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| Tuesday, September 14 | |||||
Special to ESPN.com | ||||||
DENVER -- While the football world was saying goodbye to John Elway and
hello to Brian Griese on Monday night on a national television stage, the last remaining member of the quarterback Class of '83 reminded them he still has a heartbeat.
Here in a Mile High City preoccupied with its revolving door of
quarterbacks these past few weeks, the old guy from Miami slipped in the side
entrance and slid out of town with the family jewels and a 38-21 victory. Never mind Elway
or Bubby Brister or even Griese.
Griese began impressively, at least equal to the manner of his father about 32 years ago. Completing his first pass as a starter at approximately 7:11 MT, a 5-yarder to Shannon Sharpe, Griese very calmly marched his teammates 80 yards downfield for a touchdown, highlighted by a 61-scoring strike to Ed McCaffrey. Asked about his first play, Griese responded: "I don't remember it. What happened?"Let it be said that the 7-0 lead by Denver made Shanahan's decision to start Griese look Solomon-like following a storm of controversy. Maybe Griese didn't exactly clinch the job as a permanent starter on that first series, but he certainly sent a message to the Dolphins: There will be no intimidating this young quarterback here tonight. Griese stared down the bright lights of Monday Night Football at a time when Mile High Stadium was knee-deep in quarterback legends. While the second-year Michigan grad was entering stage left, Elway was exiting stage right. "It was my first game," Griese said. "At least I got out there and got in the fire. Nobody can say I don't have at least one game experience." Officially, Elway's No. 7 jersey was put to rest during a Steven Spielberg-like halftime ceremony. With more than 1,000 on-field participants, including 600 young cheerleaders and 300 midget football players all wearing No. 7 jerseys, Broncos owner Pat Bowlen did the honors. "There will never be another No. 7 for the Broncos," Bowlen promised, with a huge pop-up of Elway springing up on cue. "John will always have that." With misty eyes, Elway thanked the fans, whom he called the driving force behind the Broncos' dominant home record. "I'll give the world a clue about Mile High Magic," Elway said. "They talk about the altitude, about the field ... the key to Mile High Magic was YOU!" Not so fast, John. By halftime it was 17-7, Miami. And on their first drive of the second half, Marino blended passing and running to perfection, taking the Dolphins on a 65-yard drive. J.J. Johnson's 1-yard run and Olindo Mare's PAT made it 24-7 and put a huge dent in the Broncos' plans for a fast start and dreams of a threepeat. Right about now, Broncos fans were hoping Elway would slip out of his business suit, into a phone booth and return to the stadium wearing an unretired No. 7. As it turned out, however, Elway's bouquet to the fans was just that, a bouquet. For as well as the young Griese played in his debut, he was no match for the master, Marino. Nor were his teammates. Legends don't go quietly. And what we already knew to be true was reaffirmed: The true catalyst of Mile High Magic really isn't the fans. That reality rests uneasy these days among Rocky Mountain football fans, many of whom began filing out with more than nine minutes left -- a scene about as rare around these parts as an August snowstorm. It's clear John Elway doesn't play here anymore. Buddy Martin is a regular contributor to ESPN.com. | ALSO SEE Griese, Broncos no match for Marino, Dolphins
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