"Brian
Griese has really impressed everybody this whole year. He picked up the offense,
and he throws the ball real well. He�s a lot better athlete than people say
he is."
--John
Elway
"Brian
is so smart that he does not have to do a whole lot of thinking."
--Shannon
Sharpe
I
think it's unfair to put a young quarterback in a situation like that. ... I
think he was given a deal where he had to go in there and succeed after the
best quarterback in the history of the game, and he was in a lose-lose situation.
If he didn't win a championship, what was his upside?
--Terrell Davis
IN THE SHADOW OF TWO GIANTS: Son of Bob, Heir of Elway
 |
BRIAN GRIESE earned MVP honors quarterbacking the 1997 University of Michigan Wolverines to their first national championship in fifty years, capping an undefeated season with a 21-16 Rose Bowl victory over Ryan Leaf and the Washington State Cougars on New Year’s Day 1998. After graduating, he was drafted in the third round by the world champion Denver Broncos, where he had a chance to understudy the legendary John Elway and share in the team’s Super Bowl XXXIII victory. However, the following season, Brian was suddenly thrust into the starting job, unexpectedly becoming Elway's heir apparent. On top of all that, Brian is
the son of Pro Football Hall-of-Famer Bob Griese whose fourteen-year career
with the Miami Dolphins earned him the title “The Thinking Man’s
Quarterback.” Leading the Dolphins to three straight Super Bowls,
including two consecutive world championships in Super Bowls VII and VIII,
Bob quarterbacked Miami to a perfect 17-0 season, the only undefeated
record in NFL history. |
Being so closely connected with these two NFL giants, Brian has had to perform in the midst of inevitable comparisons to his father as well as overcome the scrutiny he faces by following Elway as the Broncos' new franchise quarterback. Nonetheless, in only his second year as Denver's starting quarterback, he created an identity of his own, finishing the 2000 season as the NFL's highest rated passer and earning his first Pro Bowl invitation.
Demonstratively separating his play from his father's legacy and Elway's legend, Brian uniquely combines precision and grit, playing smart football and toughing out frustrating injuries, personal setbacks, the media's often pernicious hype, and the inexorable badmouthing of many Broncos fans.
This page is in his own words, providing insight into his character and his style of football.
THE QUOTATIONS
ON THE SIDELINE: Brian on the Media, the Public & Life:
--I've been through a lot of tough times, not just with the Broncos. I always challenge myself more than anybody else, so my confidence level hasn't suffered at all. I'm more confident than I've ever been. I look back and I learn from my mistakes. I learn from defeat. You build your character that way. It serves as fuel for fire for the future. --after Denver's 8-8 2001 season, while preparing for the 2002 campaign in the midst of the media's and fandom's increasingly shrill, low-witted whining against him
--I put more pressure on myself to go out, play well and win games. More so than people saying, "Well, you've got all of this money, so therefore you have to perform at this kind of level." --after signing a six-year, $39-million contract extension with Denver before the 2001 season
--I could care less about your fantasy league.
--I’ve never been very impressed with the media.
--The media are there because of the athletes who play the game, not the other way around. I’m good if I play well--not because the media says I’m good. So I never worry about the media or the critics. I never let their assessments affect my thinking about myself or my performance.
--During a post-game interviewing session a reporter once asked, "We can't figure you guys out. We never know which team is going to show up. Are you having any more luck?" Griese replied, "You guys probably can't figure much out."
--I’ve seen a lot of athletes who do something wrong—they get caught with cocaine, or they are stopped for drunk driving and refuse a breath test, or they beat up their wife or girlfriend. They blame other people or buy their way out of it and avoid responsibility for their actions. I decided a long time ago that I would never be that kind of athlete.
--I figured out that just about every lesson you learn in football can be applied to the way you live your life, and every principle that’s important in life can be applied to playing football.
--People are fickle—they love you when you’re doing well and hate you when you’re not. That’s human nature and there’s nothing you can do about it. The only thing you can control is the way you play the game—and the way you live your life. Beyond that, why worry about it?
--When people fail to achieve, I think it’s usually not so much because they didn’t have opportunities, but because they didn’t recognize their opportunities--and they shortchanged themselves in the process.
--Football isn't the be-all and end-all for me. It's a part of my life, but it doesn't define my life. I love the game because I'm a competitor. I love the camaraderie, and I love to be in a leadership position. ... But I like to keep my life separate. This is my life here. When I leave the office, I don't like to see anything regarding football. I don't want my friends constantly reminded of what I do. I want them to know me. I don't want them to be like, "Tell me about your football over here or your helmet over there."
--I don't consider myself a standoffish person at all, but if I never had to do another interview, I wouldn't be upset. I don't like to be quoted. I'm not a Shannon Sharpe. I don't like guys like Jim Rome. I would never go on a show like that. ... I think people who know me know I'm a stand-up guy, not a stand-off guy.
--I'm a sunshine boy, and I enjoy being out on the water and the ocean.
--So all my life, people have told me that I can't do something and I always thought that was my motivation to prove people wrong. But when I did accomplish something, it was such an empty feeling because it really didn't matter what everybody said about me. It mattered how I felt inside and what I accomplished for me. And it's no different here. No matter what people say about me, I'm going to continue on and find the strength to bounce back from this. For me, not anybody else. --after being benched for good by Denver in December 2002
--Yeah, I mean people tell me all the time, "You know, you were put in a tough spot," but that's where I wanted to be. There's lots of opportunities out there in life, but if you never put yourself out on a limb and take chances, you'll never dare to be great at anything. --during his Christmas Day 2002 press conference, after Denver ended his career as a Bronco
ON THE OFFENSIVE: Brian on Being a Quarterback and Playing in the NFL:
--I'm going to be here for a long time.
--There’s an edge of tension as the offense takes the field for the opening series--but there’s also a kind of serenity. I know I’m in control. Nobody’s going anywhere until I say so.
--[As a quarterback] you have to have a bit of nonchalance in order to be calm, cool, and levelheaded in situations where most people would lose their composure.
--You know what I think is contradictory? When you first start playing, you can't possibly instill confidence in your players. They haven't seen you play. You try to have the kind of attitude that, "Hey, you can rely on me, I can do this. You guys need to go play well because I'm going to make the plays." And they look at you and say, "You haven't done crap, rookie."
--If I came in and said to you that I didn't believe we were going to win the Super Bowl, I shouldn't be the quarterback. Anybody can say, "Well, we've got a good chance if we get some guys to help us, if we stay healthy," and all that. Those are the people you shouldn't believe.
--I learned early on that the great quarterbacks don’t win a football game in the air or on the ground. They don’t win it with their arms or their legs. They win it inside their helmets. They think.
--I've learned that if you're given the starting job and have an opportunity to play, you need to respect that because it's not always going to be there and it's dependent upon your performance.
--Describing the Broncos' game philosophy, Griese remarked: Our style is to get up early and then choke teams.
--Well, it's not like I'm going to quit the night before a game. --Griese's reaction after a 26-16 win, less than 24 hours after WR Eddie Kennison walked out on the Broncos as they faced a must-win rematch with the Chargers--a game in which Griese passed for 224 yards with no INTs, 2 TDs, and a 110.1 rating--all in the midst of an increasingly depleted receiving corps and facing an uncertain 5-4 future
There’s a flow to every game, and as a quarterback you’ve got to find out what that is.
--I knew the NFL scouts weren’t going to be beating down my door. So if I left school, that would mean the end of my football career--period, finis, end of story. To a large degree, it was the frustration of the 1996 season, my sideline season [at Michigan] that made me want to leave school. I didn’t want to sit there, feeling miserable while my team lost, thinking I could do something about it if I were in the game. But, ironically, it was that same frustration that tugged at me and made me think real hard about what everyone was telling me. I didn’t want my football career to end like that. What if we really could go to the Rose Bowl? How could I turn my back on even a long shot at the big game?
--After the Broncos got an 0-4 start in 1999, Griese was on the bubble and was asked if he still had the starting job that almost went back to Bubby Brister, and he replied: I don't know and I don't care. ... I'm a competitor, and I love to play and love to be out there. But as long as we are winning, I don't care what the decisions are. --He had just set a record as a starting Bronco QB in a 31-10 victory over the Packers, completing 19 of 31 for 363 yards, two TDs, and one rushing TD
--Griese was once asked whether he had ever cried after a game, and he chuckled: No, not yet. Actually, I did cry after the Rose Bowl, but that was just the crest of our season and it was very emotional for me, and I didn't see anything wrong with it.
--Anytime a defensive lineman or a linebacker blitzes and comes free, he’s so excited he’s finally gonna get a sack, and he wants to hit you so hard he can taste it. It’s so funny when these defensive guys come free, and they’re coming at you so fast that any slight movement you make, man, they’re going right by you. And it makes them look terrible. There he goes like a big freight train, right past you. And it’s funny. ... When they missed me, I’d say, "You can’t be so excited when you get back here, man. You’ve got to learn to lay back, man,‘cause you’ll never get me that way."
--When you blow it big-time, you just have to put those things behind you and start fresh.
--If you’re not having fun, you’re not winning. A lot of people think it’s the other way around--if you win, you have fun. No, the way it works is if you have fun, you give yourself a chance to win. Fun keeps you loose.
--My first order of business was to convince myself that I could play in this league. My whole first year, I had to convince myself of that.
--I wasn’t considered a superhot prospect for the NFL. The quarterbacks everyone was scrambling to draft were Peyton Manning from Tennessee and Ryan Leaf from Washington State. I knew that at best I was going to be picked in the third round. A lot of guys who are good, but just a cut under NFL level, will go play pro football in Europe--but that wasn’t for me. If I didn’t make the NFL, I was going to hang up my pads and head for the real world.
--Now I have to go back to every game this year, watch them, and study them. This is not the way I wanted to go out, but I'll use that for motivation in preparing for next season. --Griese after the Broncos finished the 1999 season with a 6-10 record
There is a lot to be said for the intelligent, low-turnover, ball-control approach to winning football games.
--They numbed it up pretty good. It was popping in and out. But they assured me that I couldn't do further damage to it, so it was really a matter of dealing with the pain. This is a game I didn't want to miss. And I was going to do anything possible to get back in there and try to win it. --after passing for 262 yards with a touchdown, winning against the Raiders, ...and playing three quarters with a third-degree shoulder separation in his throwing arm!
--His Super Bowl XXXV Prediction: I think the Giants are going to win. I think that their offense is going to be able to score at least 10 points, and I don't see the Ravens offense scoring much of any points.
--I'm upset that I wasn't able to help my team in the playoffs. We could have gone a long way. It hurt me not being able to help, but I'm going to use it as motivation. There's no reason we can't be even more explosive next season. --Griese's comments when he received the 2000 NFL All-Heart Player of the Year award for his performance in the Raiders game that he played for three quarters with a separated throwing shoulder
--This contract is kind of embarrassing to me. I don't think any one man is worth as much money as I've just signed a contract for. Anybody who thinks they are is just kidding themselves. --after signing a six-year, $39-million contract with the Broncos
--I couldn't play any other position on the field. I'm not big enough or fast enough. But you definitely need to be an athlete to play [quarterback].
--I've been very frustrated for two days now. It's been very tough. You put your mind, your body and your soul into something and it doesn't turn out the way you want it. It's very frustrating. I have to find some way, find the strength inside of me to continue on. That's what I'll do. --after Griese got benched for good by the Broncos on Christmas Day 2002
--As it comes down to the end, I'm just reflecting on things that went on and, most importantly, reflecting on experiences here in Denver. I'm grateful. The community has been very supportive of me. And I developed a lot of friendships and a lot of things I wouldn't give up for anything, a lot of lasting friendships. I'm grateful to the organization and to Mike [Shanahan] for giving me an opportunity. We had our disagreements, and that's football. I wish the team and everybody I know the best.
--On Jake Plummer, his replacement in Denver: He has a lot of talent. He's a great guy and I wish him nothing but the best. Hopefully, you guys will take it easy on him.
ON THE GREATS: Brian on His Father and Elway:
--Even though [Bob Griese] and I are often compared, I don’t think I learned that much about football from my dad. I learned a lot more from him about character and confidence, about handling a crisis and pressure, about the right attitude for recovering from a setback. He taught me these lessons by the way he lived his life more than by the things he told me.
--I don't try to be John Elway, but the thing that I saw was the leadership that he had. And the way that guys looked at him when he walked into the huddle. They all trusted that he was going to get the job done, and that's part of being a leader, is that you have to welcome that responsibility, that you can put everything that's going on in the game on your shoulders and say,"'Look, I take responsibility and I'm going to find the right way to get us down the field to score a touchdown and win the game." I put that pressure on myself, and everyone in that huddle has to know that. And when they do, that's when special things start to happen. That's what happened with John.
--At the end of the day, I would rather hear people tell me I’ve got the kind of character my dad has than to hear I’ve got his scrambling ability, or throwing ability, or approach to the game.
--I had been pulling for John Elway and the Broncos in Super Bowl XXXII because of what Elway had been through. He had paid his dues--fifteen seasons in the NFL, four trips to the Super Bowl, but no ring until that game. I really respect a guy who perseveres over the long haul and finishes as a champion.
--When I first came here, I was a rookie so I didn't open my mouth very much. I just kind of watched and learned. And then when John retired, I really haven't talked with him much since then. He hasn't called and congratulated me. ... I respected John a lot as a player and for the things he had done in the community, but I had to forget about it. I really have to go on with my life and my career.
--Did they have Monday night back then? They didn't have games on Monday night; they had Monday nights. --on whether he's played on more Monday nights than his father, Bob Griese
--I watched my dad when I was young. The pressure he had of not only losing his wife, but his best friend, and having the pressure of bringing up three kids to be men of character. And doing that under the fishbowl, like I'm in right now. Because the media was interested in how he was going to react to that situation, as cruel as it was. That was pressure. What I'm going through now isn't pressure.
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