The Miami Dolphins have had two truly great players in the last 25 years: Jason Taylor and Zach Thomas, neither of whom made ESPN's list of greatest players in the last 25 seasons.
Snubbing Taylor and Thomas from an All-Time list is an oversight. Once again, Thomas gets to watch Brian Urlacher get all the props while he is disregarded. In the case of Taylor, it was losing out to guys like Julius Peppers, Myles Garrett, and Jared Allen. All worthy candidates.
Neither player was given a nod as a "practice squad" member either. That is perhaps the bigger miss by authors Aaron Schatz and Seth Walder. The issue here, though is what it has always been, and that is winning. The Dolphins just haven't done much of it in the last quarter century.
Dolphins don't have any players worthy of Hall of Fame consideration from the last 25 years
Miami's inability to produce consistent talent for a quarter of a century is shocking. If we look beyond Thomas, who was the last Dolphins great to be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame and who do we see as a potential inductee next?
Richmond Webb, Mark Clayton, and Bob Kuchenberg all have the resumes to be in Canton, but all three played long before 2000.
Can you name one player who spent most of their career with the Dolphins, worthy of a Hall of Fame nod? Neither can I, so when I see this ESPN report, I'm not exactly fuming over the admission of any Dolphins players.
Some players like Sam Madison and Patrick Surtain have a mild argument, and you can probably make a small wave mentioning former running back Ricky Williams, but there aren't any players sans Thomas and Taylor who belong on this list.
The Dolphins' last 25 years have been pathetically bad. Whiffs on guys like Drew Brees have led to mediocre seasons and a lack of postseason appearances.
While Miami was never going to get someone on any all-time great lists since the year 2000, but Taylor and Thomas deserved to at least be talked about.