Ian Wharton: Studying Dan Marino As Freshman At Pitt | FinHeaven - Miami Dolphins Forums

Ian Wharton: Studying Dan Marino As Freshman At Pitt

That thread is great! It's like an afro-headed angel, birthed from the steel mills picked up a football. There is something, even in the college tapes of Marino, that is immediate, tense, and sublime. The best QB ever. And who can fault him for that quasi-moustache. we all had one back then, didn't we?
 
Man... Marinos reaction time between when he sees an open wr or one that is about to be open and when he threw the ball was absolutely ridiculous. Factor in his lightning quick release too and it just made no sense, a defender could be so close to him closing in on a sack then all of a sudden in a blink of an eye... boom the ball is gone. The comment on the Twitter page about Marino being a statue in the pocket in the NFL is pretty far from true too. He was slow for sure but his pocket presence and ability to move around slightly and avoid pressure was a thing of beauty.
 
FinfanInBuffalo said:
Best QB ever. To hell with the "best passer" or "best thrower" qualifications.
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Absolutely.

I've always hated the crowd that ranks players by the amount of rings they have. While I believe it to be very flawed no matter the team sport, it's even more so for football --- which is the ultimate team sport. It sure isn't men's singles tennis or golf.

If you look at ever QB that's been part of a Super Bowl victory, they were surrounded with lots of talent. How many HOF's did Joe Montana, Troy Aikman, and John Elway play with? While Tom Brady may not end up having played with as many HOF's as those QB's did --- he does play for arguably the greatest head coach of all time and still had more talent and play makers around him during the prime of his career than Marino. Hell, Adam Vinatieri is probably gonna go down as the greatest place kicker in history once he finally retires and he's heavily responsible for several of the Super Bowl appearances and wins Brady and the Pats achieved.

Just the other day, we saw one of LeBron James role players (JR Smith) possibly cost the Cleveland Cavaliers any shot they had at winning a championship this season. If Michael Jordan had role players to count upon like that rather than the likes of Steve Kerr, he likely wouldn't have 6 rings. Fact of the matter is, to win a title every star player has to rely upon some of his teammates to make some clutch plays. If they aren't able to step up, even the very bets players can't win. Dan Marino just never played on a team talented enough to make those types of plays consistently. Even the 1984/85 team that reached the Super Bowl was a seriously flawed one. W/O Marino, that team probably doesn't beat Seattle in the 1st round of the playoffs let alone reach a SB.

Marino typically took what was a largely a mediocre team and raised them to a contender that just was never good enough to then get over the hump due to their limitations elsewhere.

When I think of Dan the Man and the crux of his career (before his physical decline), I don't recall many instances, if any, where he didn't come through in a clutch moment. If the Dolphins were in a position to tie or win late in the game, he usually did what was expected of him. That's exactly why he retired with the most 4th qtr comebacks with 2 minutes or less remaining or OT. I don't recall Marino blowing too many games for Miami. That just didn't happen often.

Marino and the Dolphins fortunes were usually spoiled by their defense and/or special teams. The lack of a competent rush attack certainly hurt too, but not near as much a Miami's usually porous defense.

If the likes of Sam Madison, Pat Surtain, Jason Taylor and Zach Thomas came around about a decade sooner, Marino and Miami would likely have a Super Bowl ring or two.
 
Wharton is a great follow
 
People often miss the point of what a QB does. The QB is there to make sure the offense succeeds, to lead a team, to be the fulcrum of the passing game, to score points, to bring teams back when they fall behind, and to get as much as can be gotten out of an offense.

Teams that win Super Bowls tend to have good defenses. Not really rocket science here … but the QB doesn't play defense, he doesn't stop the other team from scoring, he doesn't lead the defense.

Oddly, people often need to be reminded of that when mentioning who they think are the best QB's … because they think that the QB translates to wins and Super Bowls. But in reality, he's only one significant part of what makes a Super Bowl winner.

Dan Marino was THE BEST QB that ever lived. He took his offense, which lacked a top RB and usually lacked a good TE, and dominated. He held EVERY significant passing record when he retired. John Elway and Joe Montana couldn't hold a candle to him. Montana had the most revolutionary coach in the game in Bill Walsh, who invented the West Coast Offense that the vast majority of the NFL uses in some form or fashion today. Rhythm passing game? Ball control through short passes? Prioritizing RAC? QB getting the ball out quickly to avoid the rush? Zone Blocking Scheme? That was all Walsh bringing those concepts together, which are now standard for every NFL offense. Even Bill Walsh knew Dan Marino was a better QB than Joe Montana. Bill Walsh was in awe of Marino, and once said, "Joe Montana is the product of a system, Dan Marino IS the system."

John Elway only won when he had a full team around him, including a defense. Had Marino not suffered the Achilles injury and botched surgery, he might have played long enough to enjoy what John Elway did … being part of a great team that won the Super Bowl. Had Elway suffered the injury Marino suffered, Elway would be ringless too.

It's hard to compare today's QB's, because we all know Brady would not have survived as long as he has without the rule changes to protect QB's. If every team hits Brady 5-10 times a game, driving him into the ground a few times every game … Brady breaks. He's not playing into his mid 40's without those rule changes. Of course everyone's stats have gone up … it's friggin' easy to be a QB these days compared to when Marino played. The DB's can't touch the WR's after 5 yards … I mean come the F on. WR's that can't get open these days are just bad WR's. QB's that can't hit their open men are just poor QB's because WR's window of open is significantly longer than in years past. And today, we have a lot of 6'3"+ WR's out there, just in case the QB can't thread needles! Yeah, today's stats do not translate vs. stats in Marino's era. He was one of a kind.

Fastest release ever. Cannon for an arm. Best vision of any QB I've ever seen (instantly identifies the open man), surprisingly very elusive in the pocket, excellent pocket presence, tall, can take a hit, super-accurate, true leader with a vocal take-charge personality, and never gives up. He retired with the most passing TD's, most passing yards, most 4th quarter comebacks, and every other meaningful passing record in existence at the time.

Dan Marino is the Greatest Of All Time (G.O.A.T.) at the QB position.
 
Danny was failed by horrific personnel moves around him. The Dolphins expended capital on defense and running backs but they made it seem like splitting the atom.

1st and second round picks in his prime: Sammie Smith, John Bosa, Eric Kumerow, Rick Graf, Scott Schwedes, Jay Brophy, Lorenzo Hampton, Eddie Blake, two 1sts for Hugh Green, Billy Milner, Andrew Greene, Jackie Shipp (trade up in the first). This was before free agency so there was no recourse. The miserable drafts failed Marino. It’s hard to believe how badly they whiffed at the top of the draft.

Honestly if you could have even just gotten the players SF got in the middle rounds compared with Miami’s drafting at the top, it’d be a different story.

They had some good picks in there. Richmond Webb, Keith Sims, Louis Oliver, John Off-her-doll. But not enough, compared with the lengthy list of failures. The draft brains that brought in the Killer B’s or even the Beathard years were long gone.
 
It was such a pleasure watching Marino.

He was such a fierce competitor.

Ever Dolphin team he played on had a chance to win every Sunday based on his talents alone.

I remember the first Monday night game he came in and threw 3 TDS (I think 3) against the Raiders. It was on.

Never a doubt - the best QB to ever play - it’s not even close.
 
Austin Tatious said:
Danny was failed by horrific personnel moves around him. The Dolphins expended capital on defense and running backs but they made it seem like splitting the atom.

1st and second round picks in his prime: Sammie Smith, John Bosa, Eric Kumerow, Rick Graf, Scott Schwedes, Jay Brophy, Lorenzo Hampton, Eddie Blake, two 1sts for Hugh Green, Billy Milner, Andrew Greene, Jackie Shipp (trade up in the first). This was before free agency so there was no recourse. The miserable drafts failed Marino. It’s hard to believe how badly they whiffed at the top of the draft.

Honestly if you could have even just gotten the players SF got in the middle rounds compared with Miami’s drafting at the top, it’d be a different story.

They had some good picks in there. Richmond Webb, Keith Sims, Louis Oliver, John Off-her-doll. But not enough, compared with the lengthy list of failures. The draft brains that brought in the Killer B’s or even the Beathard years were long gone.
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Which is amazing cause Shula was in charge of all those drafts. He failed time and again with his top picks.
 
EJay said:
If the likes of Sam Madison, Pat Surtain, Jason Taylor and Zach Thomas came around about a decade sooner, Marino and Miami would likely have a Super Bowl ring or two.
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I think he would have had a bunch with that defense. Those guys also were good at creating turnovers which would have gave Marino even more opportunities to put points on the board.
 
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