Defensive End,
Miami Dolphins
Age: 22 (Nov.
27)
College: LSU
Height: 6’4” Weight: 247
Prelude:
Duhe averaged
72 tackles a season in college and was chosen by the Dolphins in the first
round of the 1977 NFL draft (13th overall). Looking to refurbish the defense,
Miami took another defensive lineman, DT Bob Baumhower, in the second round.
Both moved into the starting lineup with outstanding results, along with LB Kim
Bokamper, CB Norris Thomas, and FS Vern Roberson, who all gained All-Rookie
honors.
1977 Season Summary
Appeared in
all 14 games
[Bracketed
numbers indicate league rank in Top 20]
Sacks – 7
(unofficial)
Interceptions
– 0
Fumble
recoveries – 2
Tackles – 83
Awards &
Honors:
NFL Defensive
Rookie of the Year: AP, PFWA
AFC Rookie of
the Year: UPI, Sporting News
Dolphins went
10-4 to finish second in the AFC East.
Aftermath:
Duhe improved
in 1978, despite a leg injury, but was shifted to inside linebacker in ‘79. An
outstanding blitzer, he proved to be a good fit as a hybrid outside linebacker/pass
rushing end, receiving first-team All-AFC honors from UPI in ’81, and was
especially prominent as the Dolphins won the AFC Championship during the
strike-shortened 1982 season, most notably with three interceptions against the
Jets in the conference title game. Following the ’83 season, when he received
second-team All-AFC recognition from UPI, Duhe underwent surgery for rotator
cuff and knee surgery, and while he came back to achieve Pro Bowl honors for
the only time in his career in 1984, further injuries that required surgery
finished him. Duhe ended up playing a total of eight years for the Dolphins and
was credited with 8.5 sacks, which reflected his last three seasons after the
NFL began to officially compile individual sacks, while the real total was
likely closer to 30. He also accumulated around 486 tackles in 108 regular
season games.
--
Rookie of the Year Profiles feature players who were named Rookie
of the Year in the NFL (including NFC/AFC), AFL (1960-69), or USFL (1983-85) by
a recognized organization (Associated Press – Offense or Defense, Newspaper
Enterprise Association, United Press International, The Sporting News, or the
league itself – Pepsi NFL Rookie of the Year).
I always wondered what happened to AJ Duhe. Being able to play both linebacker and lineman, he was a dominant force particularly with the '82 Killer B's defense. The shutdown of Dan Fouts and Richard Todd in the playoffs were defensive masterpieces, and contrary to opinion they did play well in the Super Bowl against the Redskins but were undone by the complete inability of their offense to do anything useful, and the resulting relentless pounding of John Riggins. Duhe did record an interception against Joe Theismann (which the Dolphin offense promptly gave back), and a near-interception in the end zone by Kim Bokamper (slapped away at the last second by Theismann) almost gave the Dolphin defense the breathing room it needed and would have likely negated Riggins as a factor. Theismann would have been forced to throw more and farther downfield, the exact situation the Killer B's had been shutting down all year. If only Dan Marino had arrived a year earlier...
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