Bob Griese: On Purdue, the '72 Dolphins and bounties
By CLIFF BRUNT
ISL Editor
I had a one-on-one interview with former Purdue quarterback Bob Griese on April 12 while still working for the Associated Press. Some of his comments, such as those regarding bounties in the NFL, are well known. Much of what he said will be revealed now.
Griese, 67, was the Heisman Trophy runner-up in 1966 and he led Purdue to a 14-13 win over USC in the Rose Bowl on Jan. 2, 1967. He was the quarterback of the unbeaten 1972 Miami Dolphins and is a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Q: What do you think about it being 40 years since the Miami Dolphins’ undefeated season?
A: I’m good friends with coach Shula, and I see him quite often down in South Florida. We were together the other day and we were kind of looking at each other and we said, ˜Can you believe it’s been 40 years?’ I remember when he came with the Dolphins in 1970. Our record the year before was 3-10-1. Our record the first year with Shula was 10-4. Coach Shula came, and the first four years, we were in the Super Bowl three of those four years, and one of those years, we went undefeated.
When we did that, we didn’t think, ˜Hey, we went undefeated.’ We said,’ Hey, we’re the World Champs.’
The more it’s gone on, we’ve thought, `oh, that must be something really special,’ and it really is,” Griese said. “It’s tough to go undefeated.”
Q: What about the Patriots nearly eclipsing their record after the 2007 season before losing to the New York Giants in the Super Bowl?
A: I didn’t think the Giants could beat them. I thought they’d (the Patriots) go undefeated for sure.
When he (Plaxico Burress) caught that touchdown, there were still about 35, 40 seconds on the clock. I’m sitting at home, watching in my office, and the phone starts ringing and the e-mails start coming in and the cell phone starts ringing. It’s like ˜Hey, wait a minute! There’s still 35, 40 seconds left. And Tom Brady?
I’m a big Giant fan from now on.
Q: How much do you keep up with Purdue?
A: I’ve always followed Purdue. I always follow and check on them and how they’re doing in football and basketball and women’s basketball. I’ve always looked to see. This place meant a lot to me. It made a big impact on my life. Without Purdue, going those four years here at Purdue, none of this other stuff that’s happened would even be on the books.
Q: Your thoughts on the Purdue football program under coach Danny Hope?
A: You just have to be patient. Give the guy some time. I think they’ve got the right people in place. They’ve got some quarterbacks now, if they can just keep them healthy. I like the coach, and I like the staff. Just be patient, and I think good things are going to happen.
Q: What do you think of the way the passing game has exploded in the NFL in recent years?
A: The game has evolved. The rules have changed. That’s what people want. The rules have changed to make it that way. Protect the quarterback. You don’t want your quarterback knocked out. You want him in there all season long so they’re not watching some third-string guy in there, wishing that we had Peyton Manning in there. They’re protecting the receiver downfield. I was talking to Paul Warfield the other day, and I said ˜Paul, how would you have liked to have played in this day and age?’
Q: Were there bounties in your day?
A: Everybody would try to get the quarterbacks out of the game back then. They weren’t getting paid for it, they were just trying to knock out the guy. Ben Davidson, a bunch of these guys, would try to knock the quarterback out of the game. Now, today’s game, when these defensive ends come around and get a blind shot at you, I’m not going to try to hit you in the back and knock you out of the game, I’m going to try to slap the ball out of your hand. That’s what the game is now. Slap the ball. Back then, Deacon Jones, Ben Davidson, all those guys are saying, ˜I got Namath last week, I got Griese this week.’ It wasn’t malicious, it was just hard hitting. There’s no bounties out. Everybody knew if you knocked the quarterback out of the game, you had a pretty good chance of winning. But it wasn’t like it is today.
Q: How did you survive considering the fact that the rules didn’t protect you back then?
A: You knew if you got rid of the football, they’d stop chasing you. And you knew if you went down if you’re in the pocket trying to pass, protection breaks down, I’m not going to try to be the hero and be the last guy standing and try to get the ball off. I’m going to live to fight another day. I’m going to go down the way I want to go down. You want to split me in two? I’m not going to go down that way.
Q: How proud are you of the legacy of Purdue quarterbacks?
A: I go back to the guy who started it all, and that’s Bob DeMoss (1945-48, later was quarterback coach for Griese). Schools get reputations for being good for different reasons. USC, it’s running backs. Other schools would get known for their quarterbacks or their defensive linemen or defensive backs. Well, Purdue got its reputation for quarterbacks because of Bob DeMoss putting the emphasis on quarterbacks and letting him shine. Bringing in good athetes and teaching him how to play the position. And then other guys have come in after Bob and picked up the ball and just carried it on. Purdue has got that for quarterbacks.
Related: Purdue’s top 10 receivers of all time
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