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QUOTES
In 1984, Miami's Dan Marino eclipsed the NFL record for touchdown passes in a season by 12. Pass defenders then had more freedom to hinder receivers. That makes Marino's marks more amazing. Marino used his second NFL season to terrorize opposing defenses on a weekly basis. Blessed with a quick release and a rocket right arm, he produced a season-long performance that required its own section in the league record books once he was done. Marino set NFL marks for yards when he became the first player to pass for 5,000 yards in a season with 5,084. And touchdown passes as he blew away the old mark of 36 with 48 of his own leading the Dolphins to a spot in that year's Super Bowl. Marino's Hall of Fame career included many great seasons but nothing ever came close to those feats. In fact, there is one chief reason his performance still ranks better than those produced more recently by Peyton Manning and Tom Brady: The application of the rules was different. Both Manning and Brady benefited from the league's decision in March 2004 to place a greater emphasis on enforcing the illegal contact rule, which penalizes defenders who touched receivers more than five yards away from the line of scrimmage. If Marino had that advantage going for him, nobody would've ever matched the season he produced 24 years ago.
Marino met with Wannstedt in early Feb. and Wanny said "we are changing the offense and this and that and you better think about it". Danny said "Wannstedt never looked at me he looked out the window and at the floor" qoutes from Dans agent Marvin Demoff. "I think the Dolphins could have handled things better, but I don't think it would have changed his football decision," Demoff said. "Had most of these events never occurred and Minnesota never occurred and it was just the Dolphins saying they'd like him to come back and play, I think you'd wind up with the same decision."
"No matter how it goes, we need to reflect on the entire 17 years, not just the last two. We need to realize how fortunate that we have been. We've had someone marching the sidelines, filling the air with footballs and providing excitement every week. Some cities never have a player like Dan Marino". Ex-Dolphins wide receiver Nat Moore on the Marino situation.
Marino said his "physical condition and his family concerns led him to retire" while giving "serious consideration to an offer from the Minnesota Vikings". Dan stated that "he met with coach Wannstedt a couple of times", but whether he was going to play for the Dolphins wasn't discussed. "When it came down to it, it was the physical aspects of the game. It was a question of the limitations that I was going to have to deal with and whether or not, I wanted to deal with them. Claire and the kids said to go to Minnesota and play if I wanted to go. I didn't want to be away from them."
"Dan Marino is the greatest quarterback of all time," Shula said. "I've always believed that in sports, people are judged by their accomplishments. Just look at those accomplishments. Look at those milestones. Look at those numbers. He has all the records. Some people say Dan isn't the greatest quarterback because he hasn't won a Super Bowl. But he has done everything else. One of the brightest parts of my coaching career was being Dan's coach for the 13 years it took for him to break all those records. It took Fran Tarkenton 18 years to set those records". Dan Marino is a guy who has so much pride and confidence in his abilities, a guy who thoroughly loved competing. Before every game I'd walk up to Dan while he was stretching on the field. "How do you feel," I'd ask him. No matter if it were snowing or raining, no matter what was going on in his life, he'd say, "Great."
"I am going to miss everything about it... I am going to miss the fans... I am going to miss the great friends... But most of all I am going to miss the Sunday afternoons." Dan Marino at his retirement press conference.
Marino on coach Jimmy Johnson, "I would have to say that our relationship was up and down at times. We had some great, great days together and some fun times. Other times, I wasn't very happy while he was coaching, and that is just being honest." also from his retirement press conference.
He was the most productive passer the NFL has ever seen, by a preposterous margin. Marino threw for almost 10,000 yards more than the next closest player. He threw 78 more touchdown passes than the next closest player.An old school gunner, Marino played like he could overcome any obstacle, and often he did. He had one of the quickest releases ever, and as a result he avoided sacks and interceptions with the best of them. Marino was named to nine Pro Bowls. Perhaps more than any other player, he didn't require greatness around him to be great. He never won a Super Bowl, but his 147 career wins are second only to Elway, who had one more. And Marino won 61 percent of his starts.
"It's real exciting for me to break these records, but it's more exciting for me to be on a winning team!" Dan Marino after passing for 340 yards in a win over the Dallas Cowboys on 12/16/84, his 5084 total yards enabled him to become the first quarterback to pass for more than 5,000 yards in a season.
During the halftime ceremony on 9/17/00 where Dan's Jersey #13 was retired and his name placed in the Dolphins Honor Roll, Dan reserved his biggest thank you for us cheering fans "You are the greatest fans in the world and you have been that way to me for 17 years" the crowd became so loud at that point it was great. The life size statue of Dan was placed next to the one of Coach Don Shula and Former Dolphin owner Joe Robbie, and Dan had this to say about it "All you fans will be able to see it everytime you return to the stadium and it will bind us forever".
