How do Dolphins legends stand up versus their AFC East rivals?

How do Dolphins legends stand up versus their AFC East rivals?

Debating with division rivals is a staple of fan-hood in the NFL, especially in today’s age of social media — when communication can be more immediate and direct than ever before. But for fans of the AFC East, the debate has been a difficult one to drum up — mostly because the New England Patriots have squashed the AFC East for the better part of two decades. The dominant stretch from New England is reminiscent of the Buffalo Bills of the 80s and 90s and the Miami Dolphins of the 70s and 80s.

But if we were to look at each team in the AFC East in the entirety of their franchise history, which team has got the best blend of personalities?

That’s the exact question CBS Sports looked to answer when they pieced together each franchise’s “Fab Five” — the absolute best of the best over the history of each team. The conditions were simple: one coach, one quarterback and then the three best players in team history.

Miami’s representation is strong — Don Shula, Dan Marino, Larry Csonka, Jason Taylor and Dwight Stephenson. Shula is the winningest coach in NFL history. Marino was the first quarterback to pass for over 5,000 yards in a season (by more than two decades), was a trailblazer who helped shape the game into what it is today and was the NFL’s first passer with 400 touchdowns and 60,000 passing yards. Csonka was the face of the legendary 1972 undefeated team. Taylor was a first-ballot Hall of Fame inductee and Dwight Stephenson may be the best center to ever play the game — and his career was tragically short due to a cheap shot by the Jets.

Belichick and the Patriots have the hardware. But do they have the depth to take this debate? The fan vote from CBS Sports saw the Bills win the polling — but the certainties in life are death, taxes and Bills fans overcompensating in fan voting on the internet. This exercise is a fun one but it isn’t because the Bills or Jets have a firm say. The question is does Miami’s depth trump the Patriots’ top-heavy hardware.

We’ll let you be the judge.