R.I.P.: Gabe Rivera

I ask because I don't know: how is it that Rooney would need the idea of Marino put in his head at all. Marino was playing college ball at Pittsburgh and had been on the cover of SI in college, I believe.

It's not like Clayton was suggesting he look into the quarterback at North Dakota State.

 

Rooney was on drugs too? Kidding, this was from Rooney’s personal bio. I would have to go and grab it off the shelf at home.

 

To a point, this is true, but Noll was at times capable of allowing his intelligence to overcome his stubbornness. He opened up the offense in the late '70s when the rules changed because he had Bradshaw, Swann and Stallworth. I think he would have been smart enough to open it up even more for Marino to throw to Lipps and Stallworth. With Marino, they would have been better built to throw, especially because backs like Pollard and Abercrombie were nothing special. I don't think it would have been quite what he did in Miami, but I have no doubt Marino would have been outstanding in Pittsburgh.

 

Sad about Rivera.

Some Marino trivia: My sister went to see Prince at the Orange Bowl, upper deck, in the 80s. Who was sitting right in front of her? Marino and Duper. Couldn't get better seats...

 

Marino probably would have played on teams with good to great defenses, and since it’s Pittsburgh, where weather can always be a factor, they will always have some form of running game to fall back on when the weather is shit.

Shit, what if the Jets took him?

 

It's something that was a subject of plenty of speculation at the time, especially in 1984 when the Steelers were the only team to beat the 49ers team that went 19-1, but they couldn't handle Marino in the AFC Championship.

 

He'd have done well throwing to Toon, Walker and Shuler, and handing off to McNeil. But he would have taken a beating with that offensive line. O'Brien got sacked 60-something times one year.

 

The Jets would have moved him to tight end.

 

Passing on Marino that late in the first round is unbelievably dumb, coke rumors or not. Instead of 9-10 Super Bowls, the Steelers will have to live with their six.

 

I guess most of the league was unbelievably dumb that year.

 

With the 82nd overall pick, the San Francisco 49ers would like to thank the rest of the league for this opportunity

 

But only one them played in Pittsburgh, the same freaking town as Marino.