With the Chiefs gasping for playoff breath, the hot topic in Kansas City is now whether Trent Green should be the starting quarterback in '07. Herm Edwards is adamant that he will be. Not everyone else is convinced he should be, though. Even Jon is wondering if Brodie Croyle should be prepared to start next year.The reasons there are doubters are many. Aside from the game in Cleveland, the Chiefs' offense has not been particularly impressive since Green returned. He has thrown more interceptions than touchdowns, he has fumbled several times under pressure, and he has been badly inaccurate on some wide open throws. Green will also be 37 next season.
But here is why I wouldn't necessarily write Green off just yet. First, a lot of his problems may be simply mechanical. Remember, Green had a long, long layoff, and he could be feeling like he is just coming out of training camp. During the NFL Network's broadcast of the Chiefs-Raiders game, Green's old coach, Dick Vermeil, made what I felt was an outstanding observation. The NFL Network freeze-framed a shot of Green just as he was about to release what turned out to be a pass that fell short of the receiver. Vermeil pointed out that Green has been throwing the ball at a bad angle, causing him to throw passes short of his receivers. Reports have indicated that Green has looked great and been accurate in practice, so you have to wonder if, because of the concussion, Green is still a little slow to react to the pace of the game and doesn't quite think clearly about his mechanics. In fact, Green has been pretty accurate on intermediate passes to the middle of the field, but badly inaccurate on short throws or sideline throws, indicating that maybe Green is hurrying his throws. This would not be unlike a pitcher coming off of major surgery who looks great in bullpen sessions, but once runners get on base, he loses his mechanics.
The other thing is that the Chiefs have actually moved the ball fairly well. Green has done a decent job of marching his team down the field, but once they get into the opponent's territory, they have tended to stall. A lot of that is Green's fault, because he has missed a lot of throws, but a lot of that is also the offensive line and the playcalling. The Chiefs have become very predictable, particularly in or close to the red zone, and they have often come away with either just a field goal, or no points at all.
Additionally, while I do not think the offensive line, in general, has been terrible, they have, for some reason, become awful at picking up blitzes. Perhaps that problem can be attributed to losing Tony Richardson, but it may also have to do with adjusting the scheme so that there is more help for the left and right tackles, who have not been as good as last year's tackles (even Welbourn). Green has been slow to read or react to those blitzes, and he has also been less careful with the ball once the pocket collapses.
Which brings me to the final, but perhaps most important, point. Can Green's problems be traced to the concussion? I think, subtly, a lot of them can, from his mechanics to his reactions to pass rushes. If so, can those concussion-related problems be solved by next year? The problem is that we don't know. If Green had a history of concussions, I would be more comfortable with the notion that we cannot depend on Green next year. But Green doesn't have that kind of history, and as I noted above, the Chiefs have actually been able to move the ball. So do we tell a guy, who had 4 consecutive years of 90+ QB ratings before this year, that he probably won't be the starter next year? Given the free agency and salary cap issues the Chiefs face (namely Tony Gonzalez, and they will want to secure Larry Johnson soon), it doesn't seem practical to keep Green and another quality QB on the roster. On the other hand, Brodie Croyle may not be ready, and Damon Huard is not a lock to return. Add in the fact that the Chiefs may still have to play for now rather than later, given the age of many of their stars, and you have a real quarterback quandary.
These aren't easy questions to answer. Carl Peterson and Herm Edwards are likely to gamble on Green, at whatever expense, but even they probably couldn't swear to you on the Bible that they are 100% confident that Green will return to form. It's just another case of Chiefs' fans not knowing whether to get their hopes up or not.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
12-28-2006 @ 12:30PM
Jeremy said...
You think Green sucked this year? Wait till Will Shields retires, and Welbourne decides that is wasn't worth coming back.
He's old and slow. He can't throw deep and there is no zip on ANY of his passes. The Chiefs can't run 35% of all receiver routes due to his lack of ability.
I realize this was all ok when Vermeil was here and we had an offensive line. Everything has changed now.
We won't be making a playoff run again for another 3-4 years so start the rookie. I don't think that Croyle is that good, but that is another topic. Should've drafted Ingle Martin.
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12-28-2006 @ 2:57PM
John said...
The Chiefs should have went after Drew Bree's. Who by the way is going to the PRO BOWL!
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12-29-2006 @ 1:31PM
matthew said...
Well everyone knows that Green is nothing more than Dicks baby boy
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1-03-2007 @ 9:39AM
sara said...
I'm not the fan, my husband is but I did watch some and Green may be a nice guy but he shouldn't be playing. The guy that took his place did much better. Coaches all over high school on up are all the same, they like a person and stick with them even if they shouldn't be playing. Why is that. In high school it's who you are not how good you are and it looks that way all the wy up
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1-04-2007 @ 1:30PM
Phil linstrom said...
No Green no way!!!! He has had his day with 2 major injuries, and cince he has bean back he looks like he is just filling his contract. We either start Huard and give him the contract next year or he will be gone to some other team that that respects his tallent. Its all there with that guy, he's got great vision and a great arm and def leadership. Croyle does not seem to have that franchise starting QB fire. The i refuse to loose mentality , Elway, Farve,. He is probably onother Grback, Kreg, or a Gannon at the most.
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1-06-2007 @ 9:13AM
Charlie said...
I think and feel that if the Chiefs are ever going to better their self and stay a productive team and win games and make the playoff's they need to have a good Quarterback. They need to stop pickup other Quarterbacks that other Teams does not want because they no longer have the talent they once had, they need to Scout out the Colleges and find them a good
College Quarterback and work with him and then they will have a good Quarterback.
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1-08-2007 @ 7:32AM
Brent said...
Phil, are you an idiot all the time or just sometimes? Saying that he'll be a gannon at the most... you realize Rich Gannon got MVP of the league one year right? I mean damn man, if he becomes a rich Gannon I'd love it... but i don't know if it will happen. The fact of the matter is, the chiefs should have never pulled Damon Huard to begin with, he had chemistry with his team and they messed it all up. It was luck they even got to the playoffs with how badly trent green had been playing and even in the last game of the season when green goes down with an injured ankle, damon huard leads the team all the way downfield for a touchdown. What do we do? Bench him once Green is better. You'd think that even in the playoffs when we're getting beaten up and didn't even have a first down the entire first half we'd put damon huard in, but we let Trent Green finish out the game and lose because our coach wouldn't pull him and put in Huard, who has played amazing all season.... seriously.... Trent Green needs to retire, and we need a new starting quarterback, even Huard would be better at this point...
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1-09-2007 @ 7:58PM
Get real, people. said...
Did Huard play well in his stretch as Starter? Sure. But, look who he played AGAINST.
First, let's point out that he lost at Denver (9-7), Pittsburg (8-8), and Miami (6-10). All of which were divisional opponents, and none of whom were exactly 'stellar' this year.
The majority of games that he won came against the NFC West opponents who combined for a 29-35 record this year, and who's divisional champ sported the same record that the Chiefs 'lucked into' the Playoffs with.
And while we're evaluating opponents, who did Green get to face? Two teams that clinched first-round play-off byes with a combined 27-5 record, two other teams that were still in the play-off hunt AHEAD OF the Chiefs in the final week of the season, and the Raiders -- Twice -- who, despite their abyssmal offense, had a top 5 Defense this season.
"So what about the loss in Cleveland?", you ask. Yeah, what about it. Trent threw for FOUR TDs, and almost 300 yards and had a 28-14 lead going into the last half of the fourth quarter when the DEFENSE collapsed and let a back-up QB and second string RB can come in and score 17 points.
And, finally, to address that 2-for-7 stat in the first half of the game against the Colts ... yeah, it looks real bad until you actually take time to notice that Eddie Kennison, Dante Hall, and even Tony Gonzalez were hit in the hands and then DROPPED 4 of those five missed passes.
So, it's real convenient to make a 'struggling' quarterback the goat for losing that game. But, I'm going to go out on a rather sturdy limb and say that if we'd had Huard (who lost his starting job in Miami to Jay freakin' Fiedler), we wouldn't have even been in the playoff hunt at the end of the season.
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