Miami quarterback Dan Marino, calmly appraising the Dolphins` 38-16 loss to San Francisco in Super Bowl XIX Sunday, paid tribute to the 49ers.
”They should be given a lot of credit,” Marino said, ”because they did what they had to do to win.
”They were playing a lot of man coverage underneath with some zone behind it. They were getting pressure and when we did have some guys open in some cases, I didn`t make the throws.”
Marino praised his quarterbacking rival, Joe Montana, who was named the game`s Most Valuable Player.
”Montana played outstanding,” said Marino. ”What he does best, he`s the kind of guy who can make anything happen at anytime. He does their play-action passing so well, and he`s able to move. He made the difference in the game for them, I`m sure.”
MARINO SAID the 49ers ”played the best any team has played against us defensively. There`s no doubt. In a big game like this, they did what they had to do to stop us.”
Marino said the 49ers` defensive ability was no surprise to the Dolphins. ”We knew they had this type of defense,” he said. ”We knew what we had to do. We had to throw the ball against a four-man line. They took us out of our scheme.”
Coach Don Shula branded the Dolphins` performance as ”our poorest offensive game of the year.
”We didn`t make things happen,” said Shula, who was participating in his sixth Super Bowl as a head coach.
”MARINO HAD some problems,” Shula said of his prodigy. ”He didn`t play the way he did during the regular season when he averaged three touchdown passes a game.
”Our offense had a tough time. We hadn`t been stopped all year. We would have liked to have gotten our running game going (25 net yards on 9 rushes). But the runs we tried didn`t work and then we got behind.”
Shula said the 49er defensive backs were ”playing so far off, it was tough to think about going deep.”
Defensive end Doug Betters was asked his opinion of an official call in the second quarter. Officials ruled an incomplete pass after Freddie Solomon dropped Montana`s pass and Lyle Blackwood apparently recovered for the Dolphins.
”It was definitely a fumble,” Betters said. ”But the reason we got beat was that we were drilled. It was embarrassing that we never had the time to dictate to them. They dictated the whole game to us. They played a perfect game.”
THE 49ERS controlled the ball for 15 more minutes than did Miami, ran 13 more plays and avraged 7.1 yards a play to Miami`s 5.0.
”It`s frustrating,” said linebacker Kim Bokamper. ”We needed turnovers and didn`t get them. We knew they were a high-powered offense and we needed to strip their runners and get interceptions. We didn`t. They are a heck of a team.”
Running back Tony Nathan led the Dolphins with 10 catches, but they were worth only 83 yards. Besides Mark Clayton, who caught 6 passes for 92 yards, no Miami wide receiver caught more than 2 passes.
”It`s frustrating that by the time we got open, something stops you from getting the ball,” said wide receiver Nat Moore. ”Then when you`re the primary receiver, you can`t get open.”
With the 49ers opening their lead, San Francisco concentrated on pressuring Marino in the second half. Marino was sacked a season-high four times. The offensive line had allowed just 14 sacks through 18 games.
”Four sacks is a lot for us,” said offensive tackle Cleveland Green.
”It`s frustrating, because that`s something we take pride in not allowing. But when they got ahead, it was, `Okay, fellows, here they come.` ”
