Whitlock pauses crusade to bash King Carl

Let me start this off by saying that I’m a fan of Jason Whitlock. That said, his latest article — and I can’t believe he actually even did a Kansas City Chiefs column as focused as he is on his social-commentary tour — is way off base.

First off, the Miami Dolphins didn’t even own a fifth-round pick (I believe Detroit had acquired it via trade), so that wasn’t even a possibility. What he should have said is that the Dolphins not having that fifth-rounder possibly killed the deal.

Second, Trent Green didn’t get concussed by a “semi-illegal hit.” What really happened is an old man was running around trying to play Willie Beaman when a teammate accidentally blocked a pursuing defender into him. You can watch it for yourself in a painfully slow YouTube clip right here. Bengals DE Robert Geathers was likely just trying to get Trent down, but Eddie Kennison’s block caused him to deliver an out-of-control, violent hit. Trent is not Willie Beaman. In fact, he’s more like Cap Rooney at this point in his career. He had no business running around like that. For the good of his team, himself and his family he should have been smarter than that, especially considering that it was the first game of the season.

Next, I totally disagree with Whitlock’s theory that Carl Peterson is the one who owes. He’s got it completely wrong — Trent owes Peterson and the Chiefs. King Carl gave Trent his shot when everyone else in the league only thought of him as a potential clipboard holder. Trent should bow down to the King and Co. for the opportunity that he was given, not vice versa.

Like I’ve said a million times, Trent is a nice guy who worked hard and played pretty well as the Chiefs QB. So what? Last year his play slipped considerably, so now he’s out of a job. If this happened anywhere besides sports everyone would agree that he lost his job due to poor performance. Contrary to what Whitlock may believe, football is a business. That’s why I don’t fault Peterson for being a businessman. He gave Trent six years and more money than most people ever dream of having.

Carl Peterson owes Trent Green absolutely nothing.

I’m sorry, but I just don’t feel one iota sorry for Trent. Whitlock can say that Herm Edwards and Peterson “undermined” Trent’s value all that he wants, but that’s only half of the story. The real person who undermined Trent Green’s trade value was Trent Green. His value went down the toilet when he nearly got decapitated and then returned only to do his best Elvis Grbac impersonation in the playoffs.

Trent and his apologists — ahem, Jason Whitlock and Kevin Kietzman — need to wake up. Trent made a stupid decision, nearly critically injuring himself, and was damaged goods when he returned. Whose fault is that? Forget the staff’s Brodie Croyle obsession for a moment; Damon Huard outplayed Trent last season. Blatantly. When you consider the most important criterion for QBs — age, cost, potential and recent performance — Trent is the odd man out. He should be the third-string QB on the depth chart, it’s just that no team is stupid enough to pay a back-up’s back-up Pro Bowl dough.

Now that Trent, his agent Jim Steiner and the Dolphins have tried to coerce the Chiefs into taking less than the market value as compensation, I almost dislike Trent. I sure as hell won’t hold him in the high esteem that I do some of my favorite ex-Chiefs.

The Steve McNair comparison is probably Whitlock’s best point. Except that McNair’s injury history is worse than Green’s and he’s so good at racking up DUIs that he just got charged with one when he wasn’t even driving.

Personally, I hope King Carl continues to play hardball. I’m hoping that he holds onto Trent into the preseason and a team desperate to upgrade at QB offers a fourth- or fifth-round pick. I understand that Trent has kids and a wife, but he should have kept more options open in case the Miami deal didn’t pan out. I’m sure that Detroit and other NFL cities have schools just as good as the ones in Miami.

Now Whitlock isn’t necessarily a die-hard Chiefs fan, I actually think he’s a Colts fan, and that you’d think that would allow him to be objective. I don’t think that’s what he’s doing here. Call me a homer, but I think this is an uninformed Whitlock pumping out a Chiefs article out of obligation and using the opportunity to stick it to Peterson. The guy has a vendetta against King Carl, that’s no secret.

Jason Whitlock was completely out of touch on this one. And lame, dated lines like “Snoop Doggy Peterson don’t love these QBs” (Isn’t this the guy that is against hip-hop terminology like hos? He’s obviously listened to Snoop before.) don’t help his case any. I’m starting to think that maybe Jason should’ve taken Imus‘ old radio slot. I like Whitlock and what he’s done in the past, for the most part, but this article really irked me. Especially when he’s been MIA for so long Chiefs-wise. I guess I’ll give him the chance to redeem himself, as you should, but redemption will be hard earned. Taking Trent’s side round these parts is frowned upon, to say the least.