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Originally Posted by DJ's left nut
He was.
But it's also worth noting that few teams bothered DEFENDING a guy like Marino either. There just weren't enough teams playing like that to bother building defense around addressing it.
It was a funny year. Neil Lomax threw for 4,600 yards.
Something strange happened that year though I can't identify what it might have been. Lomax obviously wasn't as good as Marino that year or anything but....he was Neil Lomax. And a scrub like Lynn Dickey threw for 4500 the year before.
I think there's something to be said for the fact that no, nobody was as proficient as Marino....and so defenses weren't geared around trying to stop guys like that either. That's how Dickey comes out for one year and scorches the earth. How Lomax is a monster for a year and then barely fringe/average for the rest of his career.
I think all people want to do is give Marino more credit and take credit away from Mahomes because 'more people are throwing the football now!' and that's not entirely wrong - but then again, a LOT more teams are geared around stopping the throw as well.
You drop Patrick Mahomes onto the 1984 Dolphins and he'd have absolutely done as well as Marino did.
Marino did it first but I take some umbrage with the idea that Marino did it better because of that. In some ways what he did was actually easier than what Mahomes is doing now, especially with the exotic coverages and disguised blitzes, etc... that teams are using.
Marino lived in an era when there were very few CBs who could hang with today's modern safeties. And their safeties would be nickel LBs today. They were more physical, sure - but they were a hell of a lot slower as well.
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Sorry man, I can't buy this argument. The passer rating numbers for non-elite guys today point to a pretty obvious trend. It's much easier for QB's to put up nice stats today than it was 35 years ago.
For perspective, Trubisky has a 90 passer rating and Marino was 86. Elway was 80. 90 used to be a really great number. It was impressive as hell that Joe Montana was able to put up a 92 passer rating in those older days. And now you are a legit BUST if you have a passer rating in that neighborhood. It's a very different game now.