Chiefster
05-14-2007, 07:19 PM
http://www.kansascity.com/182/story/105118.html
For Carl Peterson and the Chiefs, there’s really more at stake in the Trent Green standoff than just a first-day draft pick.
Little does the King know, or perhaps little does the King care, the Trent Green standoff may very well come to symbolize exhibit A in why the King should be dethroned.
Green — Mr. Kansas City — played by all of the King’s rules for six years. Green said the right things. Never missed a snap until a Cincinnati Bengal launched into him with a semi-illegal hit. Green invested in the community.
Trent Green, according to Peterson, was family. Peterson allegedly had so much respect for his quarterback that he threw an inappropriate, anti-media tantrum when Green and Todd Collins got involved in a teeny bit of controversy at training camp.
Given all of the alleged love, it seems strange that Green is sitting in his Kansas City home brooding because the King won’t trade him to Miami for a second-day draft pick.
Green, it seems, fell for Peterson’s pickup lines.
And now Green is upset because Snoop Doggy Peterson don’t love these QBs.
Well, above all else, Peterson is a businessman. This Green affair proves it beyond a reasonable doubt. At some point, owner Clark Hunt is going to have to come to grips with the fact that you can’t field a consistent playoff team or Super Bowl contender with a hardcore businessman setting the tone for the organization.
You have to love the game more than you love the deal.
I am not suggesting that Peterson doesn’t love the game and many of his Chiefs players. He does. He just loves the business end of it more. The bottom line is easier to control and manipulate than Priest Holmes, Larry Johnson, Trent Green, Willie Roaf, Marty Schottenheimer or any player/coach.
In Peterson’s mind, squeezing a third-round draft pick out of a 36-year-old quarterback is worth more effort than building the kind of relationship that might have resulted in Roaf playing one more year than he desired.
Love is infectious. Love is necessary, even in the NFL. You can’t win big without it. When the game is reduced strictly to business, when the players believe there’s an absence of love, the team lacks passion and emotion.
Love can overrule good business sense. If Peterson loved Green the way he pretended to, he would’ve already cut a deal with the Dolphins for a fifth-round pick (the Dolphins have been offering a sixth). Steve McNair, a former league MVP and Super Bowl participant, was traded at age 33 to the Ravens for a fourth-round pick. Green is older and less accomplished than McNair, and Green is coming off severe head trauma and a terrible playoff performance.
Honestly, I’m just glad Cam Cameron and the Dolphins are willing to offer something for Green. Heck, I’d take an autographed bong from Ricky Williams for Green, and I don’t even smoke.
Not only does the Green standoff reflect poorly on Peterson’s relationship with Green, it also reflects poorly on Peterson’s business savvy.
In order to gain leverage over the Dolphins, Peterson, Denny Thum and Herm Edwards have spent the past two weeks trying to convince Green they want him back here as quarterback.
This is a terribly timed reversal. Edwards and Peterson undermined Green’s trade value at the beginning of the offseason by letting everyone know the Chiefs wanted Brodie Croyle on the field and re-signing Damon Huard.
With Green’s contract and the team’s stated direction, there was little reason for any team to trade for Green when it was obvious the Chiefs didn’t want him. Peterson told Green and his agent Jim Steiner to find a team willing to take on Green. They did that.
The time to act like the Chiefs were committed to keeping Green was in February and March. Maybe then the Dolphins would’ve attempted to pry Green away from Kansas City with a third- or fourth-round pick.
Working out a reasonable deal with the Dolphins and letting Green scoot to Miami as soon as possible makes the most sense for Peterson and the Chiefs. Let Green feel a little love and maybe some of the other players not named Tony Gonzalez will believe it’s possible for them to be loved in Kansas City.
For Carl Peterson and the Chiefs, there’s really more at stake in the Trent Green standoff than just a first-day draft pick.
Little does the King know, or perhaps little does the King care, the Trent Green standoff may very well come to symbolize exhibit A in why the King should be dethroned.
Green — Mr. Kansas City — played by all of the King’s rules for six years. Green said the right things. Never missed a snap until a Cincinnati Bengal launched into him with a semi-illegal hit. Green invested in the community.
Trent Green, according to Peterson, was family. Peterson allegedly had so much respect for his quarterback that he threw an inappropriate, anti-media tantrum when Green and Todd Collins got involved in a teeny bit of controversy at training camp.
Given all of the alleged love, it seems strange that Green is sitting in his Kansas City home brooding because the King won’t trade him to Miami for a second-day draft pick.
Green, it seems, fell for Peterson’s pickup lines.
And now Green is upset because Snoop Doggy Peterson don’t love these QBs.
Well, above all else, Peterson is a businessman. This Green affair proves it beyond a reasonable doubt. At some point, owner Clark Hunt is going to have to come to grips with the fact that you can’t field a consistent playoff team or Super Bowl contender with a hardcore businessman setting the tone for the organization.
You have to love the game more than you love the deal.
I am not suggesting that Peterson doesn’t love the game and many of his Chiefs players. He does. He just loves the business end of it more. The bottom line is easier to control and manipulate than Priest Holmes, Larry Johnson, Trent Green, Willie Roaf, Marty Schottenheimer or any player/coach.
In Peterson’s mind, squeezing a third-round draft pick out of a 36-year-old quarterback is worth more effort than building the kind of relationship that might have resulted in Roaf playing one more year than he desired.
Love is infectious. Love is necessary, even in the NFL. You can’t win big without it. When the game is reduced strictly to business, when the players believe there’s an absence of love, the team lacks passion and emotion.
Love can overrule good business sense. If Peterson loved Green the way he pretended to, he would’ve already cut a deal with the Dolphins for a fifth-round pick (the Dolphins have been offering a sixth). Steve McNair, a former league MVP and Super Bowl participant, was traded at age 33 to the Ravens for a fourth-round pick. Green is older and less accomplished than McNair, and Green is coming off severe head trauma and a terrible playoff performance.
Honestly, I’m just glad Cam Cameron and the Dolphins are willing to offer something for Green. Heck, I’d take an autographed bong from Ricky Williams for Green, and I don’t even smoke.
Not only does the Green standoff reflect poorly on Peterson’s relationship with Green, it also reflects poorly on Peterson’s business savvy.
In order to gain leverage over the Dolphins, Peterson, Denny Thum and Herm Edwards have spent the past two weeks trying to convince Green they want him back here as quarterback.
This is a terribly timed reversal. Edwards and Peterson undermined Green’s trade value at the beginning of the offseason by letting everyone know the Chiefs wanted Brodie Croyle on the field and re-signing Damon Huard.
With Green’s contract and the team’s stated direction, there was little reason for any team to trade for Green when it was obvious the Chiefs didn’t want him. Peterson told Green and his agent Jim Steiner to find a team willing to take on Green. They did that.
The time to act like the Chiefs were committed to keeping Green was in February and March. Maybe then the Dolphins would’ve attempted to pry Green away from Kansas City with a third- or fourth-round pick.
Working out a reasonable deal with the Dolphins and letting Green scoot to Miami as soon as possible makes the most sense for Peterson and the Chiefs. Let Green feel a little love and maybe some of the other players not named Tony Gonzalez will believe it’s possible for them to be loved in Kansas City.