Angel
04-09-2006, 09:10 AM
35-year-old has 80 straight starts
What, Trent worry?
Backup situation not his concern
By ADAM TEICHER
The Kansas City Star
Maybe he just doesn’t want to tempt fate. Perhaps it’s because he doesn’t want to acknowledge time’s inevitable march.
Either way, Trent Green’s attention is on what lies ahead and not on what’s over his shoulder. The Chiefs may acquire a backup quarterback, this time one who could eventually take his job.
If they do, that’s their business, not his.
“I understand that’s going to happen inevitably,” Green said.
Green just doesn’t want it to happen now. Neither do the Chiefs, but for the first time since trading for Green five years ago, they seem to be aware of a couple of realities.
One is that Green will be 36 when training camp begins. Only two of the NFL’s other starting quarterbacks are older, and one, Green Bay’s Brett Favre, is contemplating retirement.
The other reality is Green’s string of 80 straight starts, a remarkable feat considering that when he came to the Chiefs, he was damaged goods because of a knee injury and the resulting surgeries. Only Favre and Indianapolis’ Peyton Manning have longer streaks.
So, as much as he doesn’t want to consider the prospect, Green is due to miss some time next season. After losing longtime backup quarterback Todd Collins to Washington in free-agency, the Chiefs are left with Green, fellow veteran Damon Huard and two developmental prospects, Casey Printers and James Kilian.
Huard, a career backup, hasn’t played since he threw one pass for New England in 2003.
Printers was a star in the Canadian Football League but will need some time to refine his skills. Kilian, a seventh-round draft pick last year, is playing in NFL Europe.
“I like Damon,” Green said. “I think Damon is a (high-) quality quarterback and can fill that role fine. I’ve gotten to know Casey over the last couple of weeks. I don’t really know him as well. I don’t really know his football background all that well.
“I know he’s been out on the field working, throwing and trying to get some of that down. I don’t think he’s been directly working with a coach (on the field). I know he’s been doing some meetings with (quarterbacks coach Terry Shea) to try to understand the offense a little better. Damon and I are in a little bit different situation. Damon’s been in the offense two years now, and I’ve been in it for a long time.”
The Chiefs considered dealing for Detroit’s Joey Harrington, but they appear to be increasingly pessimistic about their chances of not only reaching a contract agreement with Harrington but also satisfying the Lions’ trade demands.
No Chiefs visit with Harrington had been scheduled as of Friday afternoon.
Other than Harrington — many Lions fans would say including him — the quarterback market has largely dried up. So this would be a good season for Green to stay upright and extend his streak to 96 games.
“Offensive line, the ability of our offense to mix it up and having a good mix of run and pass, not being predictable in terms of defenses knowing what we’re going to do,” Green said, listing reasons for his durability. “When you just stand back there and everybody knows you’re going to throw … If you look at the situations where I’ve taken a lot of hits the last few years, they’re situations where we’re behind and the defense knows we’re throwing.
“The more I get away from those surgeries I had in ’99 and 2000, the better I’ve been. I struggled with some injuries my first couple of years here that you just kind of work through. As I get more strength and more range of motion and more flexibility, I’ve just been able to endure a lot more.”
http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/sports/14293154.htm
What, Trent worry?
Backup situation not his concern
By ADAM TEICHER
The Kansas City Star
Maybe he just doesn’t want to tempt fate. Perhaps it’s because he doesn’t want to acknowledge time’s inevitable march.
Either way, Trent Green’s attention is on what lies ahead and not on what’s over his shoulder. The Chiefs may acquire a backup quarterback, this time one who could eventually take his job.
If they do, that’s their business, not his.
“I understand that’s going to happen inevitably,” Green said.
Green just doesn’t want it to happen now. Neither do the Chiefs, but for the first time since trading for Green five years ago, they seem to be aware of a couple of realities.
One is that Green will be 36 when training camp begins. Only two of the NFL’s other starting quarterbacks are older, and one, Green Bay’s Brett Favre, is contemplating retirement.
The other reality is Green’s string of 80 straight starts, a remarkable feat considering that when he came to the Chiefs, he was damaged goods because of a knee injury and the resulting surgeries. Only Favre and Indianapolis’ Peyton Manning have longer streaks.
So, as much as he doesn’t want to consider the prospect, Green is due to miss some time next season. After losing longtime backup quarterback Todd Collins to Washington in free-agency, the Chiefs are left with Green, fellow veteran Damon Huard and two developmental prospects, Casey Printers and James Kilian.
Huard, a career backup, hasn’t played since he threw one pass for New England in 2003.
Printers was a star in the Canadian Football League but will need some time to refine his skills. Kilian, a seventh-round draft pick last year, is playing in NFL Europe.
“I like Damon,” Green said. “I think Damon is a (high-) quality quarterback and can fill that role fine. I’ve gotten to know Casey over the last couple of weeks. I don’t really know him as well. I don’t really know his football background all that well.
“I know he’s been out on the field working, throwing and trying to get some of that down. I don’t think he’s been directly working with a coach (on the field). I know he’s been doing some meetings with (quarterbacks coach Terry Shea) to try to understand the offense a little better. Damon and I are in a little bit different situation. Damon’s been in the offense two years now, and I’ve been in it for a long time.”
The Chiefs considered dealing for Detroit’s Joey Harrington, but they appear to be increasingly pessimistic about their chances of not only reaching a contract agreement with Harrington but also satisfying the Lions’ trade demands.
No Chiefs visit with Harrington had been scheduled as of Friday afternoon.
Other than Harrington — many Lions fans would say including him — the quarterback market has largely dried up. So this would be a good season for Green to stay upright and extend his streak to 96 games.
“Offensive line, the ability of our offense to mix it up and having a good mix of run and pass, not being predictable in terms of defenses knowing what we’re going to do,” Green said, listing reasons for his durability. “When you just stand back there and everybody knows you’re going to throw … If you look at the situations where I’ve taken a lot of hits the last few years, they’re situations where we’re behind and the defense knows we’re throwing.
“The more I get away from those surgeries I had in ’99 and 2000, the better I’ve been. I struggled with some injuries my first couple of years here that you just kind of work through. As I get more strength and more range of motion and more flexibility, I’ve just been able to endure a lot more.”
http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/sports/14293154.htm