| Dan
Marino was well on his way to being one of the all time great NFL
Quarterbacks. Having already be named to some All-American teams
as a junior quarterback at the University of Pittsburgh in 1981,
Marino was considered a major candidate for the Heisman Trophy the
following year, but had a disappointing season. Nevertheless, he
set a school career record for total offense with more than 8,500
yards.
Although Dan
was chosen in the first round of the 1983 NFL college draft, there
were five quarterbacks selected ahead of him. He went to the Miami
Dolphins, who had the twenty-seventh pick.
The 6-foot-3,
220-pound Marino became Miami's starter for the last eleven games
of his rookie season and was so impressive that he became the first
rookie quarterback ever to start in a Pro Bowl.
Gifted with
a strong arm and an amazingly quick release, Marino was very difficult
to sack, although he lacked mobility. During a period from 1988
to 1989, Marino threw 759 consecutive passes without being trapped
for a loss.
Marino was awarded
the Bert Bell Trophy as the NFL player of the year in 1984, when
he completed 362 of 564 passes for 5,084 yards and 48 touchdowns.
He was the first quarterback to pass for more than 5,000 yards in
a season and he shattered the old record of 36 touchdown passes.
In a 38-16 loss to the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl XIX after
that season, Marino completed 29 of 50 passes, both records at the
time.
In 17
seasons, Marino started 242 of the Dolphins' 272 regular-season
games. He suffered only one serious injury, in 1993, when he ruptured
an Achilles tendon in Miami's fifth game and was placed on the injured
reserve list for the rest of the season.
The Dolphins
made the playoffs in each of Marino's first three seasons. After
they lost to the New England
Patriots in the 1985 AFC championship game, though, they made
the playoffs only seven times in 14 seasons. Their only other appearance
in the AFC championship came in 1992, when they lost to the Buffalo
Bills, 29-10.
In 1999, his
final season, Marino missed five games with a neck injury. When
he returned to action, the Dolphins were 8-2 and apparently bound
for the AFC East championship. However, they lost five of their
last six and had to settle for a wildcard spot. After winning their
first playoff game, the Dolphins were devastated, 62-7, by the Jacksonville
Jaguars. Marino announced his retirement shortly afterward.
After retiring,
he worked as a television analyst until January of 2004, when he
was named senior vice president of football operations by the Dolphins.
He resigned from the Dolphins' job soon afterward, though.
Named to the
Pro Bowl nine times, Marino holds virtually all of the NFL's important
career passing records: Most attempts, 8358; most completions, 4967;
most yards, 61,361; most touchdown passes, 420; most games with
400 or more passing yards, 13; most games with 300 or more passing
yards, 60; and most games with four or more touchdown passes, 21.
Dan Marino was without a doubt one of the best quarterbacks to ever
play the game of football in the NFL. |
