Former MVP gives Miami Dolphins huge compliment, compares offense to Dan Marino days

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Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports

Former NFL MVP Boomer Esiason made an interesting comparison between the current Miami Dolphins offense and the one that the team ran when Dan Marino was the quarterback.

Esiason, who now works for CBS, explained that the team’s passing attack is very similar to that of Marino’s team.

“CBS’ Boomer Esiason said this Dolphins offense ‘reminds me of when Dan Marino was playing there. It’s all down the field,’” the Miami Herald’s Barry Jackson wrote.

There’s no doubt that the Dolphins have one of the most explosive passing attacks in the NFL this season, led by quarterback Tua Tagovailoa and receivers Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle.

Hill, one of the fastest players in the NFL, is arguably the best deep threat in the game. So far this season, the star wideout has 87 catches for 1,233 receiving yards. Both of those numbers lead the NFL.

During Marino’s time with the Dolphins, he led the NFL in passing yards in five different seasons, throwing for over 5,000 yards in the 1984 campaign. While Tagovailoa doesn’t have those crazy numbers right now because he missed time with an injury, he is still putting up awesome stats in Mike McDaniel’s offense.

In nine games this season, Tagovailoa has thrown for 2,564 yards (284.9 yards per game), 19 touchdowns and just three interceptions.

Esiason is right about the team’s downfield attack, as Tagovailoa leads the NFL in yards gained per pass attempt (9.0), yards gained per pass completion (12.9) and net yards gained per pass attempt (8.35) this season.

McDaniel has done a great job of putting his skill players in a position to succeed this year, and Waddle and Hill are able to stretch the field with their elite speed on the outside.

The Dolphins’ new attack has put them in the hunt for not only the top spot in the AFC East, but the top spot in the conference. Miami has a huge matchup coming in Week 13 against the San Francisco 49ers, the team that McDaniel used to coach for as an offensive coordinator.

The Dolphins currently have the same record as the Buffalo Bills in the division, but they hold the tiebreaker for the top spot.

While Marino and the Dolphins were ahead of their time with their passing attack in the 1980s and 1990s, the current Dolphins are clearly doing their best to pay homage to one of the greatest players in franchise history.

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Peter is a graduate of Quinnipiac University where he covered the MAAC and college basketball for three years. He has worked for NBC Sports, the Connecticut Sun and the Meriden Record-Journal covering basketball and other major sports. Follow him on Twitter @peterdewey2.