In either scenario, Griese can't play

0 Comments | Gazette, The (Colorado Springs), Nov 16, 2000 | by Kamon Simpson

ENGLEWOOD - A doctor was the first interview of the day at Denver Broncos headquarters on Wednesday, never a good sign. He arrived carrying a visual aid, a plastic model of the human shoulder. Even a worse sign.

And then he uttered those two words that no player, coach or fan ever, under any circumstances, wants to hear: next season.

As in, "He should be ready for next season."

That was the worst-case scenario delivered by team physician Dr. Richard Hawkins, who provided information on the third-degree separated shoulder that, even with the most optimistic prognosis, will sideline quarterback Brian Griese for at least three to four weeks.

Griese suffered torn ligaments on the top of his right shoulder while being tackled on a short scramble in the first quarter of Monday's 27-24 victory over the Oakland Raiders. The injury to his acromioclavicular joint pushed the end of his clavicle up by about three inches, out of contact with the rest of the shoulder.

The damage was as complete as it could have been, and the pain would have been excruciating, but Griese was administered a freezing shot, numbing the shoulder. He returned to the field having missed only part of one offensive series and finished the game, completing 25-of-37 passes for 262 yards, a touchdown and an interception.

Because of the severity of the injury, trainers didn't have a problem sending Griese back into the game, as long as they could eliminate the pain. Because Griese performed so well with the injury, Hawkins is optimistic that not only will the quarterback return, possibly as early as Dec. 10, but that he also might not require surgery once the season is over.

"Most players do well when coming back from this condition, even without surgery," Hawkins said. "If he comes back and performs as well as he did in the second half of (Monday's) game, we'll be hard- pressed to say we can make him any better with surgery."

That's a best-case scenario. The key is the amount of pain Griese experiences as he tries to come back. Not on medication, being told to do nothing but rest to allow the swelling to subside and the pain to lessen, Griese won't start throwing a football for at least a couple of weeks. By then, he should know if he's going to be able to perform with his shoulder in its present condition.

In other words, Hawkins said Griese can learn to live with it, and that his arm strength shouldn't be affected. Complicating matters, however, are two other injuries Griese has suffered with the same shoulder, a partial tear of the top of the labrum last season and a partial tear of the front of the labrum earlier this season.

While this injury is unrelated to those, the cumulative effect on a 25-year-old shoulder is so taxing that Hawkins said he wouldn't hesitate to recommend surgery, and would attempt to repair not only the AC joint but also the rest of the damage, if Griese discovers he's in too much pain to return to form. He also said he would administer more freezing shots to alleviate the pain if Griese can throw the ball effectively.

"But if it looks like it's going to be on-going pain, then we'll have to take a different route, which means surgery," Hawkins said. "If, in four to eight weeks, we sense that he's just not comfortable trying to perform with this, then Brian and I will have to sit down and have a serious talk."

So why can't Griese come back now? Again, the key is pain. Through a combination of adrenaline and the freezing shot on Monday night, Griese didn't feel much from his shoulder, other than the unusual sensation of "the shoulder moving in and out of the socket, sliding around in there," Griese said.

"You could tell just by looking at his shoulder that something was wrong, that it was a few inches out of place," Broncos coach Mike Shanahan said. "I've seen guys have third-degree separations before, but I've never seen one play with it. I knew he'd be quite sore in the morning."

He was, long before morning. As soon as the shot, and the gametime buzz, started wearing off, once Griese had done all his interviews, showered and returned home knowing that he had done his best to keep his team in the playoff hunt, the shoulder demanded his attention. First he felt a dull ache. Then it was a throbbing. Then it was the kind of towel-biting, aspirin-popping, tears-in-the-eyes pain that kept him from getting any sleep Monday night, not even a moment.

As he stood behind a podium in front of a room full of reporters Wednesday, Griese kept his right arm tucked tight at his side. And, as tough as he is, he admitted that he was hurting, that "it was a shock how bad it felt once the shot wore off.

"It's going to take some time, but once the swelling goes down, I'm going to see how it feels," Griese said. "I'm looking to come back in a month or so, and see then how well I can throw the ball. That's my responsibility to this team."

Griese also has a responsibility to himself. Enjoying a Pro Bowl- caliber season, having completed 214-of-334 passes (64.1 percent) for 2,674 yards, 19 touchdowns and four interceptions, Griese said he wouldn't dismiss the possibility of having surgery, "if that's what it takes for me to come back as good as I was before.