I”m a big Brian Greise fan and I have been since I watched him embarrass Ryan Leaf in the Rose Bowl.

So when I hear someone blaming Griese for Denver's failings during his stint as Denver’s starting QB, I take some pleasure in setting the record straight.

Statistically Griese more than held his own, especially against Denver’s new sweetheart QB, Jake Plummer (who I use only as a comparison, not because I want to badmouth him).

Under Griese in '02, Denver had the #2 ranked offense in the league. Only Oakland was better and then only fractionally so – Denver had 6,090 total yards, Oakland had 6,237.

Griese also had a 66.7 completion percentage in ‘02. In ‘03, Plummer’s was 62.6.

While Griese threw only 15 TDs, he also threw only 15 INTs, and the fact that Denver still managed over 6,000 yards (3,214 yds of that came thanks to Brian’s arm) says that he was not only effective in moving the team, but that an outstanding running game lowered his overall numbers.

Denver’s Defense was also ranked #2 for the ‘02 season, but it was massive breakdowns in the defensive secondary and along the defensive front (remember the idiotic one man rushes against Oakland?) that caused several important losses (like that humiliating defeat to Oakland). The defense also allowed one fewer point than the offense scored for the season.

In ‘02 Greise had the offense scoring 24.5 pts per game. Unfortunately, the defense was giving up 21.5.

In ‘03 Plummer and the offense scored 23.8 points per game, not as good as Griese’s numbers from the year before. But Denver still went to the playoffs. Why? Well, that’s easy, it’s because the defense only allowed 18.8 pts per game. That’s a huge change from the previous year.

The previous year, 2001, Griese threw for 23 TDs and 19 INTs. The offense put up only 4817 yds – which would make them the 21st ranked offense – , but Griese’s arm counted for 2,827 yards of that. Even with the lowered output in yardage, Griese still managed to put up 21.3 pts per game – which really makes them the #10 ranked offense – , while the supposedly #4 ranked defense gave up 21. 2 pts per game – which really makes them the #12 ranked defense.

During the ‘01 season Denver’s O was also faced with an avalanche of injuries, yet poor pathetic Brian Griese still had the offense outperforming the defense in the only area that matters – scoring.

And before you rag on Griese for his ‘01 INTs, that same year Kurt Warner threw 22 INTs, Peyton Manning threw 23 and even Brett Favre tossed fifteen balls to the other team.

So that brings to the modern age and Plummer is a hero where Griese was a fop. But Plummer has yet to match Griese’s performance, even while benefitting from 1. A FAR healthier offense and 2. The departure of Ray Rhodes and his moronic defensive schemes; schemes which consistently overcame offensive excellence the previous two seasons.

Plummer threw for only 2,182 yds last year with only 15 TDs, and his completion percentage (62.6) was lower than Griese’s in the previous two seasons. The offense as a whole had a pretty nice 5598 yds total, but still isn’t up to what Griese squeezed out of it the previous year.

Then there are those of you who say really smart things like, “Griese was a dink and dunk QB! That’s why he had such a high completion percentage!”

Right, it wasn’t smart quarterbacking, it was wimpishness responsible for Griese’s success. Yet Jake Plummer’s ‘03 Yards Per Attempt was 7.23, while Griese’s ‘02 YPA was 7.37. So not only was Griese’s ‘02 completion percentage higher than Plummer’s ‘03 completion percentage (62.6), but his average pass was longer than Plummer’s, too. Or maybe what you’re really saying is that Plummer is a “dink and dunk” QB, too. No? Didn’t think so.

Some of you might now whine that “Greise wasn’t a leader! He had no heart!”, yet – as I mentioned before – the offense lead by this wimp of a QB surpassed that lead by Plummer in both the cosmetic Yards Passing statistic, but also in the far more than cosmetic Points Scored statistic.

I guess you also failed to watch the ‘01 game where Griese tore his rotator cuff, but continued playing like a gunslinger after the injury and bought Denver a victory against AFC West rival Oakland.

Whether you measure him by his heart, by his ability to lead or by his statistics, Brian Griese did a damn fine job as the Denver Broncos’ starting QB.

In summary, the Denver Broncos did not fail in ‘01 and ‘02 because of Brian Griese, they failed because of the defense - specifically because of a weak secondary and poor defensive schemes introduced by Ray Rhodes. The Broncos also did not succeed in ‘03 because they replaced Griese with Plummer. They succeeded because they got rid of Ray Rhodes and as a result the defense finally started holding up its end of things.