Jan. 23, 1982

After playing defensive end his first three seasons with the Miami Dolphins, a sportswriter suggested in 1980 to coach Don Shula that A.J. Duhe might be better suited at linebacker. "The only good suggestion I ever heard from a sportswriter," says a laughing Shula today.

In the AFC championship game in Miami, the 6-foot-4, 248-pound Duhe gives Shula plenty of reason to be happy. Though listed as an inside linebacker, Duhe lines up all over, and his duties vary as well. Sometimes he blitzes the quarterback, sometimes he falls back into pass coverage.

While the defense is known for its Killer B's - the last names of several players start with the letter B - it's Duhe who kills the Jets, intercepting three of Richard Todd's passes in the second half.

The first sets up the Dolphins' first score and the third he returns 35 yards for a touchdown in the fourth quarter to seal the Dolphins' 14-0 victory on a soggy Orange Bowl field.

Duhe lets it all out with each of his big plays. He clenches his fists and holds them aloft. He points a forefinger to the sky. "I'm not going to be Mr. Mellow in a championship game," says Duhe, not known to be mellow in any game.