If NFL Films were to release Crawling Out From The Legend's Shadow: Brian Griese's Greatest Games, the movie would be shorter than Doug Flutie. But the most dramatic shots would undoubtedly come from Nov. 13, 2000, against the Raiders, the final Monday Night Football game at Mile High Stadium.

In the first half, Griese took a wicked hit on his right shoulder and left the game. Coach Mike Shanahan remembers walking into the locker room at halftime, wondering if his quarterback could play -- and his jaw hitting the ground. "The bone was about an inch out of its socket," he says. "He couldn't even move his arm." For good reason: It was a third-degree separation.

	If you're looking for the pocket, it's in Brian's facemask.

Griese popped the shoulder back in place, took an injection, came back and led the Broncos to an overtime win. At the time, folks in Denver raised their glasses to Griese, not knowing that the Raiders game would be the last significant piece of playing time for the quarterback that season. "To this point, it's probably the one thing that people remember," Griese says. "That game said something to my teammates and coaches and to the fans in town."

But two years (and two operations) after that celebration, the shoulder is still a cause for concern.

When you ask Denver's coaches about it, they'll slide into an answer that speaks only to Griese's health in general. Reality check: since 1999, Griese has had shoulder problems every year. Last season was the first time it didn't cost him any games, but Broncos fans wait for Griese's shoulder to give out the way some people wait for another big-business scandal: You know it's lurking right around the corner.

Sonny Jurgensen, the Hall of Fame passer and current Washington broadcaster, couldn't believe how shaky Griese looked in a 17-10 loss to the Redskins last year. Riding down the elevator with some Broncos reporters, Jurgensen asked them what was wrong with the quarterback's shoulder.

Nothing, they responded, at least that's what the team is telling us.

Jurgensen looked at them askance. "Something is wrong with him," he said.

With two new starters on the left side of the offensive line, Terrell Davis in and out of the lineup, injuries to nearly every receiver on the roster and Griese not playing well, Denver's offense sank from second to 22nd in the NFL. Shanahan knew change was needed to keep his $38 million quarterback healthy. "Brian Griese is not going to carry a team on his athletic ability," he says. "I want him to execute the offense."

To help with that, left tackle Trey Teague, Griese's close friend and former roommate, was cut loose, and in came Ephraim Salaam from Atlanta. Denver drafted angular and speedy receiver Ashley Lelie in the first round. Ed McCaffrey and Rod Smith are back from the DL. Davis, coming off his third offseason knee surgery in three years, is rehabbing well -- but even if he isn't, 1,000-yard rushers Mike Anderson and Olandis Gary are ready to go. As a sweetener, Shannon Sharpe is returning from exile, too.

So that leaves only Griese. He's throwing without pain, and this spring his deep ball looked good. A vertical passing game was nonexistent last year for the Broncos, and the problems, depending on who you talk to, stemmed either from Denver's lack of receivers or Griese's sore shoulder. It was probably a combination of both. In eight of 15 games last season, Griese didn't even reach the 200-yard passing mark.

	Still waiting for that Super Bowl.

As much as the fans often try to run Griese out of town, the team needs him. His backups are oft-inflamed Steve Beuerlein and Jarious Jackson.

Shanahan told me Griese's shoulder in particular doesn't worry him. What stresses the coach is the fact that, for one reason or another, Griese has never finished a season. "We're hoping that through our strength programs he can stay healthy," Shanahan said. "One thing I think he's helped himself with this year is he knows when to slide. He was so competitive his first years he'd take guys head on. Well, if you're 205, 210 pounds, you're going to get knocked out."

Everyone in Denver is hoping it doesn't happen this year. If Griese and those around him stay healthy, what's to keep them from a repeat of 2000, when Denver finished second in offense, Smith and McCaffrey each had 100 catches, and Griese went to the Pro Bowl? "My goal here is to win a Super Bowl," Griese says. "That's always been my goal."

What a highlight film that would make.

Seth Wickersham covers the NFL for ESPN The Magazine. E-mail him at seth.wickersham@espnpub.com