S.Taylor36
06-21-2006, 12:45 PM
Here is a summary of the interview with Darrell Green on Sirius Satellite Radio’s "Moving The Chains" hosted by Joe Schwartz and Pat Kirwin… Enjoy!
Darrell starts the interview stating he’s currently working on increasing the Pay Pass technology program with Bank of America/MasterCard. He says his non-profit (D. Green Foundation) is doing well.
Q1 (Pat Kirwin): I want to start off by saying as the GM of the Jets I wanted to pry Darrell away from the ‘Skins on two separate occasions, I was unsuccessful but I have the greatest respect for the man. I will make a standing bet with anyone that you will be able to run a 4.4 40 at age 50.
D. Green: (Laughs) I don’t know about age 50, but I’m 46 right now and I can still run a 4.4 40 with some kids pushing me to do so.
Q2 (Pat Kirwin) I spoke earlier about the opportunity to evaluate you twice. The second time you were approaching Free Agency I gave you the highest grade I’ve ever given a DB because I believe you are the all-around greatest CB to ever play in the NFL.
D. Green: I’m not sure what all around means. I only know how to play football one way. A complete football player must know how to secure the ball and tackle well. I’ve never been known as a “Hitter,” but I took pride in the fact that I was going to bring my guy down with a solid tackle if I had to put my hands on him. Coverage is just one part of the position. I think that aspect got lost with some of the superstars that played the position. That is not a knock on Deion, I just believe a CB is a defensive player and all defensive players must be able to tackle.
Q3 (Pat): You were known as a team leader and a locker room gem, what would you tell Ben Rothlisberger in the wake of his accident.
D. Green: Right now I would be praying for the young man. Let me make this clear, if you have to give him a speech at this point, it’s too late. I’ve never been an after-the-fact guy. I’m big on sitting guys down and talking to them before a situation happens. Today I’m speaking to 400 Bank of America leaders and I’m going to tell them some of the same things I told my teammates. I’m going to talk to them about commitment, dedication, and preparation. The number one thing is respect for your team.
Respect for team gets lost in the modern NFL at the draft stage. Team personnel people walk around evaluating everything you can put a time or calculation on, but they never explore the following: Does he respect his body (commodity) or his team.
Additionally poor attention is paid to teaching players how to manage success. I was playing at a Pro Bowl level after my 14th season in the league, but you wouldn’t have known a difference from my first season because I learned from vets how to manage success. I learned those things before I ever achieved what I deemed to be success.
Q4(Pat Kirwin): What would you say about a situation like Charles Woodson in GB who is skipping minicamps and OTA’s immediately following a brand new contract with a new team?
D. Green: I’m not a fan of skipping team activities for any reason unless it is about the business side of the game. (Darrell was interrupted and reminded that C. Woodson just signed a new deal)
I think a guy needs to be with his team in/out of season. Even if it’s just going to the movies or dining with teammates. That stuff builds trust and chemistry. Those are the unwritten things that you rely on most on the playing field. I don’t know how a guy can come to a new city, get a fresh deal, and avoid team building activities. When we won the SB in ’91 we were the first team in Camp that season. Back then it wasn’t OTA’s and mini camps, it was training camp and it’s length was at the discretion of the head coach. Joe brought us to camp very early that season because he knew we were facing the run-n-shoot offense 5 times that season. It worked as you all know.
Hey guys I hate to rush like this, but the exec are calling me into the meeting to deliver my speech. I’ll call you guys to finish this another time.
Q5(Pat Kirwin): I want to say this about that ’91 ‘Skins team. They played the Run-N-Shoot offense with a base defense. The Run-N-Shoot was a complicated offense to stop at that time. Washington played those sets essentially using their two corners to press and playoff the receivers based on what they were seeing at the line. That is almost impossible. Not only did they do it, but they did it and were highly successful at it. It was no surprise how well they played the Bills in the SB because they had confused the previous three teams that ran the offense against them that season with the same front. For those who don’t understand the greatness of what they did, I’ll put it this way. You would never teach that coverage as a defense to that offense on paper. To execute the defense they ran, you have to have smart and exceptionally talented CB’s and Safeties on the field at the same time. I guess they had both because they did it four times in one season.
End of the interview!
Darrell starts the interview stating he’s currently working on increasing the Pay Pass technology program with Bank of America/MasterCard. He says his non-profit (D. Green Foundation) is doing well.
Q1 (Pat Kirwin): I want to start off by saying as the GM of the Jets I wanted to pry Darrell away from the ‘Skins on two separate occasions, I was unsuccessful but I have the greatest respect for the man. I will make a standing bet with anyone that you will be able to run a 4.4 40 at age 50.
D. Green: (Laughs) I don’t know about age 50, but I’m 46 right now and I can still run a 4.4 40 with some kids pushing me to do so.
Q2 (Pat Kirwin) I spoke earlier about the opportunity to evaluate you twice. The second time you were approaching Free Agency I gave you the highest grade I’ve ever given a DB because I believe you are the all-around greatest CB to ever play in the NFL.
D. Green: I’m not sure what all around means. I only know how to play football one way. A complete football player must know how to secure the ball and tackle well. I’ve never been known as a “Hitter,” but I took pride in the fact that I was going to bring my guy down with a solid tackle if I had to put my hands on him. Coverage is just one part of the position. I think that aspect got lost with some of the superstars that played the position. That is not a knock on Deion, I just believe a CB is a defensive player and all defensive players must be able to tackle.
Q3 (Pat): You were known as a team leader and a locker room gem, what would you tell Ben Rothlisberger in the wake of his accident.
D. Green: Right now I would be praying for the young man. Let me make this clear, if you have to give him a speech at this point, it’s too late. I’ve never been an after-the-fact guy. I’m big on sitting guys down and talking to them before a situation happens. Today I’m speaking to 400 Bank of America leaders and I’m going to tell them some of the same things I told my teammates. I’m going to talk to them about commitment, dedication, and preparation. The number one thing is respect for your team.
Respect for team gets lost in the modern NFL at the draft stage. Team personnel people walk around evaluating everything you can put a time or calculation on, but they never explore the following: Does he respect his body (commodity) or his team.
Additionally poor attention is paid to teaching players how to manage success. I was playing at a Pro Bowl level after my 14th season in the league, but you wouldn’t have known a difference from my first season because I learned from vets how to manage success. I learned those things before I ever achieved what I deemed to be success.
Q4(Pat Kirwin): What would you say about a situation like Charles Woodson in GB who is skipping minicamps and OTA’s immediately following a brand new contract with a new team?
D. Green: I’m not a fan of skipping team activities for any reason unless it is about the business side of the game. (Darrell was interrupted and reminded that C. Woodson just signed a new deal)
I think a guy needs to be with his team in/out of season. Even if it’s just going to the movies or dining with teammates. That stuff builds trust and chemistry. Those are the unwritten things that you rely on most on the playing field. I don’t know how a guy can come to a new city, get a fresh deal, and avoid team building activities. When we won the SB in ’91 we were the first team in Camp that season. Back then it wasn’t OTA’s and mini camps, it was training camp and it’s length was at the discretion of the head coach. Joe brought us to camp very early that season because he knew we were facing the run-n-shoot offense 5 times that season. It worked as you all know.
Hey guys I hate to rush like this, but the exec are calling me into the meeting to deliver my speech. I’ll call you guys to finish this another time.
Q5(Pat Kirwin): I want to say this about that ’91 ‘Skins team. They played the Run-N-Shoot offense with a base defense. The Run-N-Shoot was a complicated offense to stop at that time. Washington played those sets essentially using their two corners to press and playoff the receivers based on what they were seeing at the line. That is almost impossible. Not only did they do it, but they did it and were highly successful at it. It was no surprise how well they played the Bills in the SB because they had confused the previous three teams that ran the offense against them that season with the same front. For those who don’t understand the greatness of what they did, I’ll put it this way. You would never teach that coverage as a defense to that offense on paper. To execute the defense they ran, you have to have smart and exceptionally talented CB’s and Safeties on the field at the same time. I guess they had both because they did it four times in one season.
End of the interview!