DaFace
11-04-2006, 12:05 PM
Green to suit up Sunday
QB won’t play, but Edwards says going through pregame will help.
By ADAM TEICHER
The Kansas City Star
Trent Green will be back in uniform for the Chiefs on Sunday.
He won’t play when the Chiefs face the Rams in St. Louis, but the move is the next step in Green’s progression toward regaining his position as the starting quarterback.
Green hasn’t been cleared by doctors for contact but indicated Friday that permission could come early next week. Assuming it does, Green said he would be ready to play Nov. 12 against the Dolphins in Miami.
“That’s just me,” Green said. “I don’t know what everybody else’s thoughts are. But in my opinion, yeah, I could play.
“I’ve been throwing to receivers now for a couple of weeks. At first it was stationary targets, putting guys in spots. Then last week it became moving targets.”
Coach Herm Edwards was more cautious.
“I’ve got to watch him go through practice,” Edwards said. “I don’t know how I’m going to orchestrate that. Eventually, when it’s time that I feel he can take all the snaps and play a whole game … he hasn’t played in a game in six or seven weeks. Just to get in shape to play a whole game, there’s a process for that, too.”
Green, 36, will be listed by the Chiefs as their third quarterback behind starter Damon Huard and Brodie Croyle. Reserve halfback Dee Brown would be the emergency quarterback.
Brown was a high school quarterback. He was recruited to Syracuse to play the position but was switched to running back.
Essentially, little will be different in St. Louis for Green, who suffered a severe concussion in the season opener against Cincinnati and hasn’t played since. The only difference is that he will be in uniform.
For the Chiefs, the move is more meaningful. They’re another step closer to getting Green back.
“It lets him get the adrenaline of going out there and going through warm-ups with the players and that whole deal,” Edwards said. “Some people might think that’s a little thing, but it’s something he won’t have to worry about anymore. Now, when it comes time for him to play, he’s done a lot of the things he needs to do to play except play.”
Edwards said he wouldn’t be tempted to play Green, not even if Huard and Croyle are injured and the Chiefs need a touchdown drive in the final minutes to beat the Rams.
“We’re running the option, baby,” he said. “Dee Brown is running the option.
“(Green is) out. He’s still out. I’m not going to put him in the game. I’m smarter than that.”
Green’s comeback has been marked by a series of incremental steps. He returned to game-planning meetings a couple of weeks after the concussion. That step might not seem like much, but it was huge for Green.
“I have fun with the mental part of it,” Green said. “I wouldn’t want to be a coach just because of the time that takes. I like my family too much, so that would be hard. But I love the mental part of it.”
He wasn’t allowed to return to practice until last week and even then only in drills where he had no chance of contact.
Now he’s suiting up. While it’s more progress, it still isn’t happening fast enough for Green.
“I only found out about it today,” he said. “I think a lot of it has to do with just getting me back in the routine.”
Playing for the Rams, Green missed all of the 1999 season because of a knee injury. Kurt Warner took his spot and guided the Rams to the Super Bowl championship.
This experience, he said, has been even more difficult.
“It’s different than it was in ’99. As hard as it was to watch that season and watch my replacement go on to have success and the team have success, this is harder because I know I’m coming back at some point in time. It’s just a matter of when. In the other case, I knew I wasn’t coming back and I had to deal with that.”
QB won’t play, but Edwards says going through pregame will help.
By ADAM TEICHER
The Kansas City Star
Trent Green will be back in uniform for the Chiefs on Sunday.
He won’t play when the Chiefs face the Rams in St. Louis, but the move is the next step in Green’s progression toward regaining his position as the starting quarterback.
Green hasn’t been cleared by doctors for contact but indicated Friday that permission could come early next week. Assuming it does, Green said he would be ready to play Nov. 12 against the Dolphins in Miami.
“That’s just me,” Green said. “I don’t know what everybody else’s thoughts are. But in my opinion, yeah, I could play.
“I’ve been throwing to receivers now for a couple of weeks. At first it was stationary targets, putting guys in spots. Then last week it became moving targets.”
Coach Herm Edwards was more cautious.
“I’ve got to watch him go through practice,” Edwards said. “I don’t know how I’m going to orchestrate that. Eventually, when it’s time that I feel he can take all the snaps and play a whole game … he hasn’t played in a game in six or seven weeks. Just to get in shape to play a whole game, there’s a process for that, too.”
Green, 36, will be listed by the Chiefs as their third quarterback behind starter Damon Huard and Brodie Croyle. Reserve halfback Dee Brown would be the emergency quarterback.
Brown was a high school quarterback. He was recruited to Syracuse to play the position but was switched to running back.
Essentially, little will be different in St. Louis for Green, who suffered a severe concussion in the season opener against Cincinnati and hasn’t played since. The only difference is that he will be in uniform.
For the Chiefs, the move is more meaningful. They’re another step closer to getting Green back.
“It lets him get the adrenaline of going out there and going through warm-ups with the players and that whole deal,” Edwards said. “Some people might think that’s a little thing, but it’s something he won’t have to worry about anymore. Now, when it comes time for him to play, he’s done a lot of the things he needs to do to play except play.”
Edwards said he wouldn’t be tempted to play Green, not even if Huard and Croyle are injured and the Chiefs need a touchdown drive in the final minutes to beat the Rams.
“We’re running the option, baby,” he said. “Dee Brown is running the option.
“(Green is) out. He’s still out. I’m not going to put him in the game. I’m smarter than that.”
Green’s comeback has been marked by a series of incremental steps. He returned to game-planning meetings a couple of weeks after the concussion. That step might not seem like much, but it was huge for Green.
“I have fun with the mental part of it,” Green said. “I wouldn’t want to be a coach just because of the time that takes. I like my family too much, so that would be hard. But I love the mental part of it.”
He wasn’t allowed to return to practice until last week and even then only in drills where he had no chance of contact.
Now he’s suiting up. While it’s more progress, it still isn’t happening fast enough for Green.
“I only found out about it today,” he said. “I think a lot of it has to do with just getting me back in the routine.”
Playing for the Rams, Green missed all of the 1999 season because of a knee injury. Kurt Warner took his spot and guided the Rams to the Super Bowl championship.
This experience, he said, has been even more difficult.
“It’s different than it was in ’99. As hard as it was to watch that season and watch my replacement go on to have success and the team have success, this is harder because I know I’m coming back at some point in time. It’s just a matter of when. In the other case, I knew I wasn’t coming back and I had to deal with that.”