Dan Marino post abundance passing numbers all over his 17-year NFL occupation, and if he used to be nonetheless enjoying these days, he thinks he may just post even larger numbers. The previous Dolphins quarterback even instructed that he could possibly wreck Peyton Manning’s single-season passing document. 

All through a recent interview with Kevin Clark, the Professional Soccer Corridor of Famer used to be requested if he could possibly throw for six,000 yards in these days’s NFL.  

“The best part about this is, I’m retired and I don’t have to prove it, so yes, we’d throw for 6,000 yards,” Marino stated. 

On one hand, that quantity is so prime that it’s virtually absurd, but when somebody may just shoot it off, it’s unquestionably Marino, who used to be simply probably the most prolific quarterback of his age. 

To provide you with an concept of Marino’s passing skill, simply imagine this: He poised the single-season passing document with 5,084 yards in 1984 and it took 24 YEARS sooner than somebody collision 5,000 yards once more (Drew Brees in 2008) and it took 27 YEARS sooner than somebody unpriviledged his document (Brees did that after he threw for five,476 in 2011). 

The tide single-season document belongs to Manning, who threw for five,477 yards in 2013 to govern Brees’ document by means of 1 backyard. 

In spite of enjoying in an age the place passing used to be a lot more tricky, Marino nonetheless has the Twelfth-highest single-season general for passing and the fifth-highest single-season general for landing passes (He threw 48 in 1984). Marino’s eye-popping numbers are most likely a large reason Joe Montana lately voted the Dolphins QB as probably the most proficient quarterback of all occasion. 

“Put Marino into today’s game where he gets free release … and his receivers, holy cow, weren’t very big,” Montana stated. “Now these guys are 6’4, 6’5. I think [Marino] is probably one of the most unsung heroes of the game. People don’t talk enough about him or realize the numbers that he put up during the times that he put them up.”  

There are so many the explanation why tide quarterbacks are hanging up larger numbers these days and Marino discussed a number of of the ones causes when chatting with Clark. 

“You can’t hit the quarterback the way you used to,” Marino stated. “You can’t take a shot to the head, you can’t [get hit in the] knees and that’s a good thing. When I played, you were allowed to do that, players could take shots at you.”

In spite of taking a beating over 17 years, Marino best neglected 25 video games in his occupation. 

One more reason quarterbacks have extra good fortune throwing the ball now’s since the NFL has modified its laws to bias receivers.  

“They used to be able to touch you down the field even after 5 yards, even though that was the rule, they were more physical,” Marino stated. 

The largest rule trade got here in 2004 when the NFL made up our minds it used to be going to begin emphasizing unlawful touch by means of corners, defensive holdings and glance nearer at imaginable move interference performs. Now not unusually, offensive manufacturing began to execute up in a while next the ones laws have been applied. 

There were 15 circumstances in NFL historical past the place a QB has thrown for no less than 5,000 yards in a season and 14 of the ones have come since 2004 (Marino is the one one that did it sooner than that). 

There have additionally best been 11 circumstances the place a QB has thrown for no less than 43 landing passes in a season. 9 of the ones have come since 2004 and you’ll most probably assumption who’s chargeable for each seasons that took place previous to 2004. Yup. Marino. 

Even though Marino thinks he may just post some large numbers, he does admit that enjoying within the fashionable NFL is a batch tougher as a result of defenses are providing extra sophisticated seems to be. Marino stated issues have been nice-looking unsophisticated on protection when he entered the NFL as a rookie in 1983. 

“When I first came in, it was pretty standard what you were doing [on defense],” Marino stated. “It changed a little bit, but not that much. Now, it’s changed a lot more. As a quarterback, you have to be a lot more discipline with your protections and everything that you do.”

Marino credited Dick LeBeau with converting the defensive sport. LeBeau created a hearth zone blitz all over his occasion as a defensive coordinator with the Bengals (1984-1991) and after perfected it as soon as he moved directly to Pittsburgh within the Nineteen Nineties. Marino’s occupation spanned from 1983 to 1999. 

“I will say that defenses during the middle of my career and toward the end, they got a little more complex,” Marino stated. “Guys do a lot more things now as far as blitzing and changing personnel and all that than I did early in my career. Later in my career I had to deal with it.”

Even though Marino performed at a occasion when it wasn’t simple to throw the ball, he nonetheless controlled to complete his occupation with 61,361 passing yards and 420 landing passes. Each numbers nonetheless rank within the govern 8 of their respective divisions in NFL historical past. 

Marino if truth be told celebrated his 62nd birthday on Sept. 15 and if you wish to learn a couple of extra info in regards to the Dolphins legend, remember to click on right here.