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Ex-Bear Griese Just Happy To Be A Buc

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By ROY CUMMINGS The Tampa Tribune

The Tampa Tribune

Published: September 18, 2008

TAMPA - Brian Griese was home alone. Back in the city where he grew up, back where his father built a Hall of Fame career and he laid the foundation for his own career, Griese sat alone at a media gathering while the ocean of reporters covering Super Bowl XLI in Miami searched for the likes of Brian Urlacher, Tank Johnson and, of course, Rex Grossman.

It was fitting. By that point in the 2006 season, Griese had become accustomed to being ignored.

It started with the Bucs, who ignored his request for a contract rewarding him for the 5-1 start he led them to as the starting quarterback the year before. It continued with the Bears, who signed Griese to a five-year contract after the Bucs let him go but then ignored suggestions that he replace the ever-inconsistent Grossman.

Two years later, the Bears cannot afford to ignore Griese.

He will start for the Bucs in their game against Chicago on Sunday at Soldier Field, where most know that the truth behind Griese's third-place finish in Chicago's most recent quarterback derby has been skewed a bit. It's not that Griese couldn't beat out Grossman or current starter Kyle Orton. It's that he never really got the chance.

"Typically, if they're going to hold an open competition at that position, they let it be known," said John Gilmore, a Bucs tight end who spent the past six seasons playing for the Bears. "But it was never really like that for Brian up there. It was pretty much Rex's position to lose. They brought Brian in to be the backup."

For more than a year that's all Griese was. His first start didn't come until Grossman forced a change by throwing six interceptions and one touchdown during the first three games of the Bears' defense of their 2006 NFC title last September.

The change to Griese paid immediate dividends. With Grossman on the bench, Griese threw nine touchdown passes in his first five games, the most for a Bears quarterback in his first five starts since 1966. He also had a passer rating of 80 or higher in four of his first six starts.

The run ended, however, midway through the Bears Week 10 game at Oakland, when Griese was knocked out with a shoulder injury. Missing the next three games, Griese didn't play again until he replaced Grossman in a Week 14 game against Washington.

Even then, he proved to be a better option than the former Gator, completing 10 of 14 passes for 97 yards. He couldn't rally the Bears to a victory, though, and with their chances of returning to the playoffs pretty much shot, the Bears came back the next week with Orton.

"Fair? What's fair? I don't know," Griese said when asked if he was given a fair chance to compete for the starting quarterback job in Chicago. "All I know is I did have a chance to play. I just didn't get the results I wanted."

Actually, he did get the result he wanted. It came a few months after the season ended, when the Bears shipped their winningest and most efficient quarterback - Griese won more games (three) and compiled a better passer rating (75.6) than Grossman and Orton - back to Tampa Bay.

"I never wanted to leave here," Griese said, referring to the contract squabble that resulted in the Bucs releasing him after the 2005 season. "I love it here; I love the organization and the town and the fans."

He also has an affinity for his coach. Griese and Bucs coach Jon Gruden have a special bond that Griese didn't have with Ron Turner, his offensive coordinator in Chicago.

That might be one of the reasons the Bears let him go. Or it could be the fact that in addition to throwing 10 touchdowns in his seven games last year, Griese also threw 12 interceptions.

"I could have played better," Griese said. "We all could have played better. It was a tough year last year, and we fought to the end, but there were some things we could have done better.

"The bottom line, I guess, is that it just wasn't a good situation in Chicago. Let's put it that way. That's why I'm happy to be back here in Tampa, in a place where I feel comfortable, not only in the system, but with the people."

People who won't ignore him.

Reporter Roy Cummings can be reached at (813) 259-7979 or at rcummings@tampatrib.com.

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