Over at the Chiefs official site they have an interview up with Trent Green. Some of the choice excerpts below:
Q: Why is the Dallas pass defense so good?
GREEN: “They have these young guys that can really pressure the passer. I think CB Terence (Newman) is playing really well right now. He had high expectations coming out of college and I think he is living up to those expectations now. On the other side they have some injuries to both corners that are playing that spot and we are not sure which guy we are going to see. With the play of their safeties and the pressure they are putting on their quarterback, I actually just read something in Sports Illustrated an interview or quote with Newman had said that because of the pass pressure the secondary all of a sudden looks a lot better and I think that is very evident. When you can generate a pass rush with your down four or a combination of stunts with your linebackers that helps your secondary and I think right now they are able to create that pressure without having to over analyze or commit to many guys to the pass rush. When you can drop guys in coverage and be able to still get pressure that will cause problems for any team.”
Q: What about the (Chiefs) defense? Have you ever been a part of the Chiefs where you felt this strongly about your defense?
GREEN: “I think our defense is playing better than have played the entire time I have been here. I think it has been a growing process with a lot of young guys who have stepped up and played extremely well. Obviously DE Jared (Allen) and LB Kawika (Mitchell), those two guys are the ones that really jumped up on the guys. They have really developed over the last couple of seasons and really played well. We have good veteran leadership over there with DE Eric (Hicks) and CB (Sammy Knight), CB (Patrick Surtain) and S Greg (Wesley). There are a lot of veteran guys that are playing really well and I think they just have a lot of confidence right now. I think they feel good about what they are doing. They feel good about way Gunther (Cunningham) is approaching the game and giving them opportunity to have success. When you get that confidence you think you are going to go out every time and make plays no matter where the team has the ball whether it be a special teams or turnover on the offense where all of a sudden you are on a short field. When you have that confidence it’s just more fun to play and it seems like they are having a lot more fun. In years past it was almost like ‘let’s go out and do as best we can and hopefully nothing goes wrong.’ Now it’s like when they take the field it seems like let’s go out here and make something happen and obviously from an offensive standpoint and from a fan standpoint it’s just a lot more fun to see them go out with that type of attitude.”
Q: You guys have the deep ball because it has seemed the last couple of weeks you have thrown the deep ball more than you have?
GREEN: “We have an opportunity to throw it where we have some match-up situations that worked in our favor. Last week Denver had two rookies that were playing at that left corner and so we were able to utilize that a couple of times. The week before New England had a rookie on one side and sometimes you can find those match-ups that give you a distinct advantage. Having Willie in there gives us the ability to do that and anytime we can stretch the field the secondary can’t sit on the underneath passes we are able to stretch things as it opens up the middle passing game as well as the running game. That has been a big part of our game the last couple of weeks.”
Comments