Game Marino example essay topic

Beau Bassett Miami's Magnificent Maestro My favorite athlete growing up was a man by the name of Dan Marino. Dan was the quarterback of the Miami dolphins from 1983 to 1999. During those years the Miami Dolphins reached the NFL playoffs 13 times (13 was also Marino's number), but they were never able to win a Super Bowl. Dan Marino holds every single meaningful passing record that exists in football. He has thrown for more yards, and more touchdowns than any player in the history of the NFL. Dan Marino is, without a shadow of a doubt, the greatest quarterback to ever play the game.

Those who disagree base their argument on the fact that Marino will die without a super bowl ring on his finger. Marino reached one super bowl during his illustrious career. It was a 30-16 loss to the San Fransisco 49 ers. Marino threw for 318 yards and 2 touchdowns. Had the game gone the other way Marino would be the greatest without question.

I find it hard to accept that one game can be so important that it refutes the fact that Marino was the greatest. Single players don't win championships, teams win championships. In a team sport, no other player has been able to make up for the lack of talent on his team like Marino did. From 1983 to 1989, no team allowed more points to be scored on them then the Miami Dolphins. In football, offense and defense are two completely separate units.

It is impossible, with the exception of interceptions which Marino threw very few of, for a quarterback to affect the opposition's score. The only way an offense can help the defense is with a sound running game (with a running game an offense can hold the ball for long periods of time, giving the defense a rest.) Marino did not have one 1000 yard man in his backfield for his entire 17 year career. In fact he had some of the worst starting running backs in history such as Mark Higgs. Higgs was the Dolphins running back from 1991-1994. During these years the Dolphins defense was respectable. The same can not be said about the performance of the five-foot seven 180 lb Higgs.

Higgs led the league in fumbles in 1991 and gained a pathetic 1500 yards over his three year career with the Dolphins. Despite Higgs, the "fish" were the second best team in the AFC during that period. The Buffalo Bills dominated the AFC in the early nineties by reaching four straight super bowls. They carried a star studded lineup on offense as well as defense.

Even though the Dolphins were outmatched man for man, Marino found a way to beat them 40% of the time. We must understand that, normally, football is a game of complex strategy on both sides of the ball. In the modern era, coaching is considered to be more important than talent. Marv Levy's strategy was simple when playing the Dolphins: Stop Marino. 11 of the best defensive players in the NFL couldn't contain one man on a regular basis.

The sheer natural ability that was constantly displayed by Marino should, by itself, place him at the top of all quarterbacks. Because Marino never had a decent running back teams could utilize defenses that solely played the pass. Marino's receivers were good but not great (it is important to note that no receiver Marino ever threw to had success other quarterbacks.) This meant that Marino's receivers often faced double and sometimes triple coverage. Marino was so good that it didn't matter how many players he had to throw through. Marino was a modern day William Tell. No quarterback in history has been more successful at throwing into tough coverage.

Marino is also responsible for the most fourth quarter comebacks than any other quarterback. He was fantastic under pressure. He'd would call his own plays and execute them with perfection (something that is seldom done in the modern day of football). Marino recorded the greatest single season a quarterback has ever had over the 1983-84 season. Nearly 20 years later, the the numbers look like misprints in the year by year ledger of the NFL Fact and Record Book. What's more, Marino accomplished the milestones in only his second year in the league, flouting the belief that young quarterbacks need at least three years of seasoning before they are ready for a starting job.

There is no doubt that Marino was the greatest passer of all time. He played with mediocre surroundings for 17 years and made more with them then Montana or Unitas ever could have. He was great in each season he played, leading the league in yards an unprecedented ten times. Never has a quarterback one a super bowl single handily, no one ever will, but Marino came as close as possible.