Trent Interview: 12/20

[NewChief]

Surprised no one has posted this and made a big deal about Trent "calling out" the coaching staff with his comments. I guess when Larry says it, it's controversial.

Q: How do you explain winning seven straight games against the Raiders that always seem to come down to the last minute?

GREEN: “A lot of games come down to the final quarter or the final possession and it just so happens that the last seven games have unfolded that way. I remember two years ago the defense had a big stop and tackled WR Tim Brown at the one-yard line on the last play of the game and then obviously RB Larry Johnson’s touchdown here a year ago.”

Q: Why can you make those plays against Oakland, but you didn’t against Cleveland and Miami?

GREEN: “Well we have made them against a lot of other teams, also. When QB Damon Huard was playing we had two fourth quarter comebacks. I’ve had a few also, we can talk about the Cleveland game a couple of years ago and the flip-back from T John Tait, we had the Jets game where he ran out of the defender’s grasp and jumped in the end zone. There are a lot of other ones.”

Q: But how is it that you can consistently do it to Oakland?

GREEN: “I think a lot of it comes down to divisional games, rivalry games and it just seems that they are always tough. You have a common opponent that you play every year so you know each other’s tendencies. I know that in my six years here the majority of our division games have been very close. We have just been fortunate.”

Q: At the end of the game do you think, ‘hey, we’ve done it against these guys before’?

GREEN: “I think we had the confidence because the series before we had driven down the field and got stopped, so we had some success moving the ball and getting in position to score. When you are moving the ball that way you have a lot more success.”

Q: Is it strange to see Coach Vermeil running around as a reporter?

GREEN: “It’s great seeing him; I think that he looks great. His energy is always as high as can be and his enthusiasm about the game; I think that he has missed it some, but I think he is enjoying the time that he is spending with his family, but I think now that he’s doing games and preparing he is getting enthused watching film again. I can tell that he’s really excited about it.”

Q: Is it good that you’re playing Saturday and there is no scoreboard watching?

GREEN: “I think so, I think we kind of have to put the whole playoff thing out of the picture and just win a game. We’ve lost three in a row and we’re frustrated by that and it’s been tough how it has unfolded the last month. The Raiders, we know, have one of the best defenses in the league and they proved that when they were here at Arrowhead. I think that they are in the top five in the NFL in a number of defensive categories. We know that the challenge is going to be there and we know that the last seven games have been decided by seven points or less, so we know it’s going to be a tight game and we’ve got to focus on this one and let the other stuff play out the way that it does.”

Q: Have you felt comfortable in the pocket since you came back?

GREEN: “I felt comfortable the first time I played the Raiders, which was the first time back. I don’t feel any different then I did in previous seasons, but I do feel comfortable in there.”

Q: With the offensive line being a little mixed up are you comfortable with the guys you have in there right now?

GREEN: “Definitely, I have a lot of confidence in them. We have had a lot of transition this year in the offensive line with the retirement of T Willie Roaf and G Brian Waters got injured. We’ve rotated tackles around a little bit. T Jordan Black has stayed pretty healthy and been pretty firm over there on the left side, but we have rotated three different tackles on the right side. This is what our season has been and because the guys filling those spots are guys that have played, I have a comfort level there because I know they have had the reps and the work. It’s just a matter of having the time because it is a short week with Mr. Hunt’s service yesterday and obviously with the game on Saturday it shortens things down as well.”

Q: You guys have had trouble scoring touchdowns the last couple of weeks; how responsible do you feel about that?

GREEN: “I’m the quarterback, so I shoulder a lot of that responsibility. All I can do is try and execute the best that I can and trust that everybody is going to do their jobs and trust that I’m going to do my job and just try and execute as best you can. We’re not a team that does a lot of audibles, it’s a responsibility that I have to read and know my progressions and know my protections and compete as best I can. It’s been frustrating for us and we’ve played two pretty good defenses the last couple of weeks, but this offense has set a standard over the past few years that it doesn’t really matter what defense we’re playing. We’ve had a lot of success not only scoring points, but scoring in the red zone and we haven’t done that the last couple of weeks.”

Q: Do you think that you guys can still do that now?

GREEN: “I go into every game and every possession thinking that I can do it. Every time I take the field I think that we are going to score, so I’ve never wavered on that no matter if we haven’t scored any points. I think the next time we are going to score and that’s just the way I’ve always thought of it. That started for me a long time ago and I’d like to think that everybody else has the mindset also when they go out on the field.”

Q: Do you feel like you need to get RB Larry Johnson more carries?

GREEN:”I don’t know where Larry ranks in the league in terms of number of carries, but I think he’s probably one of the highest. So in terms of getting him reps, I don’t know how we give it to him more.”

Q: Do you think it is because you are not generating enough plays?

GREEN: “I guess we just kind of see how the game goes. I know that last time we played the Raiders our game plan was to mix it up and we went into the very first series and went 11 plays and scored and 10 of those 11 plays were runs. We only had 17 snaps against Oakland in the first half last time, so yeah we’d like to get Larry going and I think that gives us good balance, but it is also important to utilize the passing game. When this offense operated the best you have the balance of the run and pass and you have the defense second-guessing what you’re going to do. There has been such an emphasis placed on the run, but I think the passing game complements the running game very well with what we’ve been able to accomplish over these past few seasons.”

[Reerun_KC]

Kuddos Trent. I appreciate all you do for the Chiefs and us fans..

Calling out the play calling is awesome!!!

Herm is a fraud!

[Zouk]

I posted this yesterday, but will do so again.

Against the Chargers, we ran 14 times on 1st and 10, and threw 13 times on 1st and 10.

In the first half, it was 7 1st and 10 passes and 7 1st and 10 runs.

I don't see play calling as an issue.

[ck_IN]

Uh Trent here's an idea, try to actually complete some of the passes you do throw. That means not throwing it directly to Donnie Edwards.

[Brock]

Originally Posted by Zouk

I posted this yesterday, but will do so again.

Against the Chargers, we ran 14 times on 1st and 10, and threw 13 times on 1st and 10.

In the first half, it was 7 1st and 10 passes and 7 1st and 10 runs.

I don't see play calling as an issue.

I think it's more than having an equal number of passes to runs. I do think the play calling is suspect based on calling a play and regardless of the defensive setup, running that play. I've seen them run between the tackles against an 8 man front. Why the hell does this team never audible?

[NewChief]

Originally Posted by Brock

I think it's more than having an equal number of passes to runs. I do think the play calling is suspect based on calling a play and regardless of the defensive setup, running that play. I've seen them run between the tackles against an 8 man front. Why the hell does this team never audible?

Sounds like Trent is similarly frustrated at not doing more audibles.

Originally Posted by Trent Green

We’re not a team that does a lot of audibles, it’s a responsibility that I have to read and know my progressions and know my protections and compete as best I can.

[Chiefnj]

First Hall, then LJ and now Green. It's tough to come down from your high perch.

[ck_IN]

Perhaps I'm mistaken but I didn't think Saunders/Vermeil allowed him to audible either. At least that was the excuse given when he telegraphed an int in one game.

I thought allowing the QB to audible was something Herm/Solari was going to bring to the O. Did I miss something?

[Reerun_KC]

Originally Posted by ck_IN

Perhaps I'm mistaken but I didn't think Saunders/Vermeil allowed him to audible either. At least that was the excuse given when he telegraphed an int in one game.

I thought allowing the QB to audible was something Herm/Solari was going to bring to the O. Did I miss something?

I dont think Herm has ever brought anything to an Offense in his coaching career....

[NewChief]

Originally Posted by ck_IN

I thought allowing the QB to audible was something Herm/Solari was going to bring to the O. Did I miss something?

That was my understanding as well. He was at least supposed to be able to do two-choice plays. Not sure what happened to that.

[Chiefnj]

Originally Posted by ck_IN

Perhaps I'm mistaken but I didn't think Saunders/Vermeil allowed him to audible either. At least that was the excuse given when he telegraphed an int in one game.

I thought allowing the QB to audible was something Herm/Solari was going to bring to the O. Did I miss something?

I believe you are correct. The old system, from what I can recall, provided Trent with a preferred play and then 1 or 2 alternates if he saw something he didn't like. There was talk in the offseason that Trent was going to have more power to audible. I'm not real sure where the story came from though.

[Frosty]

My main gripe with Trent since he has been back is that he needs to remember that the line now sucks and he doesn't have time to wait for someone to get open downfield on every pass play. There is no shame taking the underneath stuff when it's there. He got away with it when the line was good, but now gets under pressure and gets sacked or heave-hos it for a pick or incompletion.

Huard would take the underneath passes, which would eventually open up the deep pass. Plus, it backs up the defenders, which opens up the run. I'm not calling for Huard, just for Green to not look for the homerun on every pass play.

[tk13]

Originally Posted by arc

My main gripe with Trent since he has been back is that he needs to remember that the line now sucks and he doesn't have time to wait for someone to get open downfield on every pass play. There is no shame taking the underneath stuff when it's there. He got away with it when the line was good, but now gets under pressure and gets sacked or heave-hos it for a pick or incompletion.

Huard would take the underneath passes, which would eventually open up the deep pass. Plus, it backs up the defenders, which opens up the run. I'm not calling for Huard, just for Green to not look for the homerun on every pass play.

The problem the other night was... LJ was left in to block on a lot of plays, hence all the talk about his blocking this week. I'm not sure Trent even had that option too many times. That was the sickening part... we'd leave 7 or 8 guys in the block and they'd still come running in free.

[Frosty]

Originally Posted by tk13

The problem the other night was... LJ was left in to block on a lot of plays, hence all the talk about his blocking this week. I'm not sure Trent even had that option too many times. That was the sickening part... we'd leave 7 or 8 guys in the block and they'd still come running in free.

They started moving the ball a little in the second half when they started going to the quicker slants and underneath throws.

The same thing happened in the Ravens game - Trent would drop back, stand there with LJ or Bigfoot wide open underneath and eventually get sacked or throw it away once the pressure got there.

[boogblaster]

Dont know why they dont throw more slants and flat patterns, they have Gonzo,Wilson,Dunn and Bennet that should produce yardage....