redskns21 Posted February 15, 2008 Share Posted February 15, 2008 Searched but it wasn't working so please forgive me if this is a repeat. http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/columns/story?columnist=luksa_frank&id=3246189&lpos=spotlight&lid=tab7pos2 Click link above for the entire article. Hall of Famer Green quite the consolation prize By Frank Luksa Special to ESPN.com Late in the first round of the 1983 NFL draft, the player Bobby Beathard rated near perfect at his position drifted ever closer to being claimed by the Washington Redskins. An expectant Beathard, the team's scouting guru, watched the 25th team make its choice, the 26th followed and then. . . . Beathard held the 28th selection and his target was now in range. He loomed at fingertip distance, which was as close as Beathard came to getting a grip on him. With the 27th pick, one slot ahead of the Redskins, the Miami Dolphins drafted Dan Marino. "I personally had Marino rated way up there, near 8 1/2 or 9 on a 10-point scale, even if we didn't need a quarterback like we did a cornerback," Beathard recalled this week from a skiing site in Colorado. The Redskins were fixed at quarterback with Joe Theismann, fresh from leading them past Miami 27-17 in Super Bowl XVII. Miami's glaring flaw had been magnified by a record low four completions during the defeat. So Marino fit, and left Beathard ever after bragging that the Redskins also set some sort of record. "We were the only team that didn't pass up Marino," said the general manager and scout who spent 1978-89 with the Redskins. Twenty-seven teams in need of eye charts then compounded their myopia. Beathard smiled as they also overlooked cornerback Darrell Green, whom he happily named as Washington's No. 1 pick with the 28th and last choice in the first round. Thus two future Pro Football Hall of Fame inductees emerged back-to-back from the bottom of the first rotation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ttr77 Posted February 15, 2008 Share Posted February 15, 2008 Wow, how different things could have been... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hockeysniper Posted February 15, 2008 Share Posted February 15, 2008 brings up an interesting question....marino or green? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DGreenistheBest Posted February 15, 2008 Share Posted February 15, 2008 Green. We got the rings without Marino, Marino got no rings without Green. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SkinsMaster88 Posted February 15, 2008 Share Posted February 15, 2008 Now, if we could just pull off a steal like that to get an amazing player in the NFL draft nowadays. That 1983 1st round class was great: 6 Hall of Famers: - John Elway - Eric Dickerson - Bruce Matthews - Jim Kelly - Dan Marino - Darrell Green Additionally, 9 other players that year were Pro Bowlers during their NFL careers. Out of 28 selections. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mania Posted February 15, 2008 Share Posted February 15, 2008 It's hard to say things would have been any better. We did win three SB's and go to four from 81 to 92. Maybe we would have going to more with a franchise quarterback like Marino. In the end it is very hard to complain....We would have had to lose the SB vs. the Dolphins to get Marino in 83. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
China Posted February 15, 2008 Share Posted February 15, 2008 The first round of the 1983 draft had six players which are now in the Hall of Fame: John Elway, Eric Dickerson, Bruce Matthews, Jim Kelly, Dan Marino and Darrell Green. It's not likely we'll see another single draft round like that again anytime soon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimster Posted February 15, 2008 Share Posted February 15, 2008 brings up an interesting question....marino or green? We broke the scoring record the year following that draft (broken by Minny in '98) - It's intriguing to think what could have been with Marino taking over for Theismann, but I prefer the history Doug Williams made with us that may have never happened if we selected Marino. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clinton Portis # 26 Posted February 15, 2008 Share Posted February 15, 2008 Damn what a beast class that was in 83! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
33 Posted February 15, 2008 Share Posted February 15, 2008 Hindsight is 20/20, but as VGJ said a couple weeks ago, Beathard is responsible for Gibbs, Green, and Monk. 3 HOFer's. His only other first round pick in Washington was Mark May, who isn't so bad either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popeman38 Posted February 15, 2008 Share Posted February 15, 2008 It's hard to say things would have been any better. We did win three SB's and go to four from 81 to 92. Maybe we would have going to more with a franchise quarterback like Marino. In the end it is very hard to complain....We would have had to lose the SB vs. the Dolphins to get Marino in 83. You can't look at it that way. Knowing Joe Gibbs, he would have kept Marino on the bench till Joe broke his leg in 1985. Marino would not have been in a pass happy offense, but rather in a run first offense. The NFL would likely have been a much different league.The same questions can be posed about John Elway playing in Baltimore. If he decides to play, do the Colts ever leave Baltimore? I don't think so. W/out them leaving Baltimore, Indy never has a team and Peyton gets drafted elsewhere. It is an endless and fruitless cycle.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zoony Posted February 15, 2008 Share Posted February 15, 2008 Can you imagine Marino and Gibbs? Yikes. It would have been 7 SuperBowl victories. The League probably would have seperated the two of them to be fair to other teams. .... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jrockster21 Posted February 15, 2008 Share Posted February 15, 2008 Green played for 6 different coaches, not 5. Gibbs, Petibone, Turner, Robiskie, Schotty and Spurrier. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pgray1111 Posted February 15, 2008 Share Posted February 15, 2008 I think the most important lesson to be learned here is this..........nothing beats a good general manager It's also pretty cool to think that so many teams passed on a guy like darrel green, and probably for some stupid reason, most likely his height. Look what he became though. It's really amazing to think about him now, he bridged the gap between generations in terms of the way the NFL and the Redskins have changed. I would love to see this team go back to it's old ways in that respect though. Having a GM who really knew how to find quality players. Knowing when to go for the big name and when to go for the quality player. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SkinzFoLife Posted February 15, 2008 Share Posted February 15, 2008 Gibbs and Marino are like water and Oil. Gibbs was a run first conservative coach, Marino talents would've been wasted. Gibbs shows his system doesn't need a marquee (Spelling) QB by winning 3 super bowls with 3 seperate Qb's. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Siven Posted February 15, 2008 Share Posted February 15, 2008 Now, if we could just pull off a steal like that to get an amazing player in the NFL draft nowadays. That was who Sean T was supposed to be. Even though he is gone, and God bless him, we got a good consolation prize in Landry, who I also think has HoF talent. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Siven Posted February 15, 2008 Share Posted February 15, 2008 Any of you who think Marino's talents would have been wasted here are dead wrong. Joe Gibbs was an innovator and an offensive mastermind. He would have crafted an offense to suit his player's talents. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bulldog Posted February 15, 2008 Share Posted February 15, 2008 it's finding Russ Grimm in Round 3 and Dexter Manley in Round 5 that the current Redskins are lacking in re front office acumen the first round picks here have been good over the past several years with the possible exception of Rogers, for whom the jury is still out. Taylor was a pro bowler and headed to all-pro status. Landry looks like he is a rising star. Campbell is the quarterback of the future here. McIntosh played very well in 2007 before he was injured. Now, where are the #3 and #4 picks that often make up the depth of winning teams around the NFL? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ArmchairRedskin Posted February 15, 2008 Share Posted February 15, 2008 it's finding Russ Grimm in Round 3 and Dexter Manley in Round 5 that the current Redskins are lacking in re front office acumen the first round picks here have been good over the past several years with the possible exception of Rogers, for whom the jury is still out. Taylor was a pro bowler and headed to all-pro status. Landry looks like he is a rising star. Campbell is the quarterback of the future here. McIntosh played very well in 2007 before he was injured. Now, where are the #3 and #4 picks that often make up the depth of winning teams around the NFL? Well, you did gloss over Cooley. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seabee1973 Posted February 15, 2008 Share Posted February 15, 2008 it's finding Russ Grimm in Round 3 and Dexter Manley in Round 5 that the current Redskins are lacking in re front office acumen the first round picks here have been good over the past several years with the possible exception of Rogers, for whom the jury is still out. Taylor was a pro bowler and headed to all-pro status. Landry looks like he is a rising star. Campbell is the quarterback of the future here. McIntosh played very well in 2007 before he was injured. Now, where are the #3 and #4 picks that often make up the depth of winning teams around the NFL? We did pull Dockery in thge third round but couldnt keep him. We need more picks like him though or keep finding those hidden gems like our 2 DT we have although not great they look to be improving and could very possible withen a year or 2 be dominating at there positions Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
33 Posted February 16, 2008 Share Posted February 16, 2008 Gibbs and Marino are like water and Oil.Gibbs was a run first conservative coach, Marino talents would've been wasted. Gibbs shows his system doesn't need a marquee (Spelling) QB by winning 3 super bowls with 3 seperate Qb's. Dan Fouts would probably really enjoy letting you know just how conservative Gibbs was. With Gibbs as San Diego's offensive coordinator Dan Fouts was at one point the most prolific passer in the league. Marino behind the Hogs would have been almost unfair. But I got to say that I have zero qualms with having D Green over Marino. We all know which one has the rings. :point2sky Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimbo Posted February 16, 2008 Share Posted February 16, 2008 Marino threw because he had very good receivers and Miami had absolutely NO running game. Sure, Dan had the passing numbers but he would have been absolutely sick running a balanced attack. He wouldn't have had a year like 1984 but I have no doubt he'd have led the Skins to a least one more Super Bowl victory than Schroeder, Williams and Rypien did. It's very possible Marino might have led the Skins to the promised land in 1986 when we lost to the Giants in the NFC Championship Game. Schroeder was very good in 1986 but Marino was even better though he played for an 8-8 team. Would Marino have gotten us 35 points in the 2nd quarter of Super Bowl XXII? Probably not but I still think the Skins would have scored 42 or more that day. The iffy year would be 1991. Mark Rypien was great that year but only a little better than Marino but you have to wonder how good Dan might have been playing for the Skins instead of an average 8-8 Miami team. Dan was good in 1990 and stellar in 1992. The Skins made the 2nd round of the playoffs both of those years. Could Dan have taken them farther? Possibly. We'll never know. All that said, we still ended up with a Hall of Famer, who was VERY instrumental to our success, with the very next pick. Gotta be thrilled with that. :applause: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peregrine Posted February 16, 2008 Share Posted February 16, 2008 Just shows you how many HOFers get passed up by teams. You dont need to trade up to get early first round picks, you just need to know who has actual talent. Of course, easier said than done. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hiro Posted February 16, 2008 Share Posted February 16, 2008 Gibbs and Marino are like water and Oil.Gibbs was a run first conservative coach, Marino talents would've been wasted. Gibbs shows his system doesn't need a marquee (Spelling) QB by winning 3 super bowls with 3 seperate Qb's. Keep in mind that while Gibbs was known for the power running game in Washington, he came from San Diego where he had Dan Fouts setting passing records. In '91, we had an amazing aerial attack led by Mark Rypien. And while I love Mark Rypien, he's no Marino. Had we drafted Marino, there's a good chance our team could've been a dynasty the same caliber of the Steelers, perhaps even better. Sigh, I'm not complaining with the way things turned out though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chip80 Posted February 16, 2008 Share Posted February 16, 2008 Marino to Monk Marino to Clark Marino to Washington out of the backfield. Monk would have had even more stellar numbers than he has now because he was lightyears better than any of those receivers were in Miami. Clark would have had numbers around the ones Monk has now. Washington would have been in Roger Craig's category. I like Green, but Marino would have rewritten history with the Skins. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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