Marino Ranked #1 AFC Player of the 1980's

[gafin]

When you think of football in the 1980s, a couple Hall of Fame names immediately spring time to mind. Guys like Lawrence Taylor, Joe Montana, Eric Dickerson jump off the page right away. All those players, however, played in the NFC, a conference that dominated the NFL with seven out of 10 Super Bowl victories during that decade. But in the AFC, their was one man, and one man alone that was synonymous with success in 1980s: Dan Marino. Marino’s legendary passing prowess was unmatched during that time and may still be to this day. He was the first quarterback to throw for 5,000 yards in one season (1984). He was the first QB to throw for 40 touchdowns in one season (1984, 1986). Marino was a nine time Pro Bowler, the NFL MVP in 1984, and thrived throwing the ball in an era where defenses could do a lot more than they could today.
In a feature on NFL.com, NFL Media’s Elliot Harrison ranked the top players of the 1980s in honor of NFL Network’s Decades Month, and listed “Dan The Man” as the top player of the decade within the AFC, and fourth overall in the 80s.

Marino played seven seasons in the 1980s, and in three of them, he was named first-team All-Pro. That’s an impressive hit rate, being dubbed the absolute best of the best at the game’s most important position 43 percent of the time. Oh, and his 1984 campaign might be the most impressive offensive season in NFL history: We’re talkin’ 5,084 yards and 48 touchdowns … in an era when defensive backs were allowed to play far more aggressively.

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Always be #1 in NFL to me. When he was healthy and at the top of his game, nobody better. I still remember in the January '85 playoff game reading the lips of the late Steeler Coach Chuck Knoll as he walked off the field - WOW!

http://www.thefinsiders.com/blog/2014/marino-ranked-1-afc-player-of-the-1980s-by-nfl-com

Steelers were Victims of Marino Magic

http://news.google.com/newspapers?n...foNGAAAAIBAJ&sjid=xDENAAAAIBAJ&pg=5253,560472

 

[Czonka39]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WL0oqiFrt9E
[video=youtube;WL0oqiFrt9E]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WL0oqiFrt9E[/video]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=WL0oqiFrt9E

 

[Adam Strange]

Had the Dolphins won the Super Bowl in 1984, Marino's season would unquestionably be ranked as the best ever by a QB. But they didn't and, thus, I don't think it gets the respect it deserves.

 

[Dolphin North]

Well finally some respect from the list / ranking people.

 

[Digital]

Had the Dolphins won the Super Bowl in 1984, Marino's season would unquestionably be ranked as the best ever by a QB. But they didn't and, thus, I don't think it gets the respect it deserves.

Amen.

Sent from my phone, so please forgive any typos.

 

[X-FACTOR]

Please....Please......let some of that magic rub off on Tannehill! I miss those days of being a confident Dolphin fan walking with my head held high.

 

[finomenal]

Lawrence Taylor is high on the list.

 

[TheWalrus]

I like seeing Marino high on any list but that list is pretty amateurish. When I was scrolling down and saw Art Monk in the top 20 I almost closed the browser window right there.

The next thing that stuck out to me is that no pure cornerback made the list, which not just strange but a travesty when Mike Haynes played most of his career in the 80s. No way he doesn't belong over dodos like Monk and Lofton. Even Lester Hayes belongs over those two.

Ronnie Lott is everything that's good about the NFL but people forget that Kenny Easley -- not Lott -- was the best defensive back in the NFL until his liver was ruined by being over prescribed Advil by Seahawks team doctors. John Elway does not belong on the list at all based strictly on his performance in the 80s, when he only made three Pro Bowls, barely threw more touchdowns than INTs, was well under 60% completions and averaged more than seven yards per attempt twice. How he ends up that high when Dan Fouts doesn't make the list is crazy.

How does neither Kellen Winslow or Ozzie Newsome not make the list? How do four running backs make the list but Dwight Stephenson, who played seven years in the 80s, doesn't?

Like I said, it's great to have Marino up there. But it's just one guys ill considered opinion.

 

[Awsi Dooger]

I knew he would never be there but the name I thought of immediately was Jim Plunkett.

Nothing serious...two dominating Super Bowl victories in 1980 and 1983. Those were the only Super Bowls the AFC won throughout the decade.

Apparently it's meaningless.

Plunkett was late in his career but he played more than halfway into the '80s. When I became aware of yards per attempt in summer 1987 one the the first players I studied was Plunkett. As I suspected, his stats were excellent in his later years. Other than 1981 he was far above 7 yards per attempt every season in the '80s. His playoff numbers were superb, above 8.4 yards per attempt.

 

[Dolphin North]

Had the Dolphins won the Super Bowl in 1984, Marino's season would unquestionably be ranked as the best ever by a QB. But they didn't and, thus, I don't think it gets the respect it deserves.

Yet I still see the media sometimes referring to the patriots' 2007 season as perfect. Sometimes they say perfect regular season, but I have seen it just called perfect in the past. Kind of funny / sad. I guess it's a mouthful to call it a "perfectseasonexceptforgettingcaughtcheatingandhavingyourcoachexposedforthedouchebagheisandlosingtheSuperbowltoateamyourquarterbacklaughedatinaninterviewbeforethebigloss". Maybe that's why they shorten it to "perfect season".

 

[Unchained 07]

Yet I still see the media sometimes referring to the patriots' 2007 season as perfect. Sometimes they say perfect regular season, but I have seen it just called perfect in the past. Kind of funny / sad. I guess it's a mouthful to call it a "perfectseasonexceptforgettingcaughtcheatingandhavingyourcoachexposedforthedouchebagheisandlosingtheSuperbowltoateamyourquarterbacklaughedatinaninterviewbeforethebigloss". Maybe that's why they shorten it to "perfect season".

Sent from my DROID RAZR HD using Tapatalk

 

[TheWalrus]

I knew he would never be there but the name I thought of immediately was Jim Plunkett.

Nothing serious...two dominating Super Bowl victories in 1980 and 1983. Those were the only Super Bowls the AFC won throughout the decade.

Apparently it's meaningless.

Plunkett was late in his career but he played more than halfway into the '80s. When I became aware of yards per attempt in summer 1987 one the the first players I studied was Plunkett. As I suspected, his stats were excellent in his later years. Other than 1981 he was far above 7 yards per attempt every season in the '80s. His playoff numbers were superb, above 8.4 yards per attempt.

The fact that Plunkett has been kept out of the Hall of Fame is one of the few things that gives the hall some credibility and relevance, to say nothing of the farce it would represent to consider him one of the best players of the 80s. In both of Oakland's Super Bowl runs he began the year as a backup who came in on a running game/defensive team and was a capable steward. After 1980 the Raiders did everything they could to replace him, which is why he came off the bench again in 1983.

It doesn't shock me that Plunkett had good YPA numbers though. The one thing he did well was throw the deep ball, which was the key part of the Raiders passing game going back to Daryl Lamonica... going back to when Al Davis was a coach working for Sid Gillman, actually.