Morrall is a no-brainer
This franchise will be known for the '72 undefeated season, long after all of us are dead. There was no perfect season minus Earl Morrall.
We were on the verge of a devastating and embarrassing first-round playoff exit to Cleveland in '72 until Morrall hit Warfield with a long pass in the middle of the fourth quarter. Kiick scored the go-ahead and eventual winning TD a few plays later.
I would have Griese comfortably ahead of Marino. Not based on passing ability, obviously, but everything else like cadence, ball handling, scrambling, play calling and especially a team-oriented unselfish knowledge of how vital the running game was, especially in that era and given our strengths. Marino undoubtedly would have wanted to win it 30+ times even with Csonka, Morris and the interior O-line of Keuch, Little and Langer.
As much as I respect Marino and everything he gave us, I'll always wonder how this franchise would have evolved if he wasn't available in '83. Shula was still a relatively young coach, but after acquiring Marino all the critical attention-to-detail and blue-collar necessities faded into oblivion as he relied on Danny's right arm to bail us out.
It's laughable idiocy to herald Shula as adapting to Marino's strengths and smartly changing our style to fit. Yeah, we ran the ball 8 times in the '94 playoff loss at San Diego, despite leading the entire game and often by signifiant margin. That was coaching/quarterbacking incompetence and stupidity that may never be equaled. Even when Bradshaw and Swann/Stallworth were in their primes in the late '70s, Chuck Knoll still insisted on running the ball an average of 35+ times per game. Shula got away from that and his zero titles after '73 is a just reward.
