'72 Dolphins-Shut Up!

Let's get one thing straight: the Patriots this year have demolished the Dolphins' perfect season. What they have done in '07 is far and away more impressive than what happened in '72. Brady and co. are in a different league.
Before I continue, let's agree to not get into the "who would win if they played and both were in their prime" hypothetical nonsense. We have two different eras, sets of rules, referring standards, etc. No doubt today players are bigger, faster, and better paid than back them. I don't want to go into who would win a magical match up. I just want to look at the cold hard numbers.
Though it is a bit redundant at this point, let's think about the records that have been set. Most consecutive wins in one season and over several seasons, check. Most QB TDs, check. Most TDs by a WR, check. Best QB TD to INT ratio, check. Most points in a season, check. Most TDs in a season, check. Greatest overall margin of victory, check. Not only have the Patriots set these records, but the Fins of days gone by didn't get close to many of these records.
More importantly, the Patriots have played a far more difficult season. The stats show that the Patriots have dominated far better teams. Note, these numbers are all self contained within the '72 and '07 seasons, so I am not comparing across eras. Here's the numbers.

'72 Dolphins:
-Composite Record of Opposition Teams (not factoring division opponents twice): 51-86-3 (.375)
-Composite Record of Opposition Teams (factoring division opponents twice): 70-122-4 (.358)
-Opposition teams with winning records: 2 of 10 opponents
-Played 0 of the 7 other play-off teams.
-Played 2 teams who finished one spot out of the Wild Card

'07 Patriots:
-Composite Record of Opposition Teams (not factoring division opponents twice): 108-100 (.524)
-Composite Record of Opposition Teams (factoring division opponents twice): 120-136 (.469)
-Opposition teams with winning records: 7 of 13 opponents
-Played 6 of the 11 other play-off teams
-Played 2 teams who finished one spot out of the Wild Card

Maybe the most significant stat is this: 6 of the Pat's opponents have a better winning percentage than the best Fins opponent from 1972. In other words, almost half of the Patriot's foes are more successful than the best team that the Fins beat.
The numbers are some what staggering. Miami played a bunch of bottom dwellers. Sure, New England got to play a woeful 1-15 Dolphins side twice, but they also played 6 teams with double digit wins. Only two of the '72 Fins opponents could have reached 10 wins had the season been two games longer!
Many of the old Dolphins have been pretty good about the new perfect season. Some seem to really not care. Even though they are somewhat gracious, you can hear their pride kicking up. They seem to be saying, "New England, welcome to the club!" Sorry, but the Pats are in their own league.
Garo Yepremian is the one who has caught my eye. He said, "I remember Sir Edmund Hillary was the first one to climb Mount Everest. I don’t remember who did it the second time. Do you?" Couple of things, Garo. One, you're a kicker, so shut up. Two, the only reason anyone knows who you are is because you threw the ugliest interception in the history of the NFL because of a boneheaded attempt to be a hero, so shut up. Three, this metaphor is idiotic, so shut up. We don't know the second to Everest because they repeated what someone else did. The Pats topped you, they didn't repeat what you did. Sorry, but 16-0 against teams that win 52% of their games is a lot better than 14-0 against teams that win 38% of their games. A little math lesson, Garo; 16 is bigger than 14 and 52 is bigger than 38.
I think a better metaphor might look something like this: the Dolphins did something equivalent to running a 5K in 12 minutes. The Pats ran a 10K in about 24. Both are significant and deserve praise. I love Shula, Griese, and all those guys and they did something that had never been done. The numbers, however, don't lie. They won less games by a far smaller margin against far weaker opposition. (Remember, all these assertions are made within self contained seasons, not comparing across eras.) Ten bucks is great, but twenty is better. The Pats have done more, plain and simple.
What the Dolphins should do is just be quiet. They did something great, but the gig is up. 35 years later they have been topped. Be quite and respectful. Hank Aaron is a great example. If anyone has lost a record that should still stand it is Hammerin' Hank. You don't see him making a fuss, trying to convince us he is great.
So Garo, be more like Hank, and just shut up!