There’s no way that I can make that claim legitimately.
Singularly, as a player, he could be. He’s one of the loneliest athletes I’ve ever seen. No joking, Shula (at the end of his career as a coach) is the best asset Dan ever had.
Clayton and Duper were great, but for like 5 years total before coke got Duper, and Clayton started to slow down quite a bit. Aging Fryar was brought in, aging Keith Jackson, Mark Ingram, etc.
The RB spot…….I cry at night sometimes thinking about it. Sammie Smith. (
) Mark Higgs (???) Bernie Parmalee. Do you guys realize Bernie Parmalee was a UPS worker who would deliver to the Dolphins stadium, and was given the job as the starting running back? Bernie, the UPS worker. **** me in the earhole. I mean, was Don dead and we didn’t know it? Old man Bobby Humphrey was brought in after Denver. Keith Byars. The only guys that had talent and were young still that I can think of were OJ McDuffie and Terry Kirby. A slot WR, and a RB who was better as a receiver.
And that’s just on offense. On defense, they were giving up 50 point games to Ken O’Brien. Shula wasted over a decade of draft picks on total trash. It’s soul crushing the amount of nothing they surrounded Dan with, meanwhile Jim Kelly is in Buffalo of all places, and he’s got Bruce Smith, Andre Reed, Thurman Thomas (who we passed on (for the love of God)), Daryl Talley, all of them played several years together, and we constantly tried to piece meal guys for Dan instead of actually building a core around him.
By the time Jimmy got there, he drafted Yatil Green who blew his knee out back to back years in preseason camp, Oronde Gadsden from arena football I think, he traded out of the spot he could have taken Randy Moss at, but he was able to at least build a true, legit defense. By then, Dan was done. Like 2 years later they get Ricky Williams. I mean, ****.
By 2002 they have a great defense, and an elite RB, and Dan’s retired. Jay Fiedler was now winning 11 games, but in 15 years they couldn’t do any of that for Dan.
You add it all up, Dan was forever behind, with no run game, and no defense. Every single team he faced, KNEW each play was a pass, and he still threw it around with ease. In an era where passing was down a ton compared to today.
So, really, what can I say? Unless we play hypotheticals, what I can argue for Dan? If he had Jerry Rice, John Taylor, Roger Craig, Tom Rathman, and Brent Jones, with a defense & Bill Walsh, am I supposed to believe that Dan would be ringless right now? That THAT core, wouldn’t have done some stupid **** in the 80’s? Joe was cool as could be, but he wasn’t the sheer talent that Dan was. I don’t even know if Joe lifted weights, or ran anything other than a 5.0 40. (Dan probably ran like a 4 minute 40 if I’m bein honest tho
) But you get my point, Joe was an average looking guy, who was smart, calm, poised, and got the ball to his players and let them do their jobs. Give freaking Jerry Rice to Dan for 10 years, tell me what that looks like to a defense.
Again, that’s hypothetical. No way I can prove what could have been. It “looked” like Dan had the perfect set up as a young guy, but view their drafts from 84 on up. Whole lotta nothing until 96 when Jimmy got there. Dan was in his mid 30’s by then, and injuries were mounting on him.
From what I’ve seen of everyone, from Peyton’s constant career of elite weapons, to Tom’s defense/coach/then weapons, to Joe’s weapons, Aikman’s, Jim Kelly’s, Elway’s sudden late success once he was given a Terrell Davis, Dan put up numbers compared to all of them, and was in the conversation every year for over a dozen years, even tho he was always a one man team with retread pieces. He still put the fear of God in every team, and stole plenty of games depending on if he got the ball last or not (like the opener in 94, or the fake spike game)
I look now at this kid I got in Tannehill, I could care less how he does his job, I want the entire team around him LOADED, so he can just do what he needs to do. I had enough of an elite QB, with no one to help him. Get me a run game, an Oline that can keep the QB alive, and help with that run game, some speed at WR to help open up the defense and stretch the field, get me a pass rush, a solid secondary, a decent LB core to stop the run, a kicker, a solid punter, and a coach that can max all those guys out and give just enough help to Ryan. After that, I’ll take my chances. I know how it works when you don’t have any of that, and a ridiculous QB talent.
) Mark Higgs (???) Bernie Parmalee. Do you guys realize Bernie Parmalee was a UPS worker who would deliver to the Dolphins stadium, and was given the job as the starting running back? Bernie, the UPS worker. **** me in the earhole. I mean, was Don dead and we didn’t know it? Old man Bobby Humphrey was brought in after Denver. Keith Byars. The only guys that had talent and were young still that I can think of were OJ McDuffie and Terry Kirby. A slot WR, and a RB who was better as a receiver. 
By the time Jimmy got there, he drafted Yatil Green who blew his knee out back to back years in preseason camp, Oronde Gadsden from arena football I think, he traded out of the spot he could have taken Randy Moss at, but he was able to at least build a true, legit defense. By then, Dan was done. Like 2 years later they get Ricky Williams. I mean, ****. 
