There is no question that the backbone of the undefeated 1972 Maimi Dolphins.season was fullback Larry Czonka……plus there is no question that Zonk was the reason for the Dolphins getting to and winning both Super Bowls VII & VIII….evidenced by being the bulldozer that drove the Dolphins to victory in Super Bowl VIII…..while being selected as MVP of the game…..for during these two Super Bowl winning years…..Czonka simply put the Dolphins on his bulldozing back…..carrying his team to victory and into the history books. .
However, there is no way that Czonka even on his best day could ever be considered a tougher runner that Oilers Earl Campbell (the toughest I have ever seen), Browns Jim Brown or Bears Walter Payton….now, that is not saying that Zonk was not tough….cuz in order to be considered tough as a runner in the NFL…..that runner has to be the person who delivers the blow…..rather than receive the blow…..and Czonka definitely had that attitude….he just simply didn’t quite measure up to Campbell, Brown and Payton in regards to delivering a punch. Yep, I agree he was big and strong…..cuz this lil ole Chiweenie would get the heck out of the way of that rampaging bulldozer….but he wasn’t a raging gazelle like Sweetness…..or a raging ape like Jim Brown….or a raging rhinoceros like The Tyler Rose…..all who could deliver the punch…..then step and move….while leaving the bulldozer behind that puts them on a higher rung on the ladder of toughest NFL runners. If you want further proof to what I contend….just look at the picture above….cuz you will see some proof to my reasoning….that being Czonka played with Jim Kick (21) and Mercury Morris (22)….two really good running backs…..while I will bet that you cannot even name another running back that played in the backfield with Campbell or Brown….that is unless you were an Oilers or Browns fan back in their day. Simply put, Czonka never got the total attention of opposing defenses…..whereas Earl and Jim did. I rest my case.
