Marino on peers: 'We'd throw for 6,000 yards' in current NFL
Dan Marino thinks he might have played in the wrong era.
The Miami Dolphins icon told ESPN's Kevin Clark that he and the quarterbacks of his day would thrive in the modern NFL thanks to new rules.
In 1984, Marino threw for 5,084 yards, but asked by Clark if he could throw for 6,000 yards now, he thinks he could.
“The best part about this is I’m retired and I don’t have to prove it. Yes, we’d throw for 6,000 yards,” the 61-year-old Marino said. “It would be a lot of fun. I wish I could.”
The NFL record for passing yards in a season is held by Peyton Manning, who threw for 5,477 in 2013.
The Pro Football Hall of Famer cites modern rules that better protect quarterbacks as to why he feels the way he does.
"You can’t hit the quarterback the way you used to," Marino said. "You can’t get a shot in the head, they can’t go to your knees. And I think that’s a good thing because when I played you were allowed to do that. Players could take shots at you."
Originally taken with the 27th overall pick of the 1983 NFL Draft out of Pittsburgh, Marino appeared in 242 games over 17 seasons for the Dolphins from 1983 to 1999.
For his career, he threw for 61,361 yards (eighth all-time) on 4,967-for-8,358 passing with 420 touchdowns (seventh all-time) to 252 interceptions.
Marino was inducted into Canton in 2005 and the College Football Hall of Fame in 2003.