Dan Marino: The Best Ever

Instead of the typical discussions of books and faith that tend to overwhelm this website. Today I would like to spend a little bit of time to discuss the grand topic of football. It is, after all, Super Bowl week. I spend quite a bit of time perusing articles about my favorite team, the Indianapolis Colts.

The bulk of articles this week have focused on Peyton Manning, and whether this win will solidify his place as the best quarterback ever. Now I must start by saying that I am not questioning the greatness of Manning, he is my second favorite player of all time (behind Terrell Davis). However, I would like to make the case that this win will in no way solidify him as the best QB ever. In fact, he still needs a lot of work to earn the title "best ever" from me.

So let's begin by rehashing some of the typical arguments made in favor of Peyton Manning:

1. He is on pace to break every major record for his craft. This is absolutely true.
2. He controls the game better than anyone. Again, this appears to be true.
3. He has become the king of the comeback. I have trouble not giving John Elway that title, but Peyton has proven himself to be able to come back from apparently insurmountable odds.
4. If Peyton wins this game, he will launch himself into the elite company of quarterbacks that have multiple rings. He will have multiple rings, but I will question how pertinent this is a little later.

So those are the arguments for him. Some people will argue other QB's as the best ever based on an emphasis on one aspect or another (Tom Brady has more rings, Johnny Unitas controlled the game even better, etc.). However, there is little doubt in my mind that when the dust settles Peyton will be the best QB of this generation, and could be in the mix as the best QB of all time. However, there is one QB that right now is head and shoulders above all the rest, including Manning. Dan Marino.

Yes, Really. Before you go thinking I am crazy, you need to look at the body of work that Dan put forth in his career. Here is my list of reasons for him as the best ever:

1. The statistics tell a story. Marino's 420 career TD passes and 61000 passing yards are the best ever. Yes, the indestructable Favre has broken the records, but not because he was statistically better, but because he has longevity that has never been matched. Marino's single season yardage total has still not been topped. Here is the amazing thing about his statistics: He did it in an era that was less inclined to pass. The experts always give Montana an edge because he had to earn his stats more than the new guys, but Montana and Marino played in the same league at the same time. Marino's play made Montana look silly. Marino put up huge numbers against defenses that were allowed to rough up Wide Receivers, hit the quarterback, and cause more overall disruption. Manning statistically is great, but he plays in an era that he is pretty much protected. He needs to do more than beat Marino statistically to be in the discussion, he needs to destroy the numbers.

2. Marino had the least talented roster of any of the "greats." Think about this: Montana had perhaps the greatest offensive coach of all time, and he was able to throw the ball to Jerry Rice, possibly the best football player of any position ever. Manning has spent his career throwing to three future HOF members (Marvin Harrison, Reggie Wayne, Dallas Clark). Aikman threw to Irvin and had Emmitt Smith taking the attention away from him. In Brady's only truly impressive offensive season he was throwing to the best WR combo ever in Moss and Welker (maybe second best to Tim Brown and Jerry Rice in Oakland). Elway had Sharpe, Smith, and Terrell Davis around him. Terry Bradshaw had Lynn Swann and one of the greatest defenses ever assembled.

Who did Marino have playing with him? His best WR ever was Mark Clayton, a solid reciever that I would say is comparable to an Anquan Boldin or Calvin Johnson--a good WR for his day, but not the best. He also threw to Mark Duper, O. J. McDuffie, Nat Moore, and Jim Jenson. Not too many of those guys strike fear into opponents. The Dolphins also failed to take attention away from Marino with solid running. During Marino's career, the Dolphins used a collection of running backs that include: Andra Franlin, Tony Nathan, Lorenzo Hampton, Sammie Smith, and Mark Higgs. In other words, the team that the Dolphins placed around Marino was terrible. Marino was putting up numbers by throwing to nobodies.

3. Against all these odds, Marino was still a winner. When Marino started in a football game, the Dolphins were 147-93, winning 61% of their games. The Dolphins average record for his career was 10-6. He took ragtag teams to the playoffs 10 different seasons. It wasn't as if this guy was a loser. He just didn't have the overall talent around him to beat teams that were truly great (Think San Fran in the 1980's, The Buffalo Bills in the early 90's). These other teams had rosters full of talent. Marino found a way to compete, and was still 8-10 in the playoffs. That isn't a great record, but with the talent around him, it isn't his fault.

4. Championships are an overrated aspect of deciding the "best ever." Championships are won by a team, not a quarterback. You think Bradshaw wins any championships without that defense? You think Elway wins without Terrell Davis? You think Brady wins any without Bill's defense? There is no way Big Ben wins very many games without the Steelers great defense. Quarterbacks can win games, but championships are won by teams that are complete from top to bottom. This is not to say that multiple championships can't give a guy a little boost, but they certaintly can't be the primary evidence. This is why I hate putting Tom Brady in the discussion. Until he was surrounded by the super receivers, he hadn't posted 30 TD's in a season. He has only had 3 4,000 yard seasons. His numbers are good, but they aren't "best ever" quality.


So there it is. Marino was the best ever. Manning could still take the place at the top, but in my book, he still has a long way to go.