Palmer: Green's block was far from malicious

Travis Johnson and Trent Green

Jesse Palmer

10/9/2007 5:03:44 PM

First Down: Trent Green's "Malicious" Block

During the Miami Dolphins 22-19 loss to the Houston Texans this past weekend, Trent Green suffered a concussion following a low block on Texans defensive tackle Travis Johnson.  After the game Johnson went after Green.

"It was a malicious hit," Johnson said. "He wants to get courage while I wasn't looking ... If you want to hit me, hit me in my head, hit me in my chest, don't hit me in my knee. I'm trying to eat just like everybody else. To hit me like that showed me what type of man he was."

Having played quarterback, in no way do I feel that this was a "malicious" hit by Green.  While quarterbacks are discouraged from blocking during run plays, they do occasionally have to block on reverse-type plays.  In this instance, Green had the "seal" block on Johnson.  Quarterbacks are always told to block low on defenders, therefore limiting the chance of shoulder injuries. 

While the cut block from Green wasn't maliciously intended, it was executed poorly.  Players are taught to attack the thigh area of the defender in cut blocking, aiming between their waist and the knee, while keeping their head up.  There is a saying in football, "see what you hit". 

The risk of blocking a defender in the knee area is that you can hit your head on the kneecap, and risking having your bell rung.  In this case, Green did not see his target and lowered his head too much.  He was struck by Johnson's kneecap right in the helmet, which knocked him unconscious and forced him to miss the remainder of the game.

I have had to make that particular block several times in my career, both in college and at the pro level, and I've gone low on the defender every time.  The last thing that would go through my mind before each hit was, "While I would love to blow this guy up with a shoulder to his chin and make SPORTSCENTRE, I probably should just hit him at the waist and avoid blowing my throwing shoulder out."

Second Down: Here come the Steelers

While everyone seems to be talking about the undefeated Indianapolis Colts and the unbeaten New England Patriots, I believe the Pittsburgh Steelers are still a big threat to become the best team in the AFC. 

After sleepwalking through their only loss versus the Arizona Cardinals in Week 3, the Steelers re-emerged and shut out the high octane Seattle Seahawks 21-0 this past weekend.   The Pittsburgh Steelers have got out to a 4-1 start this year by playing traditional Steelers football: running the ball offensively and stopping the run defensively. 

The Patriots will eventually play the Steelers December 9th at Gillette Stadium and I think this could a game for the ages. 

The Steelers ability to run the football with Willie Parker and Najeh Davenport allows them to slow down the tempo of a game. They can eat up the clock, keeping opposing offensive playmakers on the sidelines. 

Defensively they are built to stop the run and make teams one-dimensional.  Last year Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin was the defensive co-coordinator in Minnesota and led a defense that ended up No. 1 in the NFL against the run.  In fact, only the 2000 Baltimore Ravens gave up fewer yards rushing per game than Tomlin's Vikings did in 2006. 

When it's all said and done, I feel that the Steelers match up perfectly with teams like the New England Patriots and the Indianapolis Colts, and those two teams would be wise to treat Pittsburgh as a major threat.

Third Down: Whisenhunt's Experiment

Arizona Cardinals head coach Ken Whisenhunt has been employing a two-quarterback system this year, helping his team to its best start in 20 years.  Both Matt Leinart and former NFL MVP Kurt Warner had been sharing snaps for the 3-2 Cardinals this season, although Leinart suffered a broken clavicle on the weekend and will miss the rest of the season.

Leinart, a second-year quarterback, had expressed his displeasure with the strategy, saying he felt out of sync at times during games.  I believe, however, that playing two quarterbacks was the best offensive system for the Cardinals, as it gave them the best chance to win games. 

Using both Leinart and Warner allowed Whisenhunt to make use of both quarterbacks and their respective strengths. Leinart plays more effectively in a more conventional offence, while Kurt Warner operates the no-huddle offense better. More importantly, using both players allowed the Cardinals offense a chance to change the pace of the game at any time and remain productive. 

While Leinart possesses so many intangibles that you look for in a young quarterback,  Warner is better in hurry-up situations.  Warner ran this style of offense during his MVP years in St. Louis, and is more familiar with that tempo of play.

Playing quarterback in a shuttle system can be difficult depending on the type of quarterback you are. Some quarterbacks depend on getting into a rhythm and tend to struggle rotating in and out of the game, while others can handle the duty of spot playing during different situations in the game.  

I played in a shuttle system at the University of Florida under Steve Spurrier and certainly can appreciate the upside to Whisenhunt's strategy.  Aside from being able to change the pace with two effective quarterbacks, you can also coach-up each player before his particular series regarding the defensive looks he might be seeing.  In the end it guarantees greater success for your team since each quarterback concerns himself with a separate portion of the playbook, allowing him to execute better. 

It isn't considered conventional thinking in football to rotate your quarterbacks as you would your running backs or defensive linemen, but I applaud Whisenhunt for thinking outside the box and doing what was best for his team. 

Now that Kurt Warner will be taking every snap for the Cardinals, I am curious to see how his play responds.  While he has amassed an impressive QB rating of 102.3 this year in spot play, taking more snaps translates into more taking more hits.  I played with Kurt Warner in 2004 and remember his play deteriorating when teams were able to hit him, thus disrupting his rhythm and timing.  

Fourth down: Heart-felt Response

After losing 20-7 in Week 4 to division rival Tampa Bay, Carolina defensive tackle Kris Jenkins had this to say:

"I'm going to be honest. I think the players owe the fans an apology. I would be as upset as they are if I had to sit in the stands for four quarters and look at that garbage. I'm going to be honest with you, it was what it was: garbage. As a team collectively we have no heart."

The Carolina Panthers were able to fight through adversity this past weekend, beating the New Orleans Saints 16-13 on the road.  Panthers quarterback David Carr was forced out of the game in the first quarter due to back injuries ("It was by far the worst pain I've ever felt in my life," he said), but returned in the second half, played hurt and led his team back to a fourth quarter victory. 

Watching the inspired Panthers comeback made me wonder whether or not Jenkins's comments fueled the passion back into this team.  I remember in 2002 during my second season with the Giants, we had struggled in our first seven games, going 3-4, and were a long shot to make the NFC wild card.  The media was ripping us weekly and we were getting yelled at in practice more than usual from our coaches. 

It wasn't until our team leaders such as Michael Strahan and Kerry Collins started to address the team in "players only" meetings that our season finally changed.  There were fingers being pointed at other players and tempers roared inside our meeting room, but in the end it brought our team closer together because we developed a feeling of "family" and unity. 

Following the players only meetings, we won seven of our next nine games and earned a spot in the playoffs. 

I think teams finally wake up during times of adversity, when they see their leaders stand up and communicate how displeased and embarrassed they are about their team failures.  One thing all professional athletes have is pride.  And when a team loses on Sunday in front of the entire country, it hits home, especially to the veteran guys who have been part of a quality team in past years (Jenkins was part of the 2003 NFC champion Carolina Panthers). 

I think Jenkins's comments last week helped invoke a feeling of family in the Panthers locker room, and it showed this past Sunday against the Saints.