When the Miami Dolphins announced yesterday that defensive tackle Tim Bowens would be inducted into the Dolphins Ring of Honor, I was so happy to hear the news.
Bowens was a standout defensive tackle with the Dolphins for 11 years. Frankly, I thought he was the anchor of the Dolphins’ defense in the late 1990s and into the turn of the century.
Tim Bowens didn’t have great stats, but you can’t measure a player just by using stats alone. Bowens played one of the toughest positions in football, defensive tackle, where all of the nitty-gritty physical play happens. He wasn’t one of the flashiest players and didn’t own the spotlight, but he was a player who came in and did his job and did it well for 11 years.
It’s hard to believe it was 30 years ago when Bowens was drafted in the first round by Don Shula in 1994 with the 20th pick. Many people questioned the pick because Bowens hadn’t played much football, but it was great. Bowens always commanded double teams from the opposing teams’ offensive lines, and if you blocked him one-on-one, good luck because he would always disrupt a running play in the backfield or pressure the quarterback to allow players like Jason Taylor to get the sack.
I remember the famous game against the New York Jets in 1994, remembered for Dan Marino and the clock play. The truth is the clock play wouldn’t have happened if Bowens hadn’t made some disruptive plays to help turn the game around. Three times on one drive, he drove the guard and center in the backfield to force a couple of fumbles and almost took the hand off both times. Then, the other play forced a sack.
People don’t remember those plays.
They don’t show up on the stat sheet, but they made an impact by allowing Marino the chance at the comeback.
Bowens’s impact helped Taylor, linebacker Zach Thomas, and others fly around the ball and make plays.
Sure, Bowens had other good players next to him, like Daryl Gardener and Larry Chester, but he was the man and made it work, and without him, the Dolphins’ defense wasn’t as good then.
Bowens was the best defensive tackle I have seen play from the 1980s to now. We can argue about others, and that’s fine, but Bowens was my favorite.
He went about his business and was dominant at it. It didn’t show up in the stat sheet, but it didn’t go unnoticed by me, as a fan, or his peers like Thomas, who always said Tim Bowens made his job easier by opening up lanes for him to come in and make tackles.
It was fitting that Thomas announced the other day that Bowens was entering the Ring of Honor.
With players coming and going nowadays, it’s doubtful that we may see another player at his position as long-term for the Dolphins as Bowens. He was fun to watch, and I am so happy the Dolphins are recognizing him for his play for this team.
