Griese

PHOENIX — They have been portrayed as grumpy old men stubbornly holding on to their crowning glory, but members of the 1972 Miami Dolphins team know, and have it reaffirmed with each passing year, what a special feat their undefeated season was 35 years ago.

And now that the New England Patriots are on the doorstep of joining their most exclusive of clubs, most of the members of the team are respectful of what the Pats could accomplish.

Coach Don Shula and several players spoke via conference call about New England’s potential for going 19-0 and joining the ’72 Dolphins as the only teams to win every game in a single season.

“When you think about the 50 years before we did it in ’72, and the 35 years since we’ve done it, that tells you how difficult it is to do,” said Shula. “The league is so highly competitive, and all of the rules in the league are designed for competitive balance. Everything is done to keep the team from having a dynasty and staying on top, and that’s why it’s so remarkable when a team does stay on top for a period of time.”

The Miami players said there’s no comparison between the passing game when they played and now; the rules then allowed defensive backs to make contact with receivers down the field as long as the ball wasn’t in the air. Now, with the five-yard chuck rule and a number of other rule changes aimed at opening up the game, things are different.

Free agency and the salary cap have altered things, as well.

“Free agency can run both ways,” former Dolphins quarterback Bob Griese said. “I think it can run away and spread throughout the teams and make them all equal. … I would say it’s not surprising, but you can certainly see why New England has gone undefeated with all of their additions offensively and their defense from the past years.”

But no one understands how difficult it is to go undefeated than those Dolphins players.

“From our standpoint, we went undefeated in all the games that were thrown at us,” former Dolphins defensive back Dick Anderson said. “We were just fortunate to be the only team in the history of the NFL, in 88 years, to go undefeated. If New England does it, they will be the second team to go undefeated, and I think they have a real good chance to do so.”

smanza@projo.com