Very cool SI Longform article on Dan Marino, 1984,

.

And I know a lot of people don't like his personality, but blaming him for the Dolphins never winning when he was saddled with journeymen running backs and lousy defenses for his entire career isn't accurate.

He would be unstoppable in today's game. His release was so fast, he would just eat up teams with the five yard bs

who ever lived. I never saw anyone throw quite like him. That said, he was not an overly bright player, nor person off the field. He would often make stupid mistakes which cost his team dearly. He had plenty of talent around him. Hall of Fame center. Great line. Very good defense and receivers. Two coaches, one in hall of fame, the other will be there eventually. Fact is that he is a Hall of Fame Passer. As a QB, greatness is defined by something else, and he didn't have it.

so he's aces in my book.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9S_biZV-lOk#t=305 - ( New Window )

was the Wilt of NFL. Always a bridesmaid, never a bride. Great passer. No doubt about it. But he never won a superbowl. That's his legacy. It is arguable that he didn't have enough talent around him. Dolphins went to SB in his rookie year. They had Don Shula. They had good, maybe not great talent around him.

A delight to watch and also painful to watch..A bad pass was NEVER his fault..Hated when he almost always pointed to the receiver after a failed play in front of the TV cameras..A real prick, imo

In comment 12113847 Dry Lightning said:

Quote:

Very good defense

What defense would that be? The defense from his rookie year? Dolphins defensive rankings for Marino's career, points/yardage:

1983: 1/7
1984: 7/19
1985: 12/23
1986: 26/26
1987: 16/26
1988: 24/26
1989: 22/24
1990: 4/7
1991: 24/25
1992: 11/10
1993: 24/20
1994: 17/19
1995: 10/16
1996: 17/17
1997: 16/26
1998: 1/3
1999: 19/5

After 1984, the only defenses the Dolphins had that were better than average were in 1990 and 1998 (when Marino was near the end of the line and the Dolphins' talent on offense around him stunk). Most years, their defense was significantly below average, same as their running backs. In Marino's 17 seasons the Dolphins had 10 different leading rushers, and none of them were particularly good: Andra Franklin, Woody Bennett, Tony Nathan, Lorenzo Hampton, Troy Stradford, Sammy Smith, Mark Higgs, Bernie Parmalee, Karim Abdul-Jabbar, JJ Johnson. Only once did any of them rush for 1000 yards, Abdul-Jabbar in 1996. BTW, Marino only played four and a half seasons with Dwight Stephenson, who retired in 1987.

Marino is the best pure passer I have ever seen.

that SB in just his second year, was Marino's best chance...he had a great OL, and his greatest season as a pro, but he ran into the SF 49'ers....

a black mark. That was arguably the best team of the Niners dynasty (you could make a case for 1989 as well). It's not like the Dolphins were beat by, oh, the 2011 Giants.