Before Tom Brady’s seven Super Bowl victories and rise to greatness, Dan Marino was the epitome of elite quarterback play. He remains the greatest shot-caller who never lifted the Lombardi Trophy.
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That’s why former wideout Irving Fryar, who played alongside Marino, chose the Hall of Famer over TB12 when it came to who was better at getting in and out of the pocket and getting out of trouble:
“Dan was the best I’ve ever seen. More so than Tom Brady. He was about as mobile as Tom Brady. But Tom Brady couldn’t really get out of trouble like Dan could. He couldn’t get his feet to move fast enough…Dan was an expert at that.”
During his appearance on John Gruden’s Gruden Loves Football, the former first-overall pick raved about Marino’s ability to find the receivers while staying in the pocket. According to the former WR, while Marino was a great competitor and a perfectionist, he was too aggressive.
He admitted that he didn’t always appreciate how tough Marino could be on his receivers as he recounted how the QB once tried to go for him:
“I’ve seen him, in practice, go at coaches. He tried it with me one time. He tried early on one time to come at me. I told him, I’m not the one dude. I will break your face right here in front of everybody.”
He was hard on coaches and players alike, demanding accountability from his teammates. However, the former Patriots wideout stood up to him, putting him in his place when he tried to come at him.
The former WR, however, wasn’t alone in this evaluation of Marino being the best. A Former 49ers Hall of Famer QB too had the same answer to the GOAT question.
Joe Montana picks Marino as the GOAT over Brady
Having played in the same era as Marino himself, Montana picked his contemporary over Brady when asked to name the best QB of all time. As reported by Men’s Health, the Hall of Famer raved about the former Dolphins QB’s quick release and arm strength to deliver the ball accurately:
“He had a quick release. I had to step into a lot of things to get enough force on the ball. He had the perfect torque of his upper body and strength to deliver the ball quickly at a fast release with accuracy.”
Much like Fryer, Montana believes Marion was one of the most “unsung heroes of the game,” saying “People don’t talk enough about him or realize the numbers that he put up during the times that he put them up.”
According to him, Marino would have flourished and put up even better numbers in today’s QB-friendly era where the receivers are also bigger than before.
Surprisingly, Joe left Tom out of the equation even though TB12 idolized the former 49ers QB growing up in California. However, this speaks volumes about Dan Marino and his ability to be recognized as the best QB of all time.
