Poised and experienced, Griese right for job

DANIELLE RUMORE Rumore Has It

Just a few words for Michigan coach Lloyd Carr: Brian Griese is your man.

Forget the quarterback controversy. Forget that he started just one game last season. Forget that he hit a plateau after the 1995 season and didn't do much in 1996. Forget all of it because it doesn't matter anymore.

Griese should be the starting quarterback for the 1997 Wolverines, plain and simple. He is the smartest quarterback right now, and he should keep the job outright.

He has been criticized before, for not having a big arm, for not being very athletic or agile. But he has always played smart, always made big plays, always known how to run the offense.

MARGARET MYERS/Daily While his father, Bob, announced the game on ABC Sports, Michigan quarterback Brian Griese had a career day, completing 21 of 28 passes for 258 yards and two touchdowns. His lone interception was the Wolverines' only turnover.

If there was ever any doubt about who should start at quarterback this season, Griese's performance against Colorado on Saturday should erase those doubts.

"Brian Griese, I thought, was exceptional," Carr said. "We're gonna see a guy who is a lot better thrower and quarterback than he is given credit for."

Carr is right on the money - Griese is a better signal caller than he's given credit for, and he did play really well.

Griese was, in a word, magnificent. Despite an inexperienced offensive line that showed its youth through 10 stupid penalties that resulted in 93 lost yards, Griese still threw for an amazing 258 yards on 21-of-28 passing and two touchdowns. He barely got hit, never looked frazzled.

He completed 21 of 28 passes - that's a 75 percent completion mark.

He helped convert five of the Wolverines' 16 third-down opportunities. And he pooch-punted - pretty well, in fact. He punted one in the second quarter that had a little too much on it. It bounced into the end zone for a touchback. The second time in the third quarter, the football hit around the 18-yard line and bounced before Michigan receivers Tai Streets and Russell Shaw pinned it on the Colorado one-yard line.

That's nice.

Did I mention that he completed 21 of 28 passes?

Griese's passing game ranks tied for 20th on the school's all-time list. There are only five games in the history of Michigan football in which the quarterback passed for more than 300 yards.

Scott Dreisbach and Todd Collins did it once apiece, and Jim Harbaugh accomplished it twice. Take a guess who was the other player?

Yes, you're correct. It was Griese when he passed for 323 yards, third all-time, against Penn State on Nov. 18, 1995.

The numbers that led to the one-sidedness and the astounding margin of victory aren't the most important thing about Griese's performance Saturday.

And, no, the most important thing is not that he made his father Bob proud, but that's nice, too.

At the risk of sounding cheesy, the most important thing was that Griese grew as a football player.

Carr acknowledged after the game that Griese "is learning from his mistakes." He never forced a play, he never looked pressured or rushed, which is more than can be said for his Colorado counterpart John Hessler, who was shaken up and abused all day.

If a play wasn't there, it just wasn't there, and Griese knew that.

An example in point was at the start of the third quarter. On third-and-goal at the Colorado five-yard line, he was under pressure and no one was open, so he threw it away in the end zone. But he threw it in the direction of a player or two so he wasn't flagged for intentional grounding. That takes some thinking, not always an easy thing to do when there is a big, bad defensive lineman trying to make you eat grass.

So guess what happened on the next play, on third down?

Griese hit Chris Howard at the goal line for a touchdown reception. The Wolverines went up, 17-0, after the point after attempt was good.

"I was anxious to start the game," Griese said. "I was nervous to an extent. I knew I was prepared to play this game."

Griese does not have the arm of Tennessee's Peyton Manning. He will not win the Heisman Trophy. He will not be a first-round draft pick. He will never pull a Kordell Stewart-to-Michael Westbrook 60-yard touchdown pass.

But if he sticks with a game plan suited for his talents, Griese is good.

As mentioned, he doesn't have a big arm so he needs to stick with shorter, crisper passes. He should run shorter pass patterns that can turn into big plays. He did it all day Saturday and embarrassed the Buffaloes' defense in the process.

The play action play that was run four times to tight end Jerame Tuman was a perfect example.

That play opened up the scoring in the first quarter. Tuman came off the left side of the line and dashed across the field to the right side. Colorado's safeties dropped down on the receivers and backs, leaving Tuman wide open. Griese rolled right and hit Tuman for a 53-yard reception down to the one-yard line.

"We run that play a lot in practice," Griese said. "I think any one of you guys (in the media) could have thrown that pass. (Tuman) made a good play."

The play set up fullback Chris Floyd's one-yard run that put Michigan ahead, 6-0, before Kraig Baker's extra-point attempt.

"Griese played well," Colorado coach Rick Neuheisel said. "They got their running game going and the play-action stuff just killed us. But our defense shouldn't have been in that situation."

Griese showed class coming back to Michigan for his fifth year, even though he graduated in May and even though the starting quarterback job was not a guarantee after his performance against Alabama in last year's Outback Bowl.

Griese should be the starter; he knows what to do. He said it best: "Win ball games, flat out. That is my overall goal and what my job description is."

- Danielle Rumore can be reached via e-mail at drumore@umich.edu

09-15-97