Iconic members of the Jets’ famed New York Sack Exchange of the 1980s, Joe Klecko and Marty Lyons tackle some Q&A with Post columnist Steve Serby on Dolphins week to discuss their 14-0 loss to their rival in the 1983 AFC Championship, aka the “Mud Bowl.”
asserted
members → tackle → Bowl
The Mud Bowl in Miami will forever be remembered by you and Jets fans.
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Bowl → remember → you
It’s probably one of the only games that you can really have a recollection of.
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you → ’ → recollection
I remember making tackles, and putting your hand on the ground and climbing out of six inches of water, let alone mud.
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I → remember → water
It wasn’t easy moving anybody even during dry games, let alone wet games.
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It → move → games
Our offense had more problems than we did defensively.
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we → have → problems
(Laugh) Richard Todd forgot the color of our team.
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Todd → forget → team
He made A.J. Duhe [three interceptions for Miami that day] a household name, where the guy was a so-so linebacker and made him into a hero.
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him → make → hero
First of all, we both had to play on the same field.
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we → have → field
It kind of took away our running game with Freeman [McNeil].
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It → take → Freeman
And then we had too many mistakes on the offensive side of the ball.
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we → have → ball
There was a controversy over Don Shula not putting a tarp on the field.
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Shula → be → field
But the thing about it is there was no rule about it back then, he didn’t have to do it.
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he → be → it
If I was to say it was a calculated mistake, yeah I believe it was, because with our speed with Freeman and with Wesley [Walker] and Johnny [Lam] Jones, we had something to defend against, and to allow the field to be saturated the way it was
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it → say → something
, I think it meant a lot for the Dolphins.
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it → think → Dolphins
It was very disheartening to climb that uphill battle.
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It → climb → battle
Mother Nature hated us anyway that day, and yet we were still going hard after what really wasn’t our problem — which I mean by Richard throwing his [five] interceptions.
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Richard → hat → interceptions
That was a very hard thing for us to swallow.
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us → swallow → ?
At that time it wasn’t mandated to cover a field.
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it → mandate → field
Whether Don Shula did it or whoever did it, we were a strong running game.
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we → do → it
Then again, they played on the same field as we did.
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we → play → field
It’s not like every time they got the ball they went to a dry field.
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they → ’ → field
We had five turnovers and one was returned for a touchdown.
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one → have → touchdown
I don’t know where that whistle came from when we recovered a fumble.
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we → know → fumble
What do you remember about waking up in the morning and seeing the downpour?
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you → remember → downpour
I loved the weather.
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I → love → weather
Playing in the mud didn’t bother me.
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Playing → play → me
That’s the way football’s supposed to be played at times.
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football → ’ → times
We felt like we were road warriors, and our opportunity to get to the Super Bowl didn’t happen.
KLECKO
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opportunity → feel → Bowl
Oh, we laughed.
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we → laugh → ?
We didn’t know what the field was going to be like, you know?
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you → know → what
When we went to the field, that was the eye-opener.
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that → go → field
The last game of my rookie year in Philly, it poured cats and dogs.
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it → pour → cats
We were stepping on puddles, breaking ice.
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We → step → ice
But water didn’t bother us because it was Astroturf.
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it → bother → us
You could still run on Astroturf when it was wet.
uncertain
it → run → Astroturf
But when we got on that regular grass, that was disturbing.
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that → get → grass
I think it was very quiet.
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it → think → ?
Just like anything, they always give us a little pat on the ass, and said, “Don’t worry we’ll get ’em next year,” and for a lot of us, that next year never came.
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year → give → us
And then right after the game, we fly back to New York and apparently maybe Walt [Michaels, coach], he was sticking up for us, and he said something to the wrong person.
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he → fly → person
…and 96 more, not listed.
The Aporia
