A Long Way From Lambeau
Iron Man
by Mark Lyne-Austen
16/6/2009
One of the standout Quarterbacks in the league has formally announced his retirement. A real iron man who played on despite serious injury and was one of the top passers of his generation during a career spanning a decade and a half, spending it mostly in fairly unfashionable parts of the country but with a Super Bowl ring to his name. Trent Green was a top quality passer, one not considered good enough as he came out of college to get a decent draft position but a player who went on to put up gaudy passing numbers including three seasons of over 4000 yards.
So many players are written off before their career has even started and Trent was one of them. Quarterbacks are judged more harshly than most and as an 8th round pick in 1993, Trent Green did not make it the first time round – even the Canadian Football League did not think Green good enough. It took Green until 1998 before he finally got his break, replacing Pro Bowler Gus Frerotte at Washington and he took that chance so well that he became a highly coveted free agent. It was his home town St Louis Rams who splashed the cash as they embarked upon their Greatest Show On Turf era.
The great players we all associate with what was one of the most explosive offenses ever seen include Marshall Faulk, Isaac Bruce, Torry Holt, and Kurt Warner. Trent Green perhaps should have been the man lauded as the fulcrum of that mighty offensive strategy but he had become the backup to Warner thanks to a low hit from San Diego's Rodney Harrison in a preseason game. It was far from Green's worst injury but it might have been the most costly for his career as he stepped in ably for 5 games in mid-season when Warner was injured but it was Warner who remained the overall starter. The margins between ability and glory are so small and though Trent Green has a Super Bowl ring from that Rams team he does not have the personal fame that could well have come without that preseason knock.
The impressive Kansas City Chiefs offense that Green ran for 6 years in the early part of this decade may well owe a lot to the formidable offensive line featuring probable hall of famer Will Shields and Willie Roaf that was probably the best the NFL had to offer at the time. Still, some recognition in the form of 2 Pro Bowl appearances reflect his throwing prowess in what was primarily a running attack with Priest Holmes and then Larry Johnson the featured player.
What should also be remembered vividly is that Green showed us all the inherent dangers of this sport in suffering two of the most brutal knockouts the sports world has ever seen. The 2006 tackle by Robert Geathers of Cincinnati really should have ended Green's career. It was a sickening hit that put Green out of action for the rest of that year as he attempted to slide on a scramble but was hit savagely. NFL players are tough, they withstand damage during a season that most will not experience in a lifetime but many of us were calling for Green to retire at that point for his own safety.
Trent was determined to come back though and he signed for the Miami Dolphins. Unfortunately he suffered yet another enormous concussion and it would be miraculous if the quality of his life is not impaired by the impacts his brain has suffered. During a game against the Houston Texans in 2007, Green tried to chop block Defensive Tackle Travis Johnson following a fumble by Ted Ginn Jnr. The 315lb former first rounder's knee struck Green in the temple in what was one of the scarier on-field moments we've seen recently as the QB was attended on the field. Despite taking two of the most violent hits any NFL Quarterback has suffered, Green only finally called it a day when the offers ran out.
Apparently Trent Green will be heading towards a broadcasting position somewhere. We should all wish him well and remember that he was a great Quarterback who took more than his fair share of knocks. Having had to fight for a chance to play in the NFL, Green had serious mental fortitude but perhaps this was part of his own undoing as that fighting spirit put the player in harm's way where others may have been more circumspect. Trent Green was one of the elite NFL players but he paid a price in pain.
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