Press Release: Miami Dolphins Honor Roll

What They're Saying About Mark Duper And Mark Clayton

December 14, 2003

Former Dolphins quarterback Dan Marino
(On what it means to him that Mark Clayton and Mark Duper are being inducted into the Dolphin Honor Roll) – "For me, I remember coming in the league as a rookie and being fortunate to be in an offense where there were guys, like not only those two, but just veteran guys. They were pretty special as far as what I did in my career and the things I was able to accomplish. As a quarterback, you had to feel pretty lucky to have two big-play guys, guys who were as good as it gets in the league, playing on either side of you for ten years straight, basically. So you find a certain relationship with these guys and know what they can do. It was pretty special for me. We accomplished a lot of things together. I think that Clayton and I are still in the top two or three, as far as touchdown pass combinations. They were special – great players."

(On how quickly he was able to see how special both of them were going to be) – "When I first got there, and you see a guy like Mark Duper who was running a 4.3 on grass, the explosiveness of both him and Clayton early on and to see what they can do with the football after they catch it and their abilities, you get pretty excited real quick. I think Coach (Don) Shula really saw the instincts that we had for each other, knowing each other early and being able to adapt to each other. And it showed, because from day one when we got together on the field, we were doing things that pretty much nobody else was doing."

(On what he remembers about Mark Duper’s early days in the league when he was still learning) – "Both of them were probably pretty fortunate that we had veteran guys there, like Nat Moore, Jimmy Cefalo, and guys who knew the game, played the game and knew how to get off the ball and get releases. Those guys kind of coached them up pretty good and taught them how to run routes at that level. They learned pretty quickly. As far as raw ability, when you have speed like Clayton, he could do things such as jumping and catching the ball, and making great catches as good as anybody around at that time. It’s a special thing when you see that. They learned so fast. It was a good time."

(On if there was a certain point when he knew that it would be a special combination) – "I remember from the first couple of days of camp, Mark Clayton, who I didn’t know much of before that – I actually played against him in college and really didn’t remember a lot of it, but he played for Louisville and I think he was an eighth-round pick. I remember having a special connection with him in camp right off the bat, as far as throwing the football in one-on-one drills and all of that, and the same thing with Duper. Coach Shula saw that right off the bat. There were times when we knew what we were doing, but we were still raw and maybe didn’t know the whole offense the way we should. But we just relied on our pure instincts and ability to throw the ball, catch the ball and get open. There were many cases of that early on, in our first years together."

(On their confident personalities once they got established) – "There was never a lack of confidence. It’s a special thing when you get guys like them, who felt liken they could get open on anybody from day one. It didn’t matter who really was covering them. There were some great matchups early on, like with Lester Hayes, Mike Haynes and the guys from Cleveland were pretty good corners, (Raymond) Clayborn from New England. Right off the bat, they were a threat against anybody. The confidence was always there. You love a receiver who always wants the ball. You see it today, guys complain about how they don’t get enough throws. They were doing that back when that wasn’t very popular. As a quarterback, you want guys who are going to get it for you and love the competition. Those guys always would compete. Sometimes even against each other, like who was going to have the better game."

(On how much improvisation there was) – "When you get to know guys, you do improvise some. There was a lot of it. Basically, you have the play, the route or the pattern that they would be running, and because of the coverage and how a defensive back would play them, they would run the route a little differently. I think because they were instinctive players, and I felt like I was always a very instinctive player, it was a natural thing for us to adapt to each other, even in the middle of a play when they would change the route because of certain coverage. That happened pretty often."

(On if there were ever times when it was hard keeping both of them happy, as far as getting them enough balls thrown their way) – "Sure. Those guys were very competitive. They wanted the ball. There were times when they complained to me about, ‘Hey, I’m not getting the ball enough.’ The most important thing was that those guys were competitors and they wanted to win. Although they might have complained about not getting the ball as much, the bottom line was winning with them. From that sense, you’ve got to love that part in them. There were many times when we’d have arguments. I think, because of our relationship, there were times when we got after each other little bit, because I felt maybe they weren’t doing the things they should be doing. They probably felt I wasn’t getting the ball to them the way I should. That was the great part of it. You knew, no matter what, they were going to go 110 percent and give everything they had, as far as wanting us to win and making plays."

(On reflecting back to the 1984 season, and how unstoppable they seemed to be) – "When you think back on it, at first when we were doing it, I don’t even think we realized the things that we were doing, as far as the numbers we were putting up. We were just going out, playing the game, having fun and winning football games. Until probably halfway through the season, I think our offense, the team or Duper and Clayton, knew the numbers we were putting up, but not the things we were accomplishing. Later in the year, it got to the point where it was just a natural thing for us. When you have two guys like that, who understood the game, were instinctive players and it didn’t matter what the defense was doing. If they wanted to pressure you and blitz, they could handle it and I was in a situation where I could handle it. If teams wanted to play zone, play off and try to be patient with us, they understood what it took in that situation to be successful. With the two of those guys and the other veteran guys, we were pretty much unstoppable, as far as the passing game was concerned."

(On if there was one particular play that stands out for him for both Duper and Clayton) – "There were so many of them. One particular play I do remember was there were times when guys would blitz. And it wouldn’t necessarily be a situation where with Duper, for example, he had to run a different route. For some reason, he would and I’d just feel it and know that he would be in a certain place. And I think it’s a vision that you have and an understanding of what they’re going to do in certain situations. It’s hard to just pick one play. I do remember Clayton one time against a real good corner, Albert Lewis, who played for Kansas City – I think it was a playoff game (First Round game on January 5, 1991; Dolphins 17, Chiefs 16). We had to score a touchdown, or the game was pretty much going to be over. They played man coverage on him and he (Lewis) took a chance and played aggressive on Clayton, and Clayton made a heck of a play to win the game (12-yard TD with 3:28 to play). I think I can recall it being a playoff game. We were challenging one of the best [corners] in the game, and in a lot of cases you’d probably go in another direction there, but we went after their best guy with our best guy at the time in that situation and we won. They are the challenges that you come up against. And when you have great players at those positions like Mark Duper and Mark Clayton, you can go after people. That’s what made us the players that we were."

(On their personalities and how they were to deal with in the locker room) – "They were pretty easy to deal with because they loved the game and we understood that we were going after people. Dealing with them was not that big of a problem, I don’t think. Personality-wise, they’re pretty much the same – very confident guys who knew that they were as good as anybody in the league. Duper, as far as his style, was more of a speed guy than Clayton, although Clayton was extremely fast, too. The one thing I do remember about Duper, I could never get him to dive for the football. I don’t know if you remember back, the guy would just never dive for the ball. It’s amazing how sometimes he would just bend over and catch it with one hand instead of sliding. There would be cases where you would think that a receiver would dive for a ball, but he didn’t. But he found ways of coming up with the play. Clayton was a little opposite that way. He was a little more reckless as far as making athletic catches. So they had different styles that way. I guess you would say Clayton was more of a slot receiver – he was in the slot a lot more that Duper was – so we would adjust some things more with him and move him around a little more than we would with Duper. I think that was because of the quickness that he had in the short area, being able to beat man coverage or even double coverage sometimes. He had the understanding of how to run routes in a short area."

(On how much of a chance he thinks Duper and Clayton have of making it into the Pro Football Hall of Fame) – "That’s a tough question. They had great numbers, but guys are putting up a lot bigger numbers now than those guys did, probably because they were on the team at the same time. They both have more than 500 catches, but there are a lot of guys doing that now. As far as their playing ability and their impact on the game, and when they played in the games in that 10-year span, I would say, ‘Yeah. They should have some consideration.’ That’s really a tough call because there are so many great players at that time and shortly after them who were putting up big numbers."

Former Dolphins wide receiver Nat Moore (1974-86)
"This is an extremely deserving honor. You are talking about two guys that basically rewrote the record books. They are probably the most prolific set of recessives in NFL history. When they first arrived in Miami, I thought Duper was a track guy that couldn't play, but he was willing to work hard. I think he is an example of how hard work pays off. Clayton showed instantly that he had tremendous talent and it was just a matter of learning the system. As a tandem, you had one guy, in Clayton, that could score from anywhere on the field and then you had Duper who dictated how a defense had to play."

Former Dolphins wide receiver Jimmy Cefalo (1978-84)
"Mark and Mark were the two best athletes I ever played with and I am glad they are finally in the Dolphin Honor Roll. They were both very distinct in their abilities. Duper had the softest hands of any wide receiver I had ever seen, and Clayton was the most athletic receiver I had ever been around. He could leap with the best of them, make the acrobatic catch and while he wasn't as fast as Duper, he had great speed as well. They had a rare combination of athletic attributes that came together at the right time, historically, for the Dolphins, and it was a pleasure to play with them."

Former New England Patriots CB Raymond Clayborn
"They were a great tandem. It was very difficult to try and zone both of them because you could zone one of them but you had to play man-to-man on the other. It was very difficult to really design defenses to try to stop them, particularly with Marino throwing the ball to them in the early 80s. I really feel this is well-deserved honor for those guys."

"You look at Duper, and he was just able to run by people. He had unbelievable acceleration to the ball. It seemed like he was a magnet to the ball when it was in the air. It seemed like Marino would just throw it as far as he could, and you’d look up and you’d watch film, watch them on television or be in the game with them, and you’d think that Duper couldn’t get to the ball, but some kind of way he would get to the ball and haul it in. Clayton was more of move guy. He would try to set you up and shake you one way and go the other way. He was more of a possession receiver, but he could go deep on you at any minute."

Former Buffalo Bills and Hall of Fame Head Coach Marv Levy
"I had the privilege, sometimes the very uneasy privilege, of coaching teams that competed against Mark Duper and Mark Clayton. They were a fearsome duo, particularly when paired up with Dan Marino and the fine Miami teams for which they played. Our players had great respect for them, we admired them as players and we admired them in the way that they conducted themselves. They were a credit to the Miami Dolphins and a credit to the National Football League."

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