How many Lombardi Trophies would we have if..

we drafted Dan Marino in 1983?

I realize this is all specualtion and nobody has a crystal ball to tell us what would have really happened but. What if we took Marino instead of Rivera?

This IS NOT a post against Rivera as I know he was very badly injured in a car accident later that year.

Our starting QBs and number of games started from 84 Marinos first year in league to 99 when Marino retired.
From most to least..
O'Donnell-61
Brister-57
Stewart-44
Malone-43
Stoudt_15
Woodley-13
Tomczak-11
Blackledge-5
Bono-3
Campbell-2
Bradshaw-1
Miller-1

256 Games

Our record during that time 137-118...I know im off one game.Cant find the error.But its only one game. 537 winning %

How good could we have ben with Marinos aprox. 61 winning % in games started for the Fins? If he was a STEELER I would guess during those years he would be close to 70%...2 more Lombardis in our case.That would make 8.JMHO.

OH almost forgot we cut Johnny Unitas in 55....

 

I think we would of had at least 2 maybe 3 more......man what a miscue by us

 

Hindsight is always 20/20...
But, Damn, can you imagine the difference if we had Marino?
I gauran-damn-tee you, we woulda had more Superbowl rings before Ben got here!!!
As for Unitas, that`s a damn shame, also, but would we have had Bradshaw if we kept Unitas?
And I am trying to remember the timeframe, but, When we did cut Unitas, he had pretty much no talent around him anyhow, right?
He was gone right before we hired Noll, wasn`t he? Or when we first got Noll?
Edit...
OK, I posted too quick, before thinking harder...
There was probably at least a decade between letting Unitas go, and hiring Noll...
So, again, hindsight`s twenty/twenty, but do you think there would be any arguments now, about who was the best dynasty, if we had went with...
Unitas, Bradshaw, Marino, Ben?!?!?!
Wow!!!

 

Amazing effort pulling all this stats together.

Guess we've at least won on 95, instead of O'donnell throwing into that cowboy CB.
And another, maybe another 2. We shall consider that the Steelers didn't have amazing receivers as well during that span...

 

In Dan Rooney's book he stated that he begged his dad to keep Unitas but Walt Keisling cut him anyway.

 

Marino in the nineties with Cowher would have been lights out. No loss to San Diego and probably not to NE. Kordell Stewart threw away the AFCC game with Denver.

 

What really stands out to me is after we DID NOT draft Marino... #12 started 1 game...I have heard a interview with #12 and he said he lied to STEELER front office before the 83 draft and he said he was ok to go in 84(Which he knew he was not).He lied and admitted as much.I really dont blame him...He wanted to be the STEELERS qb.... Ya think thats the reason Pittsburgh turned on #12 after 84?...Im guessing yes!!But we also forgive!!#12 ya brought us 4...cant ask for more than that!!

 

When the Steelers drafted Malone with the 28th pick in the 1980 NFL draft he was supposed to be the heir apparent to Bradshaw. He had the physical tools , a good arm and he could run early on (had a 90 yard TD reception) but in the end he wasn't very good and ended up getting traded to the San Diego Chargers for an 8th round draft pick that the Steelers used on the immortal Miike Hinnant a tight end from Temple. Hindsight is 20/20 but yeah, with Marino plus the defense we had we would have more rings.

 

I love this topic. We would have been awesome! Marino with a running game and a defense?!?!?!?! Are you kidding me?!?!?!

I lived in south Florida during that time and hate the dolphins to this day more than any team (except the ravens now). Even more than the cryboys and our divisional foes, but I always loved Marino.

Someone said about the hindsight 20/20 thing. I don't mean to be rude but, BULL****! He wasn't brady pic and came out of nowhere. He was a local boy they had plenty of knowledge of who was a phenom with a quick release rocket.

2-4 superbowls if our teams front office wasn't stupid. Not sure how they missed that one. It's QB for cryin out loud, you have to take the chance.

 

How much of that was to stay on the team just for insurance purposes? I mean when Bettis said he played the system back when he thought he was going to be cut and faked an injury in the preseason that he already had just so they would IR him and he could still be on the team that was eye opening to me. I don't think any player is a saint but didnt think about the lengths they go through to stay on the team.

 

The one i always wonder about is how many we would have brought home if the cheatriots didnt cheat?

 

I'm right there with you.

 

Unitas was lost in the sauce because of so many rounds of draft and the steelers not playing their rookies in preseason properly.Now with Marino,steelers had no one at qb and he was there for the picking.He and dorsett and hugh green were straight up beast for the panthers back in that day.Pitt ( marino,dorsett,hugh green)/Penn st/(todd blackledge)and Georgia with a guy named h.walker were the greats in college at that time.And two out of the four players would make a great impact on the nfl.Marino,hall of fame qb.H. walker would be traded and later be the reason the dallas cowboys would go on to be the team of the decade in the '90's and also produce many hall of famers.Hugh green got drafted by the tampa bay bucs and injuries.Todd blackledge forgot how to play football after college.Matt ryan remind me of todd blackledge.

 

heck yea, johnny u., len dawson, al bundy...................

 

It's always interested me that, regarding all the stories about trading Unitas and failing to draft Marino, the greater regret of the Chief seemed to be letting Marino get away from us in that draft. Art Rooney Jr. used to say that his Dad never forgave him for it.

 

Ugh, thanks for bringing back a painful memory that I had blocked out. Just don't mention O'Donell's interceptions or else I may get really sick


edit: Nevermind, I see that O'Donnell's gaffe's were already mentioned. You know, I actually liked O'Donnell until he said a week before the Super Bowl that he would stay a Steeler no matter what, and even said he'd take less money, but then a week or two after, hit the road.

 

Had Marino entered the draft after his jr year the Steelers would have taken him in a heartbeat (if he was available). The problem with him after his sr year was he earned a "party" image and rumors of drug use dogged him. Mostly weed, and in those days that was the kiss of death, even more than now. That's the only reason he fell to the dolphins with the last pick in round one. We would easily had 3 or 4 more Lombardis with Marino in black and gold. Passing champ, Super Bowls, local hero ... it would have been amazing! :banghead:

 

I love these what-if scenarios as well.

We should have traded Malone early when it was apparent that he was a locker room cancer. Then we might have got a bit more for him. Who knows, if we had let him got in 85 (after he led us to beat the 49ers), we might have got Bernie Kosar.

Hmm. Maybe that argument isn't so good.

O'Donnell was no HOFer but - if we can stand to think about it again, which I know most of us can't - those picks in the SB were very uncharacteristic of him. O'Donnel was in some ways a perfect Cowher QB - game manager, safe hands, decent beard.

 

On a different note, I was just looking at our 1987 draft. What a year - Rod Woodson, Greg Lloyd, Hardy Nickerson, Thomas Everett, Merril Hoge (and, of course, Joey Clinkscales)... quite a series of pick ups, didn't realise how significant that draft was.

 

Second and 3 at the Broncos 20 with the Bus on a roll and Kordell threw into double coverage in the right side of the end zone. Of courde Elway made a drive with the help of a few PI calls.

The Steelers rolled Denver in the regular season meeting.

 

How did they miss so badly on someone from their own backyard? At the time, I was a big Pitt fan and a bigger fan of Marino. I remember the anguish after the Steelers passed on Marino. Like the previous poster, I also heard that rumors of drugs (coke) caused the Steelers to pass on Marino (and 2 or 3 more Lombardis).

 

Forgot about Lenny Dawson. He was no Dan Marino. But he does have a yellow jacket. He became expendable when we acquiared Bobby Lane.From what I have read.

Al Bundy Had to use Wicki to get that reference. Dat right dere is funny!! Did not know that. Thanks for the info daddyo!!

 

Yes, the main reason the steelers and a lot of teams passed on Marino was suspected Drug use. If I remember correctly he had a great jr. year and a so-so senior year. He supposedly partied it up to much his senior year.

 

Things would have been much different for both the Steelers and Marino. He was known as a big risk during the 83 draft because of his known party habits. Someone else said that it was weed but the big rumor was the white powder. That essentially shunned the FO away. Marino went to Fla and found his wife who really straightened him out. They raised a big beautiful family which includes both biological and adopted children. Honestly I don't know if he would have traded a couple of SB's for that but I sure was and am still upset that we didn't draft him when he was there for the taking.
2-3 more trophies easily.

 

I think our failure to draft Marino was the greatest draft injustice in Steelers history. The Steelers were made for Marino and he was made for the Steelers. Gabe Rivera, who we drafted instead of Marino in 83, was a heckuva DT but unfortunately we never got the chance to find out how good he would have been. Marino would have gotten us a couple of more Lombardi trophies IMHO. Good topic and nice research.

By the way, didn't Kent Graham start a game for the Steelers in the 90s? Maybe that's where you're off 1 game.