Former Miami Dolphins quarterback and Hall of Famer Dan Marino rewrote the NFL passing records throughout the course of his run with the Miami Dolphins. By the time Marino retired at the turn of the millennium, he owned every major record for a career and a single season.
What made his accomplishments all the more impressive was the NFL’s rules at the time, which allowed defenders to play much more physical than what you see in modern football. And with the evolution in the NFL’s rules and standards for pass defense, Marino serves as one of the few players from a past era that would actually thrive in the newer setting.
Any NFL alumni from the 1980s and 1990s will be quick to mention Marino’s name when asked who would be the best prior era player to play in the modern era — but what does Marino himself think about his chances? Marino made an appearance on Fox Sports 1’s “First Things First” earlier this week and was asked how many passing yards he thought he could threw for with today’s rules.
The answer, as you’d expect, was equally ambitious and awesome.
“No problem,” he says. Agreed. No questions asked. Honestly — are you going to argue with Dan freaking Marino on this?
Given that Marino threw for 5,000 yards and 48 touchdowns back in 1984, the odds are he’d have at least pulled one season to challenge those numbers. Those who don’t follow the Dolphins might scoff or poke fun at Marino’s lack of a championship. That’s fine, let them. At the end of the day, Dolphins fans had the pleasure of watching Marino help revolutionize the league over nearly two decades — that’s a win in itself.
