Age: 25
4th
season in pro football & with Dolphins
College: Purdue
Height: 6’1” Weight: 190
Prelude:
A
multi-talented player in college who finished second in Heisman Trophy voting
in 1966, Griese was taken by the Dolphins in the first round of the 1967
AFL/NFL draft. When starting QB John Stofa was lost to a broken ankle, Griese
took over and had a solid rookie season as he threw for 2005 yards and 15 TD
passes for a second-year franchise. He earned selection to the AFL All-Star
game in 1967 and ’68, but suffered along with a struggling team until Don Shula
took over as head coach in 1970. Griese didn’t have the strongest arm, but it
was accurate and he proved to be a good fit in Shula’s ball-control offense.
1970 Season Summary
Appeared in all
14 games
[Bracketed
numbers indicate league rank in Top 20]
Passing
Attempts – 245
[19]
Most
attempts, game – 27 at Boston 9/20
Completions –
142 [16]
Most
completions, game – 15 at Buffalo 10/18, vs. New Orleans 11/15
Yards – 2019
[13]
Most yards,
game – 225 vs. New Orleans 11/15
Completion
percentage – 58.0 [3, 1st in AFC]
Yards per
attempt – 8.2 [2, 1st in AFC]
TD passes – 12
[15]
Most TD
passes, game – 2 at Houston 9/27, vs. Oakland 10/3, at NY Jets 10/10, vs. Baltimore
11/22
Interceptions
– 17 [7, tied with Bill Kilmer & Joe Kapp]
Most
interceptions, game – 3 vs. Cleveland 10/25, at Philadelphia 11/8
Passer rating
– 72.1 [10]
200-yard
passing games – 2
Rushing
Attempts – 26
Most
attempts, game – 3 (for 18 yds.) at Boston 9/20, (for 21 yds.) at Houston 9/27,
(for 0 yds.) vs. NY Jets 12/13
Yards – 89
Most yards,
game – 21 yards (on 3 carries) at Houston 9/27
Yards per
attempt – 3.4
TDs – 2
Scoring
TDs – 2
Points – 12
Postseason: 1
G (AFC Divisional playoff at Oakland)
Pass attempts
– 27
Pass
completions – 13
Passing
yardage – 155
TD passes – 2
Interceptions
– 1
Rushing
attempts – 1
Rushing yards
– 2
Rushing TDs –
0
Awards & Honors:
2nd
team All-NFL: NEA
1st
team All-AFC: Sporting News
Pro Bowl
Dolphins went
10-4 to finish second in the AFC East and qualified for the postseason as a
Wild Card while leading the conference in rushing yards (2082). Lost AFC
Divisional playoff to Oakland Raiders (21-14).
Aftermath:
Griese
followed up in 1971 by passing for 2089 yards and 19 touchdowns as the Dolphins
won the AFC Championship. He was a consensus first-team All-NFL as well as Pro
Bowl selection, and also received MVP and Player of the Year recognition.
Griese suffered a broken leg five games into the 1972 season but returned in
the playoffs as the team went undefeated and won the Super Bowl. They won again
in ’73 and Griese was again selected to the Pro Bowl even though the offense was
ground-oriented and he passed sparingly, although to good effect. Injuries factored
into a couple of lesser seasons in 1975 and ’76, with personnel factors also an
issue, but Griese, now wearing glasses, came back strong in 1977 as he led the
NFL in passing (87.8 rating), TD passes (22), and yards per attempt (7.2). He
was again a consensus first-team All-Pro as well as Pro Bowl selection and MVP.
Griese was selected to a sixth Pro Bowl in ’78 while leading the league in
completion percentage (63.0) but injuries began to wear him down and ultimately
ended his career in 1980. He ended up passing for 25,092 yards with 192 TD
passes and the team went 92-56-3 with him behind center. The Dolphins retired
Griese’s #12 and he was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, Class of
1990. His son Brian followed him into the NFL, also as a quarterback.
--
Highlighted Years features players who were consensus
first-team All-League* selections or league* or conference** leaders in the
following statistical categories:
Rushing:
Yards, TDs (min. 10)
Passing:
Yards, Completion Pct., Yards per Attempt, TDs, Rating
Receiving:
Catches, Yards, TDs (min. 10)
Scoring: TDs,
Points, Field Goals (min. 5)
All-Purpose:
Total Yards
Defense:
Interceptions, Sacks
Kickoff
Returns: Average
Punt Returns:
Average
Punting:
Average
*Leagues
include NFL (1920 to date), AFL (1926), AFL (1936-37), AAFC (1946-49), AFL
(1960-69), WFL (1974-75), USFL (1983-85)
**NFC/AFC
since 1970
