Never would’ve happened. Marino was burnt toast by the time he retired, at the tail end of a very sharp decline, and he’d have been even worse if he’d played in 2000. Jay Fiedler was no great shakes but he was genuinely a better option than Marino at that point. Even if they made it to the postseason either Oakland or by some miracle Baltimore would’ve had them for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and a midnight snack like the Jags did in 1999. Hell, they barely skated past Indy OTL, with Marino under center they’d be unlikely to win that one.
The Rams, meanwhile, are unconscionably bad on defense. They got outdueled in the wild card by Aaron Brooks, and that just says it all.
