Trouble improvising seems to have hampered Brian Griese, but the quarterback will get his fourth start because Jay Fiedler's strained knee has not healed.
By JASON COLE [email protected]
BRIAN GRIESE
Statistics through three starts:
Passes: 53 of 85 Yards: 554 TDs: 4 INTs: 3 Sacks: 10 Fumbles: 4
The question of who will start at quarterback Sunday against the Baltimore Ravens was settled Wednesday: Brian Griese will make his fourth start. But the gnawing question -- how will Griese handle the start? -- remains unanswered. Griese can look great when plays are executed the way they are drawn up, as he did against the 2-7 San Diego Chargers. But Griese hasn't been able to improvise through breakdowns, which led to his departure from Denver, according to a source close to Broncos coach Mike Shanahan. Griese has had the same problem with the Dolphins. Plays have had a tendency to break down for the Dolphins of late. Or as one member of the Dolphins staff said, ``This is not Nintendo football.'' For now, though, Griese is the starter. Fiedler again was unable to practice Wednesday and will miss his fourth start after suffering a strained medial collateral ligament in his left knee against New England on Oct. 19. While Fiedler isn't limping as badly as before, his recovery time has become an obvious frustration for the team. ''I'll be honest with you, I'm a little bit disappointed, and Jay is, too,'' said coach Dave Wannstedt, who said he is hoping Fiedler can be the No. 2 quarterback by game time. ``I'm not just speaking for myself, I'm speaking for both of us. We both expected him to be ready to go by this point. He is making progress and it is better. ``If we were going to drop back and throw it 60 times, Jay could play. But for what he does and the movement stuff we do with him . . . you have to take that into consideration to be fair to him and to the team.'' Griese's lack of movement, coupled with the Dolphins' numerous failures to protect him, has been his downfall the past two games. After an exemplary first game against San Diego, Griese has struggled, getting sacked nine times, losing four fumbles and throwing three interceptions. When the Dolphins have tried to roll out Griese, they have had problems, such as the sack and lost fumble that sealed the Indianapolis game.
''The feeling and the sentiment in the locker room and amongst the guys on offense is that we're going to look forward,'' Griese said. ``We're going to worry about Baltimore. We're not going to worry about Tennessee. We're not going to worry about Indianapolis.'' But the shortcomings make Sunday's game against the Ravens all the more problematic. Wannstedt said Baltimore, which plays a three-man defensive line with four linebackers, puts more pressure on offenses than any team the Dolphins have faced this season. ''They have a lot of speed on defense, so it's going to be a challenge for us,'' Griese said. ``It doesn't get any easier for us offensively, but at the same time, I think we have a lot of room for improvement, obviously.'' ''They're going to get up and be aggressive on our corners and put a bunch of guys up inside,'' Wannstedt said. ``We have to make plays and protect against them. ``They get you because you're really not sure where they are going to be. I think the thing that makes them a lot better is that [cornerback Chris] McAlister is playing a lot better, and they can put him on the best receiver and lock him on and take that one receiver out of the game. That frees up one of the safeties that they can blitz and do a lot more things with.'' On Sunday night, the Ravens held St. Louis to 121 yards, losing 33-22 because they committed seven turnovers. ''They have a lot of speed on defense, so it's going to be a challenge for us.'' Griese said. ``It doesn't get any easier for us offensively, but at the same time, I think we have a lot of room for improvement, obviously.''