Dan Marino doesn’t have many national television appearances left, so Jimmy Johnson seemed uncharacteristically sympathetic Thursday as he watched his 38-year-old quarterback act his age.
Johnson sounded torn between giving Marino the hook and allowing him to finish his first start in six weeks. By throwing five interceptions, tying his 1988 record for futility, the Miami Dolphins’ quarterback already had embarrassed himself as much as he could in the 20-0 loss to the Dallas Cowboys. Johnson decided yanking him would only add insult to ineffectiveness.
“I didn’t want to do that to Dan,” Johnson said. “He wanted to stay in.”
His legacy secure as the only 60,000-yard passer in history, Marino is oblivious to criticism. He just wants to play, wants to win, wants to try. He doesn’t seem to mind walking the fine line between one last shot at glory and one last risk of ridicule.
Asked if the Miami quarterback had lost some arm strength, Dallas cornerback Deion Sanders quipped: “The two he threw to me came pretty good.”
Marino missed five games with a “cervical nerve root injury,” which sounds like the kind of ailment a man might suffer if he spent his life throwing his arm off.
“I had a feeling it was going to be a tough day for Marino,” Sanders said. “He hadn’t been in there for a while.”
Of course, Johnson is expecting Marino still has enough left to get through five more games and the playoffs. Backup Damon Huard showed promise in Marino’s absence, but after a loss to Buffalo, Johnson admitted, “We miss Dan.”
“I didn’t make good decisions,” Marino said. “It was missing. It was a timing thing. We were trying to make something happen offensively, but I wasn’t doing the things to give us a chance to win.”
The Cowboys blitzed 40 percent of the time, knowing Marino can’t move. He never could. He was playing without injured favorite receiver O.J. McDuffie, but Dallas quarterback Troy Aikman was playing without Michael Irvin too.
“When you come off an injury, your rhythm is just not the same,” said Dallas safety George Teague. “He might not have confidence in his arm or whatever. He did some things. . . . He didn’t look us off like he normally would. He kind of stared a little bit. I think he’ll be all right health-wise.”
Johnson and Dallas safety Darren Woodson both cited Marino’s rust, giving him the benefit of the doubt. Marino has earned that from friend and foe, but as time marches on, there is precious little room left for hope that he’ll ever be exactly the same.
“Dan threw the ball pretty good,” Miami receiver Oronde Gadsden said. “They blitzed a lot and forced Dan to throw the ball sooner than I think he wanted to, but I don’t think there’s a problem with his accuracy.”
Said tackle Richmond Webb: “Dan’s going to be there. Dan is still the man. He’ll be the quarterback. We’re behind him and have confidence in him. He’s down in the dumps now because he’s a competitor.”
Said tight end Troy Drayton: “He’s still a good quarterback. Historically, when he has a bad game, he comes back the next week and lights them up. But to criticize him now I think is unfair.”
Marino pointed out he had only two practices this week.
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“I’m not making excuses,” he said, “but it’s going to take some time to get back into the rhythm. I’m going to try to learn from this. It’s the only way I know how to do it.”
Dallas defensive coordinator Dave Campo also defended Marino in more ways than one.
“When you play someone who is larger than life, it feels good when you beat him,” Campo said. “The thing is, he brings out the best in his team, but he brings out the best in everybody else too.”
Dave Wannstedt, the former Bears coach who knows quarterback problems when he sees them, said: “He wasn’t as sharp as he’s going to be. He’ll be a lot better (next week) against Indianapolis.”
Still, Johnson found it necessary to say, “Yes, Dan is still the starter.”