1983 Miami Dolphins season

1983 Miami Dolphins season
Owner	Joe Robbie
Head coach	Don Shula
Home field	Orange Bowl
Results
Record	12–4
Division place	1st AFC East
Playoff finish	Lost Divisional Playoffs (vs. Seahawks) 20–27
← 1982 Dolphins seasons 1984 →

The 1983 season was the 18th season in football for the Miami Dolphins and they sought to return to the Super Bowl after losing to the Washington Redskins in Super Bowl XVII. It was also a turning point in the team's history, as in the 1983 NFL Draft a young quarterback slipped to deep in the opening round, being passed over by such teams as division rivals New York who drafted Ken O'Brien and New England who drafted Tony Eason. With the 27th pick, the Dolphins decided to take a chance on Dan Marino. In the draft's eighth round the Dolphins also selected receiver Mark Clayton.

David Woodley started the team's first five games but despite wins over Buffalo, New England and Kansas City the offense didn't move to Don Shula's liking. So in Week Six, with the Dolphins hosting the Bills the rookie Marino started. Marino had completed two touchdown passes in relief of Woodley in a 27–14 loss to the Raiders and then replaced Woodley during a 17–7 loss to the Saints with a touchdown and an interception, so the game against Buffalo was the third game of his career but his first start. The game proved to be a wild affair as Robb Riddick of the Bills fumbled the opening kickoff at his own 17 but Marino was intercepted by Steve Freeman on the next play. The Bills clawed to a 14–7 halftime lead but the Dolphins behind Marino stayed toe to toe as Marino threw for 370 yards and four touchdowns while handing off to Mark Clayton on an option pass for a touchdown to Mark Duper. The Bills tied the game in the final seconds and two Uwe von Schamann field goal attempts missed before Joe Danelo ended the game in a 38–35 Bills win.

Despite the loss Marino's performance cemented his role as the team's starter, and the Dolphins raced to win nine of their last ten games. Marino finished with 2,210 passing yards, 20 touchdowns and six interceptions. With the division wrapped up following a 26–17 win over the Oilers at the Astrodome Marino sat for the final two games of the season as Don Strock quarterbacked the Dolphins to wins over the Falcons and New York Jets.

Offseason[]

• June 25, 1983: Larry Gordon, the Miami Dolphins first round pick in the 1976 NFL Draft, passed away from heart failure^[1]

NFL draft[]

1983 Miami Dolphins draft
Round	Pick	Player	Position	College	Notes
1	27	Dan Marino * †	Quarterback	Pittsburgh
2	55	Mike Charles	Defensive tackle	Syracuse
3	76	Charles Benson	Defensive end	Baylor
6	167	Reggie Roby *	Punter	Iowa
7	195	Keith Woetzel	Linebacker	Rutgers
8	223	Mark Clayton *	Wide receiver	Louisville
9	250	Mark Brown	Linebacker	Purdue
10	278	Anthony Reed	Running back	South Carolina State
11	306	Joe Lukens	Guard	Ohio State
12	334	Anthony Carter *	Wide receiver	Michigan
Made roster    †   Pro Football Hall of Fame    *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

^[2]

Personnel[]

Staff[]

1983 Miami Dolphins staff

	Front office President – Joe Robbie Executive Vice President/General Manager – Mike Robbie Vice President – Don Shula Director of Player Personnel – Chuck Connor Director of Pro Scouting – Charley Winner Head coaches Head Coach – Don Shula Assistant Head Coach – Bill Arnsparger Offensive coaches Offensive Backs – Carl Taseff Receivers – David Shula Offensive Line – John Sandusky			Defensive coaches Defense – Bill Arnsparger Defensive Line/Run Defense – Mike Scarry Defensive Backs – Tom Keane Special teams coaches Special Teams – Bob Matheson Punting – Tom Keane Strength and conditioning Strength and Flexibility – Junior Wade

Roster[]

1983 Miami Dolphins final roster

	Quarterbacks 13 Dan Marino 10 Don Strock 16 David Woodley Running backs 34 Woody Bennett FB 37 Andra Franklin FB 31 Eddie Hill 22 Tony Nathan 20 David Overstreet Wide receivers 83 Mark Clayton PR 85 Mark Duper 82 Duriel Harris 88 Vince Heflin 11 Jim Jensen 89 Nat Moore Tight ends 84 Bruce Hardy 87 Dan Johnson 80 Joe Rose		Offensive linemen 76 Steve Clark G 61 Roy Foster G 79 Jon Giesler T 74 Cleveland Green T 67 Bob Kuechenberg G 68 Eric Laakso T 64 Ed Newman G 57 Dwight Stephenson C 60 Jeff Toews G Defensive linemen 70 Bill Barnett DE 73 Bob Baumhower NT 78 Charles Benson DE 75 Doug Betters DE 58 Kim Bokamper DE 71 Mike Charles NT		Linebackers 51 Mark Brown 56 Charles Bowser 59 Bob Brudzinski 77 A. J. Duhe 55 Earnest Rhone 52 Terry Tautolo 54 Rodell Thomas Defensive backs 47 Glenn Blackwood S 42 Lyle Blackwood S 49 William Judson CB 40 Mike Kozlowski S 44 Paul Lankford CB 48 Gerald Small CB 45 Robert Sowell 41 Fulton Walker CB/KR Special teams 4 Reggie Roby P 5 Uwe von Schamann K		Reserve lists 81 Jimmy Cefalo WR (IR) 63 Mark Dennard T (IR) 52 Steve Shull LB (IR) 52 LB (IR) Practice squad Rookies in italics

^[3]

Regular season[]

Schedule[]

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Attendance
1	September 4, 1983	at Buffalo Bills	W 12–0	78,715
2	September 11, 1983	New England Patriots	W 34–24	59,343
3	September 19, 1983	at Los Angeles Raiders	L 14–27	57,796
4	September 25, 1983	Kansas City Chiefs	W 14–6	50,785
5	October 2, 1983	at New Orleans Saints	L 7–17	66,489
6	October 9, 1983	Buffalo Bills	L 35–38	59,948
7	October 16, 1983	at New York Jets	W 32–14	58,615
8	October 23, 1983	at Baltimore Colts	W 21–7	32,343
9	October 30, 1983	Los Angeles Rams	W 30–14	72,175
10	November 6, 1983	at San Francisco 49ers	W 20–17	57,832
11	November 13, 1983	at New England Patriots	L 6–17	60,771
12	November 20, 1983	Baltimore Colts	W 37–0	54,482
13	November 28, 1983	Cincinnati Bengals	W 38–14	74,506
14	December 4, 1983	at Houston Oilers	W 24–17	39,434
15	December 10, 1983	Atlanta Falcons	W 31–24	56,725
16	December 16, 1983	New York Jets	W 34–14	59,975

Game summaries[]

Week 1[]

1 2 3 4 Total • Dolphins 0 6 3 3 12 Bills 0 0 0 0 0 Date: September 4 Location: Rich Stadium, Orchard Park, New York Game start: 1:00 p.m. EST Game attendance: 78,715 Game weather: 72 °F; wind 12 Referee: Jim Tunney Television network: NBC

Scoring summary Q2 MIA von Schamann 33 yard field goal MIA 3–0 Q2 MIA von Schamann 23 yard field goal MIA 6–0 Q3 MIA von Schamann 36 yard field goal MIA 9–0 Q4 MIA von Schamann 50 yard field goal MIA 12–0

^[4]

Week 6[]

Dan Marino first start in NFL

1 2 3 4 OT Total • Bills 7 7 7 14 3 38 Dolphins 0 7 14 14 0 35 Date: October 9 Location: Orange Bowl Game attendance: 59,948 Referee: Fred Silva TV announcers (NBC): Charlie Jones and Bob Griese

Standings[]

AFC East
view talk	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	CONF	PF	PA	STK
Miami Dolphins(2)	12	4	0	.750	6–2	9–3	389	250	W5
New England Patriots	8	8	0	.500	4–4	6–6	274	289	L1
Buffalo Bills	8	8	0	.500	4–4	7–5	283	351	L2
Baltimore Colts	7	9	0	.438	3–5	5–9	264	354	W1
New York Jets	7	9	0	.438	3–5	4–8	313	331	L2

Player stats[]

Passing[]

Player	Att	Comp	Yds	TD	INT	Rating
Dan Marino	296	173	2210	20	6	96.0

Postseason[]

AFC Divisional Playoff[]

The Seahawks converted three turnovers in the second half into 13 points, while running back Curt Warner rushed for 113 yards and 2 touchdowns. Dolphins quarterback Dan Marino threw two touchdown passes in the second quarter: A 19-yard pass to Johnson and a 32-yard pass to wide receiver Mark Duper. Seattle's only score in the first half was quarterback Dave Krieg's 6-yard touchdown pass to running back Cullen Bryant. In the third quarter, a fumble led to Warner's 1-yard touchdown. A fourth quarter interception from Marino then led to Norm Johnson's 27-yard field goal to give Seattle a 17–13 lead. After the Dolphins regained the lead off running back Woody Bennett's 3-yard touchdown, Seattle responded with Warner's 2-yard touchdown. On the ensuing kickoff, Miami returner Fulton Walker fumbled, setting up Norm Johnson's 37-yard field goal. Barely enough time remained for the Dolphins to tie the game, but Fulton Walker fumbled the next kickoff as well, which sealed the game for the Seahawks.

References[]

External links[]

• 1983 Miami Dolphins at Pro-Football-Reference.com