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The thing I remember best about the early Marino era was how the team shifted so strongly from a run-first team to an aerial attack team when Marino's talent became undeniable. Back then "Air Coryell" (the Chargers with Dan Fouts) was the only big-time passing attack in the league, believe it or not. I remember thinking the Dolphins suddenly became something even more than Air Coryell with Marino and the Marks Brothers' emergence.
Tin Indian and resnor like this. -
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If Miami would have drafted Terrell Davis instead of Denver, it would have been Marino retiring with (at least) two rings and the overrated Elway would never be mentioned as one of the all time greats.
PS. Always wondered how/if David Overstreet would have changed the Dolphins’ fortunes at the time.Tin Indian and firedan like this. -
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Arnsparger was one of the greatest DC's ever, and the difference between Marino winning multiple SB's (realistically 3+ IMO) and what actually happened all comes down to Arnsparger leaving.
The tragic record on defense without Arnsparger is btw one black eye on Shula because it shows he couldn't build a good defense without him (except for a year or two coasting on what Arnsparger built).Tin Indian and The Guy like this. -
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Yeah, I feel like receivers weren't an issue for Marino...he had great receivers. Crappy run game and poor defenses.
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https://www.pro-football-reference.com/coaches/ArnsBi0.htmTin Indian and The_Dark_Knight like this. -
And I do have to agree with you...Arnsparger was one of the greatest DC's of all time. The man knew how to build and run a defense!cbrad likes this. -
The 1st time I saw Dan play was on Thanksgiving his junior year of college. It was Pitt vs Penn State, Marino vs Blackledge. Now I was 15 or so and didn't really give a darn about college football but that game was on so I watched for a little bit. Then Dan started doing his thing and I was totally captivated. He was incredible. Of course his senior year he fell off some and with the "rumors" he ended up falling to us on draft day. Back then I don't think they had started televising the draft but it was right around then. I remembered checking the paper (that is how you had to do it back then) to see who we had drafted early on and saw we had drafted Marino. I couldn't believe how lucky we were cause I knew he was a beast! So Awesome! That is the 1st time I ever cared about the NFL Draft. Good stuff.
On to Bill Arnsparger, Yeah if he hadn't gotten that job at LSU there is no Question Dan would have gotten a ring or two. Arnsparger was a terrific DC. One of the best. Darn shame. Honestly I never really thought too much of Don's GM skills. If we had a separate GM I think we would have been far better off. -