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29 Jun 2009

MMQB: Trent Green Takes Over!

With Peter King on vacation, his MMQB column will have various guest writers for the next four weeks. First up? The recently retired Trent Green, who discusses Michael Vick, concussions, leaving the game, and how the economy could dictate the new CBA. Not bad for a first-timer!

Posted by: Doug Farrar on 29 Jun 2009

45 comments, Last at 02 Jul 2009, 12:19am by Sifter

Comments

1
by Danish Denver-Fan :: Mon, 06/29/2009 - 8:56am

"I feel a little like Jim Sorgi stepping in for Peyton Manning. (No offense, Jim.)"

More like Derek Anderson stepping in for Charlie Frye, or Orton for Grossmann...

2
by starzero :: Mon, 06/29/2009 - 9:23am

No joke. Not only was it more coherent, it also had less extraneous junk. I much prefer 2 pages of Green to 4 of King. Who even reads that last King page?

15
by MJK :: Mon, 06/29/2009 - 11:12am

Yeah, my thought was that if his Sorgi-Manning parallel is accurate, then the Colts have the greatest backup QB ever.

17
by BucNasty :: Mon, 06/29/2009 - 11:34am

Cassel for Brady?

19
by bravehoptoad :: Mon, 06/29/2009 - 11:44am

*raises hand, shame-faced*

26
by KL (not verified) :: Mon, 06/29/2009 - 12:59pm

It's usually the 1st page and 3rd page that's worth skipping over with the usual column. The 10 (aka 57) things I think I think is usually more interesting to me.

25
by The Ninjalectual :: Mon, 06/29/2009 - 12:35pm

More like Derek Anderson stepping in for Charlie Frye, or Orton for Grossmann

Well sure, but it was still a nice thing to say...

-------------------------
"Just look at that pumpkin."
-John Madden, looking at the moon.

44
by BroncosGuy (not verified) :: Wed, 07/01/2009 - 5:20pm

Trent Green might not be Lou Gehrig, but that doesn't mean PK isn't Wally Pipp.

3
by Chris UK :: Mon, 06/29/2009 - 9:25am

Shame he couldn't resist the urge to mention princess.

4
by Kalyan :: Mon, 06/29/2009 - 9:29am

NOTE to MYSELF:

Should not read Trent Green's next 3 columns. Else, will never be able to live with PK's columns later ...

5
by Independent George :: Mon, 06/29/2009 - 9:35am

I love that he did this:

6) I think, actually I know, that Mark Brunell is the last quarterback standing from the 1993 draft class. He's outlasted Drew Bledsoe (No. 1 overall), Rick Mirer (No. 2), Billy Joe Hobert (No. 58), Gino Toretta (No. 192), Alex Van Pelt (No. 216), Elvis Grbac (No. 219) and me (No. 222). Keep going, Mark! I'll be pulling for you.

Oh, incidentally, by the way, now that you've mentioned it, I'm just throwing this out there...

6
by MarkV :: Mon, 06/29/2009 - 9:46am

Every time I see an expressive, interesting former football player, it makes me wonder how so many of the broadcasters are just not.

Wonderful job, makes me want to see him either writing something or broadcasting somewhere.

23
by Independent George :: Mon, 06/29/2009 - 12:14pm

I think a big part of it is that it's relatively easier to be interesting in print, for a relatively short period, than it is to be interesting in front of the camera, over a long period of time. Not that I'm defending Simms, Aikman, et al in the booth, but I think the job is a lot harder than most people think.

7
by Harris :: Mon, 06/29/2009 - 10:01am

This just in: Trent Green a stranger in own family, dinner with three young children a foreign experience to ex-QB.

I'd love to know his reasoning for choosing those QBs as potentially throwing for 4,000 yards. Brees is the most likely to do it because his defense is terrible and his running game suspect, which could be the case for Manning. But even excluding health as a factor, and Rodgers has yet to go uninjured, there are good reasons to believe the others won't get anywhere near 4,000 yards.

Hail Hydra!

8
by AB (not verified) :: Mon, 06/29/2009 - 10:03am

Are we going a bit overboard here? He seems a nice, homely kind of guy, but it is pretty anodyne stuff. He seems to like motherhood but is also fairly keen on apple pie. I particularly hate the way that former players are so reticent to be critical of anyone.

There is also the lingering suspicion that this was ghostwritten or at least heavily edited.

I'd much prefer to see the column turned over to someone who would do something a little bit different - Mike Florio perhaps, and/or one of the FO guys. Or maybe someone involved with the off-the-field nuts and bolts of the NFL - a Rich McKay or Troy Vincent? Or an owner? Or the Commish himself? So many ideas, none of them involving middlebrow QBs.

10
by drobviousso :: Mon, 06/29/2009 - 10:18am

This.

11
by Dean :: Mon, 06/29/2009 - 10:22am

All of these are fair critiques/suggestions.

However, at the risk of parroting that which has already been said, it's still light years ahead of anything King writes.

18
by NY expat :: Mon, 06/29/2009 - 11:39am

3 more guest columns to go ... I would guess that the remaining columns will come from different angles. I imagine King would rather get people who are not already publishing their thoughts, so Florio or players like Cooley would seem less likely. I like your suggestions, though I am afraid many (owners, Goodell) would be too risk-averse to accept an offer.

22
by are-tee :: Mon, 06/29/2009 - 12:12pm

"He seems a nice, homely kind of guy..."

Actually, he's not bad-looking.

24
by dsouten :: Mon, 06/29/2009 - 12:29pm

I don't think "homely" means what you think it means.

29
by Pat (filler) (not verified) :: Mon, 06/29/2009 - 4:12pm

Dear God, not Florio. The guy's got a lot of contacts and his instincts regarding reporting are very good, but as a feature writer he's pretty terrible.

33
by fyo :: Mon, 06/29/2009 - 7:34pm

"Ghost written"? "Or at least heavily edited?"

You need to RTFA, I think... The article contains several errors (that even I noticed - and while they should have been caught by a copy editor, they would likely not have been there in the first place, had the article been ghost-written) and consists almost entirely of extremely short sentences. Both point to the author being a novice at producing lengthy "essays".

Just a single quote from page 1 should be enough to convince anyone that the article certainly wasn't ghost-written:

True, players are well compensated, but there becomes a point of diminishing returns.

34
by AB (not verified) :: Tue, 06/30/2009 - 3:21am

The editing point is not about grammatical pendantry. Most of SI's professionally written articles are riddled with errors. PK (and his sub-editors) routinely get players' names wrong, for example.

The point is the bland way in which it is written. No unique turns of phrase. It feels very sanitised, in terms of both content and expression. I think that's a shame, because one of the great merits of turning over the column to an amateur would be to solicit some novel and unvarnished views on the game. Although he is obsessed with mammon, Ross Tucker's columns are good for this.

PS "Homely" - Of a simple or unpretentious nature; plain: homely truths.

35
by tuluse :: Tue, 06/30/2009 - 4:33am

Isn't there a possibility that Trent Green is just bland?

Or that he was nervous (like he said he was) and didn't want to screw anything up, or offend anyone?

38
by are-tee :: Tue, 06/30/2009 - 11:52am

I was thinking of homely's definition #4 from Merriam-Webster:

"plain or unattractive in appearance"

36
by Johnny Socko (not verified) :: Tue, 06/30/2009 - 9:40am

I see no evidence of ghost writing. Could somebody really ghost write stories about his family? While not ground breaking, I thought the article was an entertaining look inside the often concussed mind of a former QB. I say well done Mr. Green.

9
by Pete (not verified) :: Mon, 06/29/2009 - 10:14am

I think Trent makes a good point about Goodell. Does anyone deserve a year's suspension? Well, Vick not only did some attrotious acts off the field, but he also lied about it to his Coach, Owner, and Goodell. I don't believe Vick feels enough remores and I certainly don't believe that he is feeling a bankrupty like an average person. Let him rent or keep a small, single home and a single car (likely with a maximum value). The value of his jewelry and electronics should be estimated and anything over a certain minimal value should be sold off (Chapter 7 Bankrupty, I believe). With no significant income I think this is the right thing for Vick to do. THEN he will really decide whether to feel remorse or feel betrayed by "The Man".

Trent makes an awesome point about the current economy. I can understand that the owners want a profit from such a huge investment. Any entrepeneur typically expects to make more in an investment than a CD or Money Market. What is reasonable? Maybe 10% (about the same as oil companies or manufacturing, which may be half of what pharmeceuticals get) a year. On a $400 Million investment that means about $40 Million. I understand players wanting to get whatever they can for winning the sports lottery and putting their bodies on the line. However, I realy believe that the ticket prices are too much. They risk turning off many fans.

I loved Trent's insights about parenting. I can totally relate.

I think that Favre is old and tired. His performance has been on a steady downward slope for a while. For all of that he still may have more potential than either of the current Minnesota QB's.

If I was Childress and Favre was available, I would try to sign him to an incentive-laden contract. I would concentrate on keeping Favre healthy and getting to the playoffs with as much in the tank as possible.

Next, I would mostly write off the first four games. Sure these should be easy games, so even without Favre and the DT's I think Minnesota could win 1-2 of these.

As a result of writing off the first four games you now have four extra weeks to slowly bring Favre up to speed. Do this in a manner that does not place wear and tear on that old man's body. Have him help Jackson and Rosenfells and work with those young receivers (Bernard Berrian, Sidney Rice, and Percey Harvin as well as pass-catching TE, Shiancoe).

Let Favre know that in almost every game he may only play half a game. (This is what Miami should do with their ex-Jets QB, too, since his arm falls off in the second half of games) Obviously, Favre would want to play a full game against Green Bay and as a division rival I think this would be helpful. By the time these games roll around Favre could be in a groove and may not be worn out, yet.

Next, I would let Rosenfells and Jackson compete for QB. Let them know that they will be playing even if Favre is there. Jackson could do well if you include some Wildcat/option plays. He may not have the best decision-making skills, but I think this could play to his strengths. Let Favre lead by example, so Jackson and Rosenfells have a good leader to show them how it can be done (not Favre's ideal strength to mentor, but I think he could serve well enough in this roll).

16
by MJK :: Mon, 06/29/2009 - 11:16am

This strategy would be sound if your veteran QB was a fatherly mentor used to helping young guys learn their trade, not an aging prima donna gunslinger used to being treated as if he walks on water, that likes to play by his own rules and can't admit to himself or his teammates that his best years are behind him.

31
by Kibbles :: Mon, 06/29/2009 - 5:44pm

Unless by "a while" you mean "1 year", or by "steady downward slope" you mean "up and down wildly", then Favre hasn't been on a steady downward slope for a while.

On a steady downward slope, if you ranked a QB's last 5 seasons it would go: 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008. If I were to rank Favre's last 5 seasons, however, it would go: 2007, 2004, 2008, 2006, 2005. Hard to say you're on a steady downward slope when you're just one year removed from being a legit MVP candidate. He managed to go from one of the worst years of his career to one of the best just two years ago, so there's reason to believe he's still capable of doing it today. I don't think it's LIKELY, but you cannot just dismiss 2007 when discussing Brett Favre.

41
by Rich Conley (not verified) :: Wed, 07/01/2009 - 12:14am

The last 5 years, favre has been significantly worse in the 2nd half of each season than the first. He's clearly wearing down.

All the numbers agree.

12
by Joe T. :: Mon, 06/29/2009 - 10:46am

"I don't think Roger Goodell will reinstate Michael Vick for the 2009 season. First, look at Goodell's track record. He has never just allowed the criminal justice system to be the only penalty applied."

That's true, but I can't think of any cases under Goodell in which the justice system kept a player out of the league via incarceration. Michael Vick has already served a de facto suspension from the NFL. Other troubled athletes have been much more fortunate and not had what minimal punishment that is meted out by the courts interfere with their football careers.

14
by Sophandros :: Mon, 06/29/2009 - 10:55am

That, and he was already suspended prior to his prison sentence.

-------------
Sports talk radio and sports message boards are the killing fields of intellectual discourse.

13
by Theo :: Mon, 06/29/2009 - 10:48am

Where is King on vacation?

20
by MilkmanDanimal :: Mon, 06/29/2009 - 11:59am

And how is the coffee?

28
by Maude (not verified) :: Mon, 06/29/2009 - 3:37pm

Rest assured, in a few weeks we'll know everything that went on during the vacation.

30
by young curmudgeon (not verified) :: Mon, 06/29/2009 - 5:06pm

And, based on some of King's other "observations", in flatulent detail (God forfend!)

21
by Harris :: Mon, 06/29/2009 - 12:08pm

Is there a Toone P. Wiggins and is it within walking distance of his hotel? Because you know Peter King doesn't like to use his car.

Hail Hydra!

27
by Keith (not verified) :: Mon, 06/29/2009 - 3:12pm

He said in his Tuesday column that he was going to see Dr. Z, so that is somewhere in Jersey? I doubt he went too far out of the NE just yet.

32
by Raiderjoe :: Mon, 06/29/2009 - 6:40pm

7 things I think I think about things
1. Jamarcus Russell going to Pro Bowl in 2009-10 seoaosn
2. Raiders going 11-5 in 2009
3. Texans surprise playooff team
4. good chancen dick Jaron get fired during seoaosn or after season
5.Chaz Schilens going to be good fantasy player maybe not right away but maybe by week 3
6. mi turner not going to be fantays stud in 2009, maybe only have between 840 and 1060 yards
7. watch out for Vokings in NFC, have chance to go to Superbowl

37
by dbostedo :: Tue, 06/30/2009 - 9:53am

Can this be turned into a weekly feature?

39
by manderson (not verified) :: Tue, 06/30/2009 - 10:45pm

can we nominate raiderjoe for the next guest writing spot.

42
by Mr Shush :: Wed, 07/01/2009 - 2:32pm

That is definitely the best idea I've heard all week. Alchienerdness - the best places to buy Sierra Nevada. JaMarcus Russell in place of Princess. RJ player interviews - would that mean player quotes in English and RJ questions and comments in RJ? In fact, if RJ had a weekly Mdnya mOnrig 1/4bck column on ESPN insider, I would pay for ESPN insider. Hell, if it was a one-off I'd think about it.

43
by tuluse :: Wed, 07/01/2009 - 3:51pm

Obviously these interviews would have to be conducted over the internet, and the players just have to answer to question written by RJ.

40
by CathyW :: Tue, 06/30/2009 - 10:49pm

Trent Green's description of a family dinner sounds like just about every night at my house, complete with the sports practices, spilled drinks, and verbal (and sometimes physical) jabs between siblings. Trying to get both my kids to actually sit at the table and eat a meal with me is like herding cats. I keep trying, though, because eventually I delude myself that they will grow up to be civilized adults.

45
by Sifter :: Thu, 07/02/2009 - 12:19am

I'm way too late, but I just wanted to rub it in:

Every week there is at least one person (usually a few) who comes into the MMQB thread to bitch/whine about how Favre was mentioned. And now that Trent mentions Lord Voldemort himself, there's crickets...hahaha. I was laughed hard when I read those couple of paragraphs, imagining King haters swallowing humble pie.

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