Dan Marino - Legacy

Legacy

During Marino's career, the Dolphins were perennial playoff contenders, reaching the post-season in 10 of his 17 seasons. He was selected to play in nine Pro Bowls (1983–87, 1991–92, 1994–95), seven times as a starter, but due to injuries he only played in two of the games (1984, 1992). He was named first- or second-team All-Pro eight times and earned All-AFC honors six times. Marino never had the benefit of a premier running back, and in his career only once had a 1000 yard rusher (Karim Abdul-Jabbar in 1996) behind him. In his first three seasons with Miami, Marino saw the Dolphins rush for 5,797 yards (1,932 per-season average) and the Dolphins broke 1,500 rushing yards each year in his first five seasons and eleven times total; fourteen of his seventeen Dolphins squads posted rushing attacks (over 3.4 YPA) comparable to or better than such teams as the 1966 and 2010 Packers, the 2003 Patriots, and the 2011 Giants.

In 1999, Marino was ranked number 27 on The Sporting News list of the 100 greatest football players, making him the highest-ranking Dolphins player. In 2010 he was ranked number 25 on the NFL's Top 100 Greatest Players list. Marino was known for his quick release, and despite the fact that he was not skilled at scrambling, Marino possessed an uncanny awareness in the pocket, often sliding a step or two to avoid the pass rush. Marino is currently third, behind Brett Favre and John Elway, on the list of most wins by a starting quarterback, with 147. His winning percentage was .613.