Green cleared to practice

[Angel]

Green light for Green
Chiefs QB, out since getting injured in season opener, has been given go-ahead to practice.
By ELIZABETH MERRILL
The Kansas City Star

After nearly six weeks of waiting, Chiefs QB Trent Green has been cleared to practice.

Green, who was knocked unconscious in the season opener against the Bengals, will begin seven-on-seven and nine-on-seven team work when the club resumes full workouts Wednesday. Chiefs president/general manager Carl Peterson said late Friday that the green light was given after an evaluation by a couple of neurologists and team doctor Jon Browne.

“Based on what they’ve seen this week,” Peterson told The Star, “they’re going to let him start practicing and (doing) pretty much everything we do in practice during the week. That does not mean he’s been cleared yet to play, but it’s a big step, and I, for one, know he’s anxious to get started.”

Green suffered a severe concussion Sept. 10 when his head violently snapped against the grass after a Robert Geathers hit. He lay motionless on the field for 11 minutes before he was carried away on a stretcher.

Green had started 81 straight games, and he threw for 4,000 yards in three straight seasons. Kansas City is 2-3 heading into Sunday’s home game with the Chargers, and Damon Huard will get his fifth straight start.

Huard took the majority of the reps in Friday’s practice as Green tossed a football on the sideline. Green has been doing cardiovascular work and has been involved in team meetings for weeks. He made the trips to Arizona and Pittsburgh to support Huard.

Peterson said Huard will still take the majority of the snaps in practice next week.

“We’re still anticipating Damon to be the starter for the next week (against Seattle),” he said. “But we’ll see how fast Trent comes along.

“I’m pleased with the progress, and I think he is, too. I think he’s going to be even more pleased to get out there and start practicing with his uniform on. The practice is going to be controlled. It has to be. And we’re going to see how he responds.”

http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/sports/football/nfl/kansas_city_chiefs/15812814.htm


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[Angel]

Green eyes mid- to late-November return

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Trent Green figures mid- to late-November is the earliest he'll be under center for the Kansas City Chiefs.


In his journey back from the vicious head-snapping hit that left him unconscious with a severe concussion, the two-time Pro Bowl quarterback is taking it one step at a time.


For the first time since he was carried off the field Sept. 10, he's been cleared to begin team activities. If all goes well this week and he gets the green light from the neurosurgeon he consults almost daily, he'll progress to heavier team work next week.


``We'll start out early in the week doing individual work, one-on-one work, individual reps with the receivers, individual drills with the defensive backs,'' Green said Sunday.


Green has missed five starts, and backup Damon Huard has gone 3-2 as a starter, including Sunday's last-minute 30-27 victory over San Diego that leveled the Chiefs' record at 3-3.


``I feel good,'' Green said. ``I've spent the last three weeks conditioning and trying to get ready. This week they gave me clearance to start throwing.


``I didn't do a lot of moving around, just throwing to more stationary targets. They just wanted to see how I responded. Now it's like the next step. We're doing a progression thing. If everything goes smooth this week, the following week we'll get more team-oriented stuff, throwing to moving targets.''


When he regained consciousness and first talked to doctors, Green's target date for his comeback was the San Diego game.


He would love to be back for the Nov. 5 game at St. Louis, where he used to play, but a week or two after that seems more likely.


``I feel really good,'' he said. ``I haven't had any setbacks or symptoms or a lot of what you normally think of as post-concussion syndrome. That's all real positive. That's why they're taking it really slow, considering the severity of the injury.''


Huard, who hadn't started a game since 2000, has responded much better than most in Kansas City had dared hope. Against the Chargers, he was 15-for-27 for 232 yards and two touchdowns. He has thrown only one interception.


So when Green gets back, will Huard still start?

``No,'' said coach Herm Edwards. ``I knew that was coming. Trent Green is our quarterback.''

http://www.theredzone.org/news/showarticle.asp?ArticleID=4506

 

[Angel]

Green’s back, giddy in return
Chiefs quarterback looks good at practice in his first workout since his head injury.
By ELIZABETH MERRILL
The Kansas City Star
The first thing that Herm Edwards noticed was the cameras. They were everywhere Wednesday on an overcast morning to watch a guy put on a helmet, something he’s done at least a thousand times, then zip a few 30-yard passes.
“I thought it was a rock-star concert or something,” Edwards said.

Outwardly, Trent Green said it was no big deal, and that he doesn’t want to talk until he’s participating in a full practice. But it was obvious on the inside how giddy Green was to be out there practicing for the first time in nearly seven weeks.

He patted his linemen on the back, gave a pound to fellow quarterbacks Damon Huard and Brodie Croyle, then playfully ran in a circle until he caught up with assistant coach James Saxon and shook his hand. Green still doesn’t know when he’ll be ready to play — the Chiefs are cautiously optimistic they’ll have him back by Miami on Nov. 12 — and he was limited in his first day back to individual drills.

But it’s a long way from Sept. 10, when Green was knocked out on a nasty hit by Cincinnati’s Robert Geathers and lay motionless on the grass for 11 minutes.

“It was a big step for him to get back out there today,” Croyle said. “He looked like he hadn’t missed a beat. He’s still zinging the ball in all the right places and making all the right reads.”

It was not your typical Wednesday practice. Besides the Green semicircus, tackle John Welbourn returned after a six-game suspension for violating the league’s drug policy … and he was playing the left side.

Left tackle has been an issue for the Chiefs since Willie Roaf announced his retirement this summer, and they’ve used Kyle Turley and Jordan Black there. It was assumed Welbourn would be competing with Kevin Sampson for his old starting job at right tackle. Not necessarily, said Edwards.

“I just wanted to put him over there and see how he does,” Edwards said. “We’ve got about four or five right tackles right now, so we need some backup help at left. He’s a versatile guy. He’s played right (tackle), and he’s played guard.”

After struggling through the first month of the season with depth issues, Edwards said the Chiefs now have 13 offensive linemen. And soon, they’ll be back to their three quarterbacks.

Huard has led the Chiefs to a 3-2 record as a starter, but he reiterated again Wednesday that he’s ready to assume his old backup role once Green returns. That won’t happen Sunday against the Seahawks, and Edwards said he hasn’t decided how he’ll wean Green back.

“I haven’t thought about that one yet,” Edwards said. “But I’m going to ask for some help on that one. I don’t have to ask that question yet.”

Edwards said Green appeared to have a good zip on the ball, and he also did some running and conditioning work.

Green was diagnosed with a severe concussion and spent two nights at the hospital after the hit.

His absence snapped an 81-game starting streak. But the Chiefs rallied around Huard, and they pulled off a big 30-27 upset over San Diego last Sunday.

“Trent Green has been the starter here for five years, and Coach Edwards has made it clear that when Trent’s back, he is the man and that’s fine,” Huard said Wednesday.

“That’s the way it is. This is my role this year on this team, to back up Trent. The fact that they are even talking about that means that we have won some games, and that’s a good thing. The bottom line is that Trent Green is the starter, and that’s the way it is.”

Both Black and guard Brian Waters said nothing much changed Wednesday, and didn’t understand the big deal. Green’s been around, they said, and he’s always been the leader. That leader just seemed a little more giddy Wednesday.

“He just threw the ball around the ball yard. That’s all,” Edwards said.

“It was like when you let a kid out in the playground and he just kind of runs around and throws the ball to anybody who will catch it.”

http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/sports/football/nfl/kansas_city_chiefs/15849628.htm


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