In Case You Forgot, Dolphins Legend Dan Marino Was A Trailblazer | Page 2 | FinHeaven - Miami Dolphins Forums

In Case You Forgot, Dolphins Legend Dan Marino Was A Trailblazer

The Marino era would have been fun at the outset of a franchise, for expansion fans who didn't know any better.

But since it followed the true greatness of the '70s with smart resourceful teams, I am always amazed how Dan Marino and that era are viewed by Dolphins fans.

The team was a laughingstock among everyone I knew in Las Vegas. Every year we would target games to bet against the Dolphins, given all the flaws. It was semi-shocking when it didn't work. When someone was raving about that team we basically dismissed their content, knowing they were a cupcake fan and had no chance in the long run.

I considered it an insulting version of pro football. Fortunately the Canes were parallel in their heyday, with physical aggressive balanced football. The comparison of what the Canes were, and what the Dolphins sadly had become, was so stark every week. It was only exaggerated once the Dolphins left the Orange Bowl but the Canes remained. Smarter team playing in the superior venue. The comparative results were extremely fitting.

For one the team went 14-2 in 84- laughingstock? Come on know.
 
More importantly....Marino’s marks didn’t get touched until 2007 when Brady and Manning lobbied for rules changes.

Once they altered the pass interference rules and added more and more QB protection...it was only then that other QB’s started breaking his records.

It’s a bit unfair to Dan... who would be totally crushing today’s NFL with 6000 yards and 60 touchdowns in a season in my opinion.
Great point @BlueFin , great point.
 
Unreal. How many times did we see stuff like that. On a rope also.
And it was thrown perfectly into an impossibly tight window to a receiver who was completely covered with a DB draped all over him. Marino demanded much of his receivers, but they earned his trust, and he threw into the jaws of the beast often … forcing points out of games where the opposing defense was playing lights-out.

I still remember the game we beat the previously undefeated Chicago Bears … Marino embarrassed that defense in the first half alone. Total and utter dominance. Had we beaten the New England Patriots in the playoffs, we would have faced them again in the Super Bowl, and Dan would have had a ring … of that I'm quite certain.
 
And it was thrown perfectly into an impossibly tight window to a receiver who was completely covered with a DB draped all over him. Marino demanded much of his receivers, but they earned his trust, and he threw into the jaws of the beast often … forcing points out of games where the opposing defense was playing lights-out.

I still remember the game we beat the previously undefeated Chicago Bears … Marino embarrassed that defense in the first half alone. Total and utter dominance. Had we beaten the New England Patriots in the playoffs, we would have faced them again in the Super Bowl, and Dan would have had a ring … of that I'm quite certain.

Like he used to say, there is no defense for a perfectly thrown ball.
 
With the way the passing game is going, lots of great quarterbacks are kind of being forgotten. Average quarterbacks are now putting up 4,000 yard seasons. At one time, that was quite a feat.

But what Marino did in 1984, considering that was his first full year, was absolutely incredible. The league had to adjust to him at a time when quarterbacks routinely came into the league and struggled. Usually for a couple of years.
 
The Marino era would have been fun at the outset of a franchise, for expansion fans who didn't know any better.

But since it followed the true greatness of the '70s with smart resourceful teams, I am always amazed how Dan Marino and that era are viewed by Dolphins fans.

The team was a laughingstock among everyone I knew in Las Vegas. Every year we would target games to bet against the Dolphins, given all the flaws. It was semi-shocking when it didn't work. When someone was raving about that team we basically dismissed their content, knowing they were a cupcake fan and had no chance in the long run.

I considered it an insulting version of pro football. Fortunately the Canes were parallel in their heyday, with physical aggressive balanced football. The comparison of what the Canes were, and what the Dolphins sadly had become, was so stark every week. It was only exaggerated once the Dolphins left the Orange Bowl but the Canes remained. Smarter team playing in the superior venue. The comparative results were extremely fitting.

Always a soft defense, no run game, just dan and his receivers trying to win games by themselves.
 
For those old enough to remember...they used to have an annual QB challenge that started in 1990 and ended in 2007.

It had a series of events that were designed to test the QB skills awarding points for how each QB did in each event... with the winner the QB with the most points at the end.

Marino only got involved for a couple years in the early 90’s...already we’ll into his career and hardly in his prime best years...he won it in 1991 and 1992 with his amazing accuracy hitting moving targets.



I will never forget watching that.

One of my best friends and I have been going back and forth about football for a good 35 years now. He's a huge Seahawk fan, so he's had a more enjoyable time the past decade or so. But every once in a while, I still get a phone call from him that starts with "I can't believe that just happened." That was one of the first.
 
The Marino era would have been fun at the outset of a franchise, for expansion fans who didn't know any better.

But since it followed the true greatness of the '70s with smart resourceful teams, I am always amazed how Dan Marino and that era are viewed by Dolphins fans.

The team was a laughingstock among everyone I knew in Las Vegas. Every year we would target games to bet against the Dolphins, given all the flaws. It was semi-shocking when it didn't work. When someone was raving about that team we basically dismissed their content, knowing they were a cupcake fan and had no chance in the long run.

I considered it an insulting version of pro football. Fortunately the Canes were parallel in their heyday, with physical aggressive balanced football. The comparison of what the Canes were, and what the Dolphins sadly had become, was so stark every week. It was only exaggerated once the Dolphins left the Orange Bowl but the Canes remained. Smarter team playing in the superior venue. The comparative results were extremely fitting.

Very little frustrated me more than the 1994 season...the playoff loss to San Diego that just killed me. Natrone Means just smashed himself into and through the Dolphins all day. Marino still drove them down, and Stoyo still had a chance to win it at the end...and missed the FG. They just got bullied that game.

The Dolphins would have killed Pittsburgh in the AFC Championship the following week.
 
It was insanely remarkable in 1984! Joe Montana once said, if Marino from then, played today, he'd have 60TDs and 7k yards.

If you think about it, 5k yards even today is a HUGE deal.

If Marino played today, and the coaches decided to just set him loose (Ok, you know what we're going to do on offense, stop us, if you think you can), Marino would set so many records, it would be a joke...considering how pass friendly it is today.

I have no doubt Marino would take advantage of todays coverage rules, and would get so many pass-interference calls, he would find himself in games where DBs would be nervous to even get close to the receivers, leaving them far to open not take a shot.

If you consider the new pass-coverage rules, Dan had one of the best deep passes in the game, and at that time the best way to defend against it was either mug the receiver, come very close to mugging the receiver (Though still some contact), or just hope the receiver can't get it...Marino plays now, the defender would only have two options, risk a probable pass-Interference call, or hope the receiver does not come down with it...Dan was rarely ever intercepted deep, so either the receiver got it, or nobody got it.

Add to that, the Brady Rule of treating QBs like porcelain dolls, and on top of defenders dealing with his quick release, his 6th sense of where the defender was, his rediculous ability to move inside the pocket, but now you need to come at him controlled, because if your even less the a second late...Flag.

Dan Marino played in this era, it would be almost unfair.
 
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