shula has to say. the guy is only relevant in south fl. go open another overpriced restaurant. the thing i remember most about shula was getting outcoached, his team outplayed, by namath, and jets, in sb.3.
Posted by: Anonymous | November 6, 2007 3:11 PM
I remember wishing that Don would just retire in his last couple of years when the Dolphins were mediocre. Now I would kill for a mediocre team!
Posted by: Zim | November 6, 2007 8:22 AM
"The fans here certainly have earned the right to have the Super Bowl in areas they’ve supported right from the beginning.”
- Don Shula
Unfortunately, it's not about the fans anymore.
Posted by: Disgusted | November 5, 2007 11:17 AM