An ESPN 30 for 30 film. http://espn.go.com/30for30/ "An in-depth examination of the 1983 NFL Draft that was highlighted by a record six quarterbacks being taken in the first round, including future Hall of Famers John Elway and Dan Marino." Airs Tuesday, April 23. These 30 for 30 films have been phenomenal. This should be good. However, no one will ever convince me to take Elway over Marino in spite of the pundits who look at their careers with such a shallow yardstick. I long thought Elway had a better defense throughout his career (as well as a better running game - in fact, much better late in his career). Elway was truly great in the clutch but then so was Dan (highly underrated). One reason Elway had to foster a number of comebacks is he was so bad the first 3 quarters of a game. And sometimes Dan would lead a great comeback, game tying drive only to see the D give up a last second FG or TD. And, Dan was far more accurate a passer. Enough of that soapbox ...
This is exactly right, give Marino a top 5 defense a HOF TE, a HOF Wr and a 2,000 yard RB and I'm pretty sure he would have a couple rings also.
an interesting look at why Elway is the most overrated QB ever. http://bleacherreport.com/articles/778095-john-elway-why-hes-the-most-overrated-athlete-of-all-time
Agreed. Also - Elway is #26 and Marino #2 in this statistical attempt to rank the best QBS of all time at Football Perspective: http://www.footballperspective.com/the-greatest-qb-of-all-time-iv-part-ii-career-rankings/
That's a pretty good ranking in terms of regular season performance. I do think Montana would move up when the post-season was factored in.
The Elway clutch thing is annoying on a few levels. First of all, clutch is overrated. Second, there was a post a while back on pro-football-reference's blog about how teams kept track of the infamous "4th quarter comeback". I can't find the link. But it turns out the Broncos had miscalculated (or overstated) how many Elway had. When you adjust properly Marino had the most ever, though Peyton might have broken it recently. So if you care about that type of thing Marino had more. I'm sure the big reason people think of Elway being the more clutch is because they only remember the one game.
I remember that. Elway's comeback number was greatly exaggerated as they included games where they didn't actually trail and I think even one game where Elway didn't play.
There's no doubt, Elway elevated his game in the 4th quarter. And, he made a ton of plays with his legs (which doesn't get factored into some statistics). There were many 4th down plays where he got a first on a run or scrambled and hit an open receiver. That said, Marino was just as clutch, if not more, in his prime and a better passer all the way around. The Bleacher link was interesting. I had forgotten how blasé Elway was in that 1st SB win: 22 attempts, 12 completions, 54.5% completion, 123 yards, zero touchdowns, one interception and a 51.9 quarterback rating. How can anyone get extra credit (as pundits do) for a SB win .... with those numbers? "Well, Elway won a SB so that gives him the edge" (you mean, because he had a 51.9 QB rating in a SB - a game his defense and RB both got him to and won for him - he's a better QB than before?).
Elway won two Superbowls because the Broncos circumvented the salary cap. Why no one talks about this is beyond me! http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A28969-2004Sep17.html
Marino has the passing records and just one SB appearance, which the Dolphins lost. Elway had five SB appearances, with three losses and two wins. Since winning is really all the NFL is about, I would take Elway's career over Marino's. Marino is my favorite Dolphin player of all time, but his teams just didn't have the same success as Elway's over the course of their careers. Five SB appearances compared to one says all that needs to be said when comparing these two QB's and their overall careers. Perhaps if Elway had played with the Dolphins over all those years and Marino had played for the Broncos, the SB appearances may have been reversed for both of them. We will never know and therefore Elway is rated by many experts as the better overall QB, when compared to Marino.
Taking a qb over another based on simplistic terms like team w/l is wrrong IMO. That would assume that if Marino was on Denver's team they would have fared worse. Or if we had Elway we would have done better. Too simpllistic IMO
Whoever works at Elways personal residence is always treated with respect. He is always very generous and always creates very nice perks to any job. Really is a nice guy.
Probably my wife, she even has a picture of him. http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl...cVlUafuMoLlyAGnl4DIDA&ved=0CDIQ9QEwAA&dur=309
Elway had a more successful career than Marino, but with superior surrounding talent. Marino only appeared in one Super Bowl in a losing effort, but he did so with inferior surrounding talent. Marino put the team on his shoulders and carried it with less talent but still had great success, impressing anyone and everyone in Pro Football. Wasn't it Bill Walsh who made the statement that " Montana was a System quarterback and Marino was the System"? The same comparison can be made of Elway and Marino.
I'm still waiting on proof of this. Oh yeah I've been waiting like 5 years now. Until then, it's being filed with: Einstein, "compound interest is the 8th wonder of the world." Bill Gates, "who needs anymore than 640k."
Elway's team's success is greater than Marino's. Marino was a better QB. Robert Horry's team success was better than Charles Barkley. Barkley was the better player.
A citation by someone who heard it. I am perfectly agreeable to believing it, but when I went to find proof of it to prove someone wrong (I usually check things out before spouting them, not always, but usually) I couldn't find it.
Elway threw the ball in DENVER. He always had a great arm but altitude played a role and people/fans don't like to bring up the fact. It made a difference. Just ask Brian Griese.
Just to further add to your point, Elway was .75ypa higher at home than on the road, and had a 12 pt higher quarterback rating at home vs on the road (Marino for example was .35ypa and only 2pt quarterback rating higher at home vs on the road).
This is on in an hour, just a friendly reminder. ESPN. http://www.miamidolphins.com/media/...no-Movie/de13a198-e51d-4baa-9dc7-99637994fa9d
