While Marino was the better QB, Griese is so underrated for a guy who led teams to 3 straight SBs and is in the HOF.
Griese called his own plays and he had great “feel” for the game. He was very much like Montana and Brady in the way he managed a game. Those who say he benefited from the great run game are correct. He was smart. He wasn’t selfish - he called the plays that gave us the best chance to gain yards and first downs available. And when he didn’t have a great run game all he did was lead the league in passing in 1977. Point is, he could throw it beautifully. While he didn’t attempt many passes in his 2 SB wins, he was nearly perfect. Did you know he was a 3 sport standout - baseball, basketball and football and super athletic (early in his career he was criticized for scrambling too much). I think some younger fans vaguely remember a broken down Griese late in his career - coke bottle glasses and all - and think “what a dork”. Truth is the man would house most of us on any court of our choosing.
Now here’s the controversial part - if Marino had the team Griese had, yes he undoubtedly wins a SB or multiple. But would he have been patient enough to run the offense that was so successful for those teams? Had he slung it all over and put up tons of points, that means the time consuming drives that wore defense down don’t happen. It also means our D is on the field more. It’s interesting to ponder anyway.