Bring One Former Player In Their Prime Back To The Dolphins Team Today, Who Would It Be?

[GUH-sick-EE]

given the make up of our current team...Stephenson or Bowens. Center is average-slightly below average right now and DT is a huge unknown.

Wouldn't Stephenson be pretty small today?

 

[BahamaFinFan78]

TOTALLY AGREE. Been fighting that fight with a Saints buddy of mine who just became an NFL fan a couple years back. HE thinks Brees is best Qb ever which I respond with he ain't even Peyton. I said if you bring back Marino in his prime with todays rules, he would shred it. Like absolutely destroy the NFL. Now I guess the more interesting conversation would be just for fun how would Unitas and Otto Graham also do in their prime in todays NFL. Would Marino be clearly better? That would make for a fun conversation. Those are the only two QBs I see from before Dan's era that might give him a run for his money.

Norm Van Brocklin? I think he still holds the record for most passing yards in a single game

 

[finomenal]

It's obviously Marino. I voted for 2nd player, Ricky Williams.

 

[BSQ]

Marino in his prime with this team would walk through the AFC East. Who knows after that.

 

[superphin]

TOTALLY AGREE. Been fighting that fight with a Saints buddy of mine who just became an NFL fan a couple years back. HE thinks Brees is best Qb ever which I respond with he ain't even Peyton. I said if you bring back Marino in his prime with todays rules, he would shred it. Like absolutely destroy the NFL. Now I guess the more interesting conversation would be just for fun how would Unitas and Otto Graham also do in their prime in todays NFL. Would Marino be clearly better? That would make for a fun conversation. Those are the only two QBs I see from before Dan's era that might give him a run for his money.

I've long believed that Otto Grahams 1947 season to be the most impressive in NFL history. Posting a 109.2 QBR, completing over 60% of his passes while throwing for 10.23 y/a, and a TD% of 9.6% which is higher than Marino's 1984 season of 8.5%. Not to mention his QBR of 112.1 in 1946 was an NFL record for 43 years until Montana broke it in 1989 with 112.4. Obviously I never saw him play but those are some impressive numbers in 1947 hell that would be damn good nowadays.

 

[royalshank]

I've long believed that Otto Grahams 1947 season to be the most impressive in NFL history. Posting a 109.2 QBR, completing over 60% of his passes while throwing for 10.23 y/a, and a TD% of 9.6% which is higher than Marino's 1984 season of 8.5%. Not to mention his QBR of 112.1 in 1946 was an NFL record for 43 years until Montana broke it in 1989 with 112.4. Obviously I never saw him play but those are some impressive numbers in 1947 hell that would be damn good nowadays.

I have an old mag (not sure if it’s SI or some defunct one / can’t find it) but it’s an interview w Montana where HE ranks the top 10 QBs of all time. The only stipulation was that he couldn’t rank himself. He selected Graham as the best ever w Marino no 2. If I recall, his rankings were closer to how I saw it (Marino > Elway, Jim Kelley on the list) etc than the supposed media experts. I doubt any of us saw Graham play - time has a strange way of muting greatness of the past. It’s like the argument w Saints fans about Brees. He’s not even top 25 but don’t tell them that.

 

[coalesce]

As much as it killed me I didn't choose Dan, so wanted to. But I went with Dwight Stephenson, take control of the offensive line, protect the QB, make the running game so much better. The defense gets to rest because we have the running game because of Dwight. Makes us a legitimate team. We would be able to pass or run.

At 6'2" and 255lbs, he would get routinely get run over today, prime of his career or no prime of his career. Going up against similarly-sized tackles and linebackers, though, he was without peer.

 

[Digital]

Someone posted a bunch of his throws from the ‘85 Bears game and you just shake your head and say, “damn” at what you’re witnessing. 30 yards in the air, while back pedaling, flick of wrist, laser, back shoulder to a 5’9” guy being double covered. Very few QBs in history could make that throw.

So true!

He could thread the needle 40 yards downfield and make it look effortless. We would sit there and just laugh at one WOW play after the next. It's not that we were more efficient, or hitting the open man … yeah, we did that, but with Marino, we threw into the jaws of coverage and threaded the needle between the teeth! After seeing him achieve the impossible enough times, you just never felt out of a game. Down 20 with 3 minutes left … yeah, we're still in this.

 

[Marino1313]

Wow... no love for Yatil Green as an option? Geez

 

[royalshank]

So true!

He could thread the needle 40 yards downfield and make it look effortless. We would sit there and just laugh at one WOW play after the next. It's not that we were more efficient, or hitting the open man … yeah, we did that, but with Marino, we threw into the jaws of coverage and threaded the needle between the teeth! After seeing him achieve the impossible enough times, you just never felt out of a game. Down 20 with 3 minutes left … yeah, we're still in this.

It’s unfortunate the way time has a way of biasing people’s views on how good players were in the “old days”. Marino was a man amongst boys in his prime. From his very first game, everything changed. I saw Griese play. I loved Woodley because, well, we won a lot when he was our QB. But when Marino came into that first game in mop up you could just tell something was different. Then when he got his 1st start, it was bizarre in that he got all of his rookie mistakes out in the two throws - INTs early in the game. After that, the learning curve was over and he was tearing up the league. Heck, even that first game he threw 4 TDs and got us into FG range at the end of the game but ole Uwe missed.

Anyhow, it bugs me that people dismiss Montana for Brady now - just because time has passed by. You have a QB that never turned it over once in 4 SBs being dismissed as “not as good as Brady”. Why? We have short memories.

No one could throw it like Dan. No one managed a game like Montana. No one ran like Jim Brown or even Barry Sanders. Perhaps I’m just out of touch but the game was harder back then - especially on the QBs and receivers. Oh, and pass blockers who couldn’t grab. Sorry but I’m taking Dan in his prime over Tommy Boy, Peyton, Aaron Rodgers, Big Ben etc). Too bad Dan didn’t play in today’s league where QB so heavily weights the outcome of games. He’d have played in more than 1 SB I’m sure of it.

 

[zach8111]

We saw many years of one man in Dan not being able to take us to the promise land. If I can get 2006 DPOY Jason Taylor for the 2018 season I think that transforms the entire defense giving us a more complete team. Plus we would certainly face the Pats in the playoffs and Taylor was a Brady killer. Paired with Wake and good depth, I think that's a damn fine defense. 2006 Jason Taylor was a playmaker and won games for us.

As much as a fan of taylor I am, no way can you take anyone besides Marino. You knock Marino for not being able to take us to the "promise land" but he sure got alot closer than taylor ever got us... it's a QB league and with a QB like Marino playing with today's rules he is a no brainer pick and it's not even close. Marino won a heck of alot more games for us than taylor did.

 

[levv151]

OMG, how could it be anyone but Marino? Marino put up numbers better than most today in his prime, and DB's could almost molest WR's back then and not get a PI called...imagine the damage he could do with the rules set the way they are today? I think he'd probably have at least 4, 500 yard passing games in his first 2 seasons...and his fire to win would be something to see again on the sidelines...

 

[NY8123]

Lol. Marino was passing for 5000 yards before passing for 5000 yards was cool.

I'd love to see what he could do in today's friendly pass happy league.

Bruce Smith would have 50 more sacks on his total if he didn't have to face Marino twice a year. I can't count the number of times Marino was "in the grasp" and ended up completing a pass for 3 to 5 yards to avoid a sack.

 

[superphin]

As much as a fan of taylor I am, no way can you take anyone besides Marino. You knock Marino for not being able to take us to the "promise land" but he sure got alot closer than taylor ever got us... it's a QB league and with a QB like Marino playing with today's rules he is a no brainer pick and it's not even close. Marino won a heck of alot more games for us than taylor did.

I didn't knock Dan I said one man was not enough to win as in doesn't matter how amazing Marino is if we don't have a SB caliber roster which we didn't than. I don't think the roster we currently have now is better than any other roster we fielded with Marino under center while in his prime so imo it would just be more of the same getting bounced by better teams with better all around rosters.

I chose Taylor for the simple fact of maybe getting an elite defense. The DL the giants had was enough to own Brady and with Taylor, Wake, Quinn and company we may have the horses to field the same result.

 

[Ikema]

Those defences failed because we had one of the worst DC ever for a huge amount of Dan's career. If Dan had a Defense led by a halfway decent DC, Marino retires with close to as many SBs as Brady has, but without cheating.

We agree to disagree on this. I lived through the entire Dan Marino era. You may be able to say they could've drafted a little better, but if you're going to use that caveat it would apply to anyone. Dan's play was intoxicating, like a good drug, but players with less talent were far more effective Montana, Aikman, Young, even Jim Kelly. You can't argue with Dan's accomplishments, but I think they only served to keep a mediocre team above water. I love Dan, but he was what he was.