Analysis : Marino Has a Gun, but Shula’s Offense Makes Him Deadly

MIAMI —  Scoring in every quarter, the Pittsburgh Steelers played well but were still blown out of the Orange Bowl Sunday.

The combination of quarterback Dan Marino and Coach Don Shula was simply too much.

Miami’s aggressive pass offense, spectacularly executing well-designed plays with an aggressive quarterback, scored every Dolphin touchdown in a 45-28 win.

Nevertheless, it can be said that Marino would have been much less effective on a different team. Only three-years ago, in fact, as a college senior at Pitt, he was so ineffective that 27 of the 28 pro clubs would have nothing to do with him in the first round of the draft.

What Marino needs is a passing system that fits his talent. And Shula gives him that.

Lacking mobility--his major weakness--Marino has every attribute of the ideal pocket passer.

He not only possesses all the components, he is nearly the master of each.

Marino’s arsenal:

--Vision. This is the most important quality of a National Football League pocket passer. He sees the entire field and usually spots the right receiver.

--The ability to throw under pressure. One question in this game was whether Pittsburgh’s blitz could get to him. It couldn’t. He has a gift for holding the ball until the last instant and passing it accurately regardless of whether he is heavily rushed.

--The ability to throw straight passes regardless of whether he is set or off-balance. Marino can throw off either foot and can even side-arm the ball.

--Release. After Marino sees the target, it takes less time for the ball to get there than it does to talk about it.

--Throwaways. Many good passers spend years learning how to get rid of the ball smoothly--without drawing a penalty--rather than chance an interception or a sack. Marino does this extremely well.

Some quarterbacks excel at the short game; others do better throwing deep. Marino can throw the soft lob or the bomb, he can throw with touch, or zing it, or lay it up for a speeding receiver.

Marino’s two touchdown passes to Mark Duper Sunday exhibited the quarterback’s versatility.

On a 41-yard bomb pattern in the second quarter, Marino saw Duper coming open to his left, then deliberately looked to his right--looking a safety out of the play--before turning back and getting the pass away.

On Duper’s 36-yard touchdown in the third quarter, Marino cooly ignored Pittsburgh’s all-out blitz until he could throw the ball.

He is some quarterback. Even so, he is as good as he is because he is playing for Shula.

To remember Marino’s last year at Pitt is to appreciate what Shula’s sophisticated passing system does for this young quarterback.

With great speed at wide receiver in Duper and Mark Clayton, Marino is coached to hit the speed on the move. He is coached to take quick five-step drops and dispatch the ball quickly while the receiver is still running and before the defense can get there.

He is coached, in short, to improve on what he does best. He has a coach who appreciates him the way he is and builds on what he likes to do, all of which is harder than it sounds. There are other coaches who wouldn’t bother.

Duper’s long touchdown in the second quarter came on a play that illustrated the contributions Marino and Shula individually make to Miami’s offense.

On second and six, Shula reasoned that the Steelers’ aggressive defense wouldn’t be blitzing there. So he sent four receivers deep.

But in their favorite pass defense, which they used that time, the Steelers station only two defensive backs deep--using three other defensive backs closer to the line of scrimmage. Thus, when four Miami receivers came down the field, Pittsburgh couldn’t handle them all.

Duper found himself single-covered by a nickel back, Chris Brown, whom he outran with ease. And after looking off a safety, Marino threw for an easy touchdown.

Pittsburgh is also a high-scoring team. But the Steelers made a crucial mistake late in the second quarter when, trailing 17-14, they threw a pass that was intercepted to set up an easy Miami touchdown. Their only chance was ball control. They shouldn’t have gambled there.

When Miami scored first in the third quarter, the Steelers--though it was already obvious that they were overmatched-- gamely scored next.

Overnight, the Steelers, under Coach Chuck Noll, have come together as a football team behind quarterback Mark Malone.

But as good as Malone is, Pittsburgh would have won handily, no doubt, if Noll and Shula could have exchanged quarterbacks.

They could have beaten a lot of teams Sunday, but Shula’s Dolphins were just too much.