THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, October 1, 1995 TAG: 9510010154
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C12 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: JIM DUCIBELLA
LENGTH: Long : 126 lines
Dan Marino is on pace for the kind of single-season record no one would have equated with the Dolphins quarterback.
Through three games, Marino has thrown only 73 passes. That puts him on pace for the lowest full-season totals of his career for attempts, completions and yards. And he still would be on a record-low pace even if he hadn't been knocked out in the third quarter of the Monday night game against Pittsburgh.
Only once in Marino's career has he thrown less over a three-game stretch. That was the first three games of his career, when he threw 68 passes. Twice during that 1983 stretch, he came off the bench to replace David Woodley.
So how is Marino taking this sudden inactivity? Like a guy being paid millions to sit on a raft and sip Mint Julips. Others would argue, but Dandy Dan says he has been on a stat-free diet for years.
``You know what I'm happy with? Three and 0, baby,'' Marino said. ``I've played my share of games when I've had to throw 60 times.''
The Dolphins, the only undefeated team in the AFC, never have been so effective with Marino throwing so little. Given that the next four opponents, starting with Cincinnati today, are a combined 4-11, Marino could face more slow days.
Marino often has been criticized for being too selfish, for wanting to throw all the time at the expense of the running game. Lately, that would be a hard position to defend.
In the first two games, the Dolphins ran more than they passed. At the end of the first half against Pittsburgh, they kept their three-receiver formation on the field instead of going to a four-receiver alignment. It robbed Marino of a receiver, but kept tight end Eric Green and the threat to run in the game.
HUDDLING WITH ... former Cowboys president Tex Schramm
What do you think of the two expansion teams thus far?
I would expect that Carolina would be better when the season is over and maybe have a better record than Jacksonville. I think Jacksonville is keyed a little bit more for the long run.
What's the most important ingredient in building a competitive team when you're working from the ground floor up?
The first thing you've got to do is get a quarterback. You've got to be lucky like New England and get a guy like Drew Bledsoe, or you'll have a whole parade of backup quarterbacks to go through. The g2vine5 Tex
Schramm
best clubs in the league can't win without that. You've got to have a quarterback.
How long do you forsee these two teams struggling?
If you're going to be a winner, that's measured more by the number of real good players you've got on a team. Dallas is very good now because they've got Troy Aikman and Emmitt Smith. Expansion teams don't have any of those kind of players, at least not yet. That's where it takes time for an expansion team. What they've got now is a good solid team of backups.
The Cowboys, Vikings and Dolphins all reached the Super Bowl within 11 years of their inaugural season. Atlanta and New Orleans still haven't made it after more than 25 years in the league. What's the difference?
The rules are supposedly set up to give the lower teams the opportunity to improve. But in the final analysis, it's the organizations that do it best under the rules that are the ones up there. That's why you can look and see teams that never seem to get up there.
MUM'S NOT THE WORD: Coaches seemingly are always praising players for playing with pain - but not this week in Cincinnati.
Cornerback Mike Brim chose to play with a bad back last Sunday and gave up three touchdowns in a 38-28 loss to the Oilers that wiped out the fragile momentum Cincy had built this season. The Bengals are 2-2 heading into the tough stretch of their schedule.
Brim was sidelined in training camp by a bulging disk in his back. He improved enough to play the last two games as an extra defensive back in pass situations. He knew on the first play Sunday that the back would be a problem, but he didn't tell the coaches.
``When you've got an organization where you've struggled - 3-13, 3-13 - and you see a situation where there may be some light at the end of the tunnel, you sort of want to be a part of that,'' Brim said.
``I wanted to be a part of it and I shouldn't have.''
On Houston's second pass of the game, Chris Sanders sprinted past him for a 58-yard touchdown reception from Chris Chandler. Chandler threw four first-half touchdowns, three of them to Brim's receiver.
Brim kept playing, never saying a word about his back. The coaches finally yanked him after the third scoring pass.
``It was a question of Mike trying to do something positive for the team and it backfired on him and on us,'' coach Dave Shula said. ``I told the whole team the same thing I said to Mike: It's noble to go out and want to be a part and try to do a positive thing, but you also have to realize your limitations and be able to share those.''
MARK YOUR CALENDAR: Bill Plaschke of the Los Angeles Times picks these as the four-best remaining games of the season:
1. San Francisco at Dallas, Nov. 12 . . . Can't wait for Jerry Rice vs. Deion Sanders.
2. San Francisco at Miami, Nov. 20 . . . Who says Don Shula doesn't have the schedule maker's ear?
3. Oakland at San Diego, Nov. 27 . . . Could be the wildest Monday night in San Diego sports history.
4. Dallas at Oakland, Nov. 19 . . . If the Cowboys survive this with their limbs intact, they will skate through their final five games into the playoffs.
BLUE DARTS: Two hosts of Los Angeles sports-talk shows asked their listeners to adopt an NFL team for their abandoned city. The overwhelming winner: the Dolphins, with nearly 27 percent of the vote. ... How 'bout those classy Jaguars fans? In the final moments of their team's loss to the Packers last Sunday night, they peppered the field with bottles. That's right, glass bottles. What's the deal with these folks? I know they renovated the Gator Bowl, but that's no reason for mistaking it for a recycling center. Grow up Gomers. This ain't the SEC. ... Discouraging stat of the week: Cowboys players can earn $8,000 to $30,000 per year doing talk radio. ... Strange, but true: The Jets are tied for the AFC lead with 14 sacks. It took them seven games last season to reach 14. Defensive end Marvin Washington already has equalled his 1994 total of three. ... In San Francisco, they're calling 49ers safety-turned-cornerback Marquez Pope the ``Anti-Deion.'' ... Since Tony Dungy became defensive coordinator at Minnesota in 1992, the Vikings have scored 19 defensive touchdowns, including two last Sunday against the Steelers. ... Former Cowboys' receivers caught 19 passes for 173 yards and four touchdowns for their teams last Sunday. ... Chiefs safety Ronnie Lott will ask for his unconditional release once he is fully recovered from a fractured bone in his leg. Lott, who was placed on injured reserve before the start of the season, can't play for the Chiefs but would be allowed to hook on with another club if he is waived. ILLUSTRATION: Photo
Through three games, the Dolphins' Dan Marino has thrown only 73
passes.
by CNB