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2001-02 Season: Griese, Manning Similar to a Fault

By Joseph Sanchez
Denver Post Sports Writer

Friday, January 04, 2002 -

When Brian Griese looks in the mirror each morning, he does not see Peyton Manning looking back.

But the way their young careers in the NFL have mirrored each other, it wouldn't be much of a surprise if he did.

Sons of legendary NFL quarterbacks--Bob Griese and Archie Manning--it might be that this was meant to be. Just about everything that has happened to Manning since Indianapolis made him the first pick of the 1998 draft has happened to Griese since he was the third-round pick of the Denver Broncos that same year.

Unfortunately for both quarterbacks, it hasn't been all good.

What began as birthright stardom for Griese and Manning, has turned into a couple of guys in their mid-20s trying to rehabilitate their reputations and regain some measure of momentum for next season with bodies that have been less than willing.

Now here they are, about to face each other for the first time in their careers in a meaningless makeup game Sunday at the RCA Dome. No longer is either one among the fairest of them all.

A Pro Bowl selection in his second season in the league, Manning will be finishing the most miserable season of his four-year career against the Broncos. There may have been nothing more miserable than having to take his meals through a straw because of a broken jaw for most of the second half of the season, unless it was throwing 22 interceptions, being sacked 28 times and losing 10 games so far this season.

A Pro Bowl quarterback in his third season, Griese will be finishing a frustrating season that started out gangbusters and ended up an out-of-the-playoffs bust. Griese has thrown 22 touchdown passes and 15 interceptions and has a quarterback rating of 82.8. Things started going bad for Griese when he injured his surgically repaired shoulder against Baltimore in the fourth game of the season, then got worse when he sustained a concussion against Seattle in Week 13.

 

 

 

"I don't know how you could survive with Ed McCaffrey being gone for basically the whole season and then having Rod Smith go down. At times with the Broncos, I'd be watching tape and I'd be shocked to see three and four tight ends going down the field like wide receivers. So, obviously, if you're matching up tight ends versus cornerbacks, it's advantage defense. That put Brian in some tough spots."

--Ron Jaworski

 

 

[The Broncos-Colts matchup isn't what it] was anticipated to be when it was originally scheduled for the Sunday after the September 11 terrorist attacks at the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, nor is it anything like the glamorous quarterback showdown it was expected to be.

"Yeah, I was really looking forward to it (when it was) the second game of the year," Griese said. "At that point they were pretty excited about their team, and we were pretty excited about our team. Now it's a little bit different situation. It's not the game we thought it was going to be."

Some would say it is because Griese and Manning are not the quarterbacks they were projected to be.

But Ron Jaworski, the former Eagles quarterback who is an analyst for ESPN, disagrees.

"If all you're looking at is their stats and their won-loss records, it's obvious their numbers aren't good," Jaworski said. "But if you look a little deeper they really mirror each other as to why. No. 1, they both lost balance in their running games, and No. 2, they both lost key receivers.

"I don't know how you could survive with Ed McCaffrey (broken leg) being gone for basically the whole season and then having Rod Smith (ankles) go down. At times with the Broncos, I'd be watching tape and I'd be shocked to see three and four tight ends going down the field like wide receivers. So, obviously, if you're matching up tight ends versus cornerbacks, it's advantage defense. That put Brian in some tough spots.

"Same thing at Indianapolis. Edgerrin James goes down, you lose a guy that really balances the offense for Peyton. Then they lose a couple of young receivers, and the only guy he's got left to go to is Marvin Harrison and you know everybody's going to rotate toward him. Then on top of that, their defense was just horrible at times, so you're putting that much more pressure on Peyton to win the games, and all that's going to get you is a bunch of interceptions."

 

"Just look at how many failures there are at quarterback. Teams spend millions in scouting and development and coaching, and they still fall short at that position. It's not because they're not trying; it's because of what it takes to play the game now. It takes a versatile athlete with poise and instinct, and that combination is so rare. We can find great athletes out there, but they still don't come through like John Elway did."


--Bill Walsh

 

In addition to the interceptions this season and their famous fathers, Griese and Manning have a common friendship with Broncos tackle Trey Teague, who was Manning's roommate at Tennessee and lived in Griese's home for two years until May, when he got married and moved out. Griese and Manning have crossed paths on occasion.

"I know him," Griese said. "We've compared notes. But I haven't followed him that closely, so I don't know that we've been following along the same path. But I know that he's a good player--really a great player--who's struggled a bit this year, kind of like we have. I don't know why for sure, but I know it's not all him.

"It's just tough in that kind of a situation to continue to lead and to have people follow you," Griese said. "I just think when you get in a situation like that, when your team isn't as good as it was, you don't have as many players as you started out with, that makes it tough."

Many of Manning's interceptions have been the result of forcing passes.

"This year has certainly been frustrating," Manning said. "But I think we'll learn a lot from this season. I think it makes you a lot tougher to go through a season like this. That doesn't mean that you want to go through it, but I do think it'll make you stronger."

Injuries to their supporting casts have played a part in the slumps Griese and Manning have fallen into, but another part of it has been what Jaworski describes as "getting found out."

"Some of it is just the natural evolution of the quarterback, what they used to call sophomore-itis," Jaworski said. "Two or three years into it, guys are just naturally going to take a step back.

"But I think the bigger factor is that defenses start to figure you out, and the minute they get a book on you, they're going to make you play to your weakness and to their strength. That's when you find out how savvy your young quarterback is and how capable he is of making the adjustments. Now it becomes a chess game.

 

 

Elway Struggled:

Starting in his sixth season, Elway--from 1988-1992 --threw 73 touchdown passes and 80 interceptions. During that span, Denver accumulated a 44-36 win/loss record.

 

"Look at Brian. I don't think there's any question that his strength is the play-action game. But now, all of a sudden, you're not running the football as well as you're used to--you don't have those two big wide receivers blocking downfield like you used to--and you just don't have the ability to play-action like you used to."

Former 49ers coach Bill Walsh said another factor in the struggles of young quarterbacks such as Griese and Manning is the increasing difficulty of playing the position today.

Of the 20 quarterbacks drafted in the first round in the 1990s, only five have established themselves as starters.

"Just look at how many failures there are at quarterback," Walsh said. "Teams spend millions in scouting and development and coaching, and they still fall short at that position. It's not because they're not trying; it's because of what it takes to play the game now. It takes a versatile athlete with poise and instinct, and that combination is so rare. We can find great athletes out there, but they still don't come through like John Elway did."

Griese exceeded all expectations in the 2000 season and was the NFL's leading passer, earning his first Pro Bowl invitation, toughing out injury with gutsy style--all accomplishments apparently entirely forgotten by Denver fans after the end of the 2001 season.
Elway struggled, too.

Broncos offensive coordinator Gary Kubiak, who watched the development of Elway, first as his backup, then later as his coach, disagreed with Walsh about the game being more difficult today.

"It's hard for these young guys, yeah, but it's not harder," Kubiak said. "I look back at what John went through and we're sitting here battling with Brian, trying to get him through the same things. Trying to get him to realize that a lot of it is just weathering the storm."

Six years into his career, Elway struggled through a five-year stretch - from 1988 through '92 - in which he threw 73 touchdown passes and 80 interceptions. The Broncos went 44-36 during that period.

Kubiak helps bring that perspective to Griese and Manning.

"If you stick around long enough as a quarterback in this league, there are going to be some tough times, especially in the early part of your career," Kubiak said. "You look at Brian and Peyton and they're kind of running along the same pattern.

"Both had great years (in 2000), Pro Bowl years, and they both came into this season with tremendous expectations. I don't know if there's any way to compare their seasons, because I just think it's always a team deal. But I think Peyton Manning and Brian Griese are going to be a lot better in the future. Believe me, what they've been through, is going to make them a lot tougher because what they've been through isn't a lot of fun."

With a papa quarterback on the telephone to talk to, both Manning and Griese understand how it works.

"That's the way it is," Manning said. "That's why they pay you the big bucks. They pay you to make the plays. And if you don't make them, they pay you to handle the criticism."

 

"If you stick around long enough as a quarterback in this league, there are going to be some tough times, especially in the early part of your career. You look at Brian and Peyton and they're kind of running along the same pattern.

I don't know if there's any way to compare their seasons, because I just think it's always a team deal. But I think Peyton Manning and Brian Griese are going to be a lot better in the future."

--Gary Kubiak

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