Quarterback, Miami Dolphins
Age: 22 (Sept. 15)
College: Pittsburgh
Height: 6’3” Weight: 214
Prelude:
While he had
been the Univ. of Pittsburgh’s all-time passing leader, there were questions
about Marino and, as part of a highly-touted class of available quarterbacks, he
fell to the Dolphins as the 27th pick in the first round (and the
fifth QB). Marino quickly put the doubts to rest, taking over from David
Woodley as the starter after several relief appearances, with the club at 3-3,
and passing Miami to 9 wins in the final 10 games. Marino displayed a strong
arm and quick release, making up for a lack of mobility, as well as being a
quick study in reading NFL defenses.
1983 Season Summary
Appeared in 11
of 16 games
[Bracketed
numbers indicate league rank in Top 20]
Passing
Attempts – 296
Most attempts, game – 38 vs. LA Rams 10/30
Completions –
173
Most completions, game – 25 vs. LA Rams 10/30
Yards – 2210
Most yards, game – 322 vs. Buffalo
Completion
percentage – 58.4 [16]
Yards per
attempt – 7.5 [10]
TD passes – 20
[11, tied with Dan Fouts, Jim Plunkett & Ron Jaworski]
Most TD
passes, game – 3 vs. Buffalo 10/9, at NY Jets 10/16, vs. Cincinnati 11/28
Interceptions
– 6
Most
interceptions, game – 2 vs. Buffalo 10/9
Passer rating
– 96.0 [3, 1st in AFC]
300-yard
passing games – 1
200-yard
passing games – 5
Rushing
Attempts – 28
Most
attempts, game - 5 (for 10 yds.) at San Francisco 11/6
Yards – 45
Most yards,
game – 18 yards (on 2 carries) at New England 11/13
Yards per
attempt – 1.6
TDs – 2
Scoring
TDs – 2
Points – 12
Postseason: 1
G (AFC Divisional playoff vs. Seattle Seahawks)
Pass attempts
– 25
Pass
completions – 15
Passing
yardage – 193
TD passes – 2
Interceptions
– 2
Awards & Honors:
NFL Rookie of
the Year: Sporting News
2nd
team All-NFL: AP
1st
team All-AFC: UPI, Pro Football Weekly
Pro Bowl
Dolphins went
12-4 to finish first in the AFC East. Lost AFC Divisional playoff to Seattle
Seahawks (27-20).
Aftermath:
Marino
followed up his fine rookie year with a brilliant 1984 season in which he set
NFL records for passing yards (5084) and TD passes (48). The Dolphins were AFC
Champions, although they lost to the 49ers in the Super Bowl. He had three more
4000-yard passing performances in the next four years and threw 44 TD passes in
1986. The Dolphins made it to the AFC title game again in 1985, but failed to
reach the Super Bowl during the remainder of Marino’s 17-year career. With his ability
to get the ball away in a hurry plus excellent protection, he rarely was sacked
and proved to be durable, putting together a streak of 145 consecutive starts
in non-strike games before an Achilles tendon injury sidelined him five games
into the ’93 season. Overall, he led the NFL in passing yards four more times,
TD passes twice, completions five times and attempts on four more occasions.
The Dolphins were 147-93 with him behind center, 8-10 in the postseason. Upon
his retirement, Marino was the league’s career leader in passes (8358),
completions (4967), TD passes (420), and passing yards (61,361). The Dolphins
retired his #13 and he was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, Class
of 2005.
--
Rookie of the Year Profiles feature players who were named Rookie
of the Year in the NFL (including NFC/AFC), AFL (1960-69), or USFL (1983-85) by
a recognized organization (Associated Press – Offense or Defense, Newspaper
Enterprise Association, United Press International, The Sporting News, or the
league itself – Pepsi NFL Rookie of the Year).
[Updated 11/30/14]
[Updated 11/30/14]
Go Dan, Go!
ReplyDeletePossibly the greatest pure passer the league has ever seen, IMHO. Only Peyton Manning would be close to his level in my book.
ReplyDelete