Dan Marino says he can throw 60 TD’s in today’s NFL, he’s lying

Dan Marino was a guest on the Dan Patrick show and was asked a myriad of questions but when it came to throwing touchdown passes, Marino flat-out lied.

The Super Bowl is this Sunday and Dan Marino is still a popular and polarizing figure in the NFL. One of the greatest quarterbacks to ever play the game and maybe arguably the best pure passer to play. It is hard to compare quarterbacks from different generations.

On today’s Dan Patrick show the host asked Marino how many touchdowns he would throw if he were 23 years old playing in today’s NFL. Take a listen in the video below.

So to set it straight, Dan Marino actually corrected himself and added two more touchdown passes but let us be completely honest here. Dan Marino would not throw 62 touchdowns in today’s NFL. It would be far closer to 70 and who knows maybe more.

Before the NFL decided to hand quarterbacks like Tom Brady passes from being hit and his receivers being hit the NFL was far more brutal and the rules were far more defensive friendly. There was no tuck rules, no non-contact grazing to the helmet, no body weight sack penalties, and no below the waste hits on a quarterback. To play in the NFL in the 1980’s through the mid-90’s you had to be one tough son of a gun.

Dan Marino was pretty tough. Pretty tough taking hits and pretty quick getting passes off to receivers who were blanketed in coverage. 62 touchdowns in an era that receivers are not allowed to be groped or hit over the middle? Yeah that is a lie.

In his day Marino threw for a then record 5,084 yards in his sophomore season and a then record 48 touchdowns. That is 14 touchdowns less than he threw that season. Honestly I think throwing another 14 in today’s NFL is more than doable.

The thing is there are not many quarterbacks who could do what Marino did. John Elway couldn’t do it. Joe Montana couldn’t do it and Troy Aikman couldn’t do it. When the NFL began changing rules, we started seeing the Peyton Manning‘s and Brett Favre‘s doing it. Granted they have a lot of talent but no one benefits more from the rule changes than the quarterbacks in today’s NFL.

With his quick arm and long distance throwing ability and accuracy, his pocket awareness and his vision of the field. Marino was a rare quarterback that the NFL likely will not see again. Today’s NFL is about running and as Marino said in the Dan Patrick interview a league of bubble screens and forward pitches that the NFL calls passes. In other words, stats these days compared to those days are definitely skewed.

62 touchdowns Dan? Nah, that’s a lie and you know it but your modesty is duly noted.