What insight would you need? Three years of Malone in camp would already tell me that bringing in Marino would be a great idea. But I see, watching Malone battle with David Woodley was a much better idea, right? Come on, the QB situation was awful at that point and would only go down from there.Originally Posted by Diamond Dave
Dude - you were 8 years old. Stop trying to act like you were savvy enough to make that comparison back then. Plus, by 1983, Malone had appeared in 8 games and threw 45 passes. No one saw enough of him to make that judgment.
Um, dude, we were having a hypothetical discussion if I were with the steeler brass at the at the time. Being 8, 9, or 62 has nothing to do with it. But it's a nice attempt anyway. There's nothing wrong with admitting mistakes, the Rooneys would be the first to tell you they screwed that one up.
Funny, I was having a real discussion. You are using hindsight to try and justify drafting Marino like you knew what he was going to turn into the whole time. You are full of [FILTH].
If I were with the Steelers brass at the time, I screen Kendall Simmons for diabetes. See? I'm as smart as you now.
Would you have screened Ben for alcoholism and forcing himself on women though?
All you are doing is defending the Steelers for making a stupid move by pretending that there wasn't a horrible three way battle between Stoudt, Woodley and Malone. Yeah, they really felt they were set at QB when 1983 rolled around, sure. Keep drinking that kool-aid.
Care to explain how Tony Eason, Todd Blackledge and Ken O'Brien all got drafted ahead of Marino? I mean if he was this [FILTH]ing monster out of Pitt like all of you claim, surely the Chiefs, Jets, and Patriots would have grabbed him. And don't give me any bull[FILTH] about them not knowing or scouting. The Chiefs could send someone to scout Blackledge but didn't bother to scout Marino?
Oh, and Woodley wasn't even with the team yet, dumb ass.
Come on - I want to hear how everyone knew how great Marino was going to be.
Yeah, Woodley wasn't on the team until 1984 because they had zero confidence in Malone and had to bring him in. And Malone couldn't even beat him outright in a fair competition! Two years later they're wasting a pick on Bubby freaking Brister! Dumb ass
As for Marino dropping, yeah, he was passed up by teams who didn't have him playing in their own freaking back yard. They at least had some kind of excuse. The Steelers didn't have much save for the argument that they wanted to build with defense.
Last edited by Steel G; 03-17-2010 at 03:49 PM.
Marino was very well thought-of coming into the 1983 draft. He was a 4-year starter, won a lot of games, was big, with a very good arm, great touch, great footwork, quick release, good at throwing the deep ball, with great accuracy. His work at Pitt showed that he was a big-time prospect at QB.
That draft also had John Elway and Jim Kelly in it, which made Marino available later in the draft. He fell because of the rumors of coke use. If the Steelers had genuine information suggesting he had a drug problem, then passing on Marino can be explained. However, if they passed on him due to mere rumors, then they made a terrible decision.
Gabe Rivera was a legitimate prospect at DT. He would have been a very good player for the Steelers, but for his car accident. However, as between a potentially dominant DT, and a potentially dominant QB, go with the QB.
Drafting for need gets you Gabe Rivera and Troy Edwards. Drafting the best talent available gets you Dan Marino and Jevon Kearse. And that was the opinion of a hell of a lot of Steelers fans, me included, in both 1983 and 1999.
Last edited by Steeltime; 03-17-2010 at 07:31 AM.
Here we go, Steelers, here we go!!
From Wikipedia
Marino's selection status in the 1983 NFL Draft plummeted after a subpar senior season at Pitt, and observations that knee injuries were hampering his mobility. Five other quarterbacks, including Hall of Famers Jim Kelly and John Elway and less successful players Ken O'Brien, Tony Eason and Todd Blackledge, were drafted ahead of him.
Steeltime,
I do not know how old you are but I remember when the Steelers drafted Gabe. He was not just a legitimate prospect and end up being a very good player. He was being compared to Mean Joe frickin' Greene at his age. Everyone on the staff and team thought he had the speed, toughness, and knowledge to at least equal Mean Joe. I remember watching him in the preseason against the first team offenses and he was tearing though the OL. The guy would have ended up being an all pro in my opinion.
I believe the reason the Steelers did not draft Marino was that Noll realized he was going to have to rebuild the team after all the retirements and he decided to do it the same way he did before by building his defense first then offense.
I saw him play via televised games. I agree he would have been a hell of a player. Pro-Bowler? Maybe.
But as between a very talented DT and a very talented QB, the better value is the QB. Teams draft DT's in large part to put pressure on the QB, and control the damage that a QB can do to the defense. Teams don't draft QB's to control the damage at DT can do to the team. That is my point.
And again, I am not deriding Rivera. A genuine talent, as I stated. But the perception that Marino had a lot of defects is a mystery to me. Tons of fans were confused as to why Marino dropped, and Jets fans at the draft booed loudly when the Jets selected O'Brien over Marino. (And as to how old I am ... I went to high school with Ken O'Brien. He was two years ahead of me.) Jets fans were mystified as to why their team would take O'Brien over Marino.
If the Steelers had selected a QB in that draft, and had a choice between Marino and anybody else other than Elway, I suspect that they would have picked Marino. His delivery, accuracy, size and experience were remarkable.
Last edited by Steeltime; 03-17-2010 at 05:14 PM.
Here we go, Steelers, here we go!!
steely G, it's not worth it. just let him be right, and this conversation will be done.
So I guess you don't have an argument left?
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