By Dennis Oda, Star-Bulletin
Darrell Green is the Redskins' all-time leader
in interceptions with 43.
In 30 seconds, the Washington cornerback was going to be on the other end of the microphone as part of the TNT broadcast crew at this year's Senior Bowl.
He knew his mind was prepared. He just hoped his mouth followed along.
"I was really nervous, but I had a great group working with me," said Green, who handled the Senior Bowl sidelines.
"It worked out because the TNT staff made me very comfortable. They let me ask candid questions and get very familiar with what they expected me to do.
"Nothing was taken for granted and they gave me a lot of practice runs. But all of a sudden when I heard in that mike, 'Coming to you in 30, 15 and now let's go down to Darrell Green.' BAM! The nerves were gone. I was ready."
Green has stayed ready throughout his storied career. Finding a 36-year-old defensive back in the National Football League is like getting a buffalo nickel in change - very rare.
The six-time Pro Bowl standout has been roaming through defensive secondaries for so long, he played in the last Super Bowl game won by the American Football Conference.
That 1983 season, Green was the last player chosen in the first round. A contract dispute involving Jeris White thrust Green into the Redskins' starting lineup, where he remained for all 19 games.
Teams tried to pick on the Texas A&I rookie, as his team-high 79 solo tackles would attest. But it wouldn't take long for quarterbacks to start looking away from Green for fear of an interception.
He is the Redskins' career leader in that category with 43, including five for touchdowns. The fifth was a 68-yarder against the New York Giants this season, proving that the league's once fastest player hasn't lost that many steps.
"I look around out here and see a lot of guys younger than me," Green said. The only player older is Carolina's Sam Mills at 38. Green and Houston offensive guard Bruce Matthews have the most years of experience with 14.
"I was kidding (Washington teammate) Gus Frerotte," Green said. "When I was in my first Pro Bowl in 1984, he was only 12. But hey, age is just a number. I don't have anything to prove. I still do the job of covering the best man. If I couldn't, I wouldn't be here."
As the first alternate, Green was added to the Pro Bowl roster last week after Dallas Cowboys cornerback Deion Sanders was sidelined with an eye injury.
The other two NFC cornerbacks set to play in Sunday's Pro Bowl are 29-year-olds Eric Davis of Carolina and Aeneas Williams of Phoenix. They may be the new breed of defensive backs, but they'll have to play a lot of years to secure two Super Bowl rings and make nearly 1,000 tackles.
"I've had a great career, but if the Washington Redskins cut me tomorrow, I'll be fine," Green said. "I don't put all my energies toward that. Everybody knows I'm a spiritual man and I'll go in the direction that leads me."
At this point, Green isn't sure what is waiting for him in the next millennium. While he believes there aren't nearly enough black coaches in the league, he has no intentions of being one.
Yes, he enjoyed his time in front of the television camera as a commentator in the Senior Bowl, but Green isn't ready to join John Madden in the booth just yet.
"I wouldn't mind doing something like that if the opportunity presented itself," Green said. "But I'm not pumping my paddles toward that.
"I think I could do it, and if that's the way I go, then I'll go. But right now I'm still having fun playing professional football with all these kids out here.
"I also believe there's still one Super Bowl run left in me. We were close to putting it all together this year. There's no reason why we can't take that extra step next season and hopefully compete for a championship."
The San Francisco 49ers' quarterback missed yesterday's second National Football Conference workout at Aloha Stadium, prompting NFL officials to start scrambling for a replacement.
Finding an alternate proved easy. Carolina Panthers quarterback Kerry Collins just happened to be vacationing on Maui when he was summoned yesterday.
Collins arrived last night and was able to practice with the NFC team this morning.
Young is the second NFC quarterback to pull out of the Pro Bowl. The original threesome was Young, Green Bay's Brett Favre and Troy Aikman of Dallas. Aikman dropped out late last week with a variety of injuries, so first-alternate Gus Frerotte of Washington replaced him.
Carolina head coach Dom Capers said after yesterday's practice that Young made the effort, but the pain in the ribs he injured late in the season is still with him.
"He practiced yesterday, but his injury still isn't to the point where he feels he can go out and play in a game," Capers said. "For a young guy like Kerry, this is a great experience to be here. To be around the other guys who are here can do a lot for a young player like him."
Collins led Carolina to its first Western Division title. The 24-year-old completed 204 of 364 passes for 2,454 yards, 14 touchdowns and nine interceptions for a passer rating of 79.4.
Pro Bowl officials also announced that Green Bay center Frank Winters has been added to the roster. He replaced Dallas Cowboys center Ray Donaldson, who will miss the game with an elbow injury.
But after hearing the Washington Redskins were going to dump Heath Shuler's multimillion dollar contract, the third-year quarterback may never come down.
"I think it might work out better for Heath this way because I don't think he was very happy there," Frerotte said after yesterday's NFC practice. "He just wants to go somewhere and play.
"He's a good quarterback and I think he's going to land somewhere and make that team a winner. It's for the best for everybody. I'm happy, but I credit it to working hard, never giving up and never thinking that somebody taken in the first round is better than you.
"It's been quite a week just being here and now hearing this. It's a lot to take in."
Frerotte said one of the defining moments for him was being named the starting quarterback for the 1996 season. The Tulsa standout played well in 1995 after Shuler went down with injuries, but that didn't guarantee him a starting job when Shuler returned to the team last summer.
"Throughout training camp and everything, I had no idea and no feeling that that was the way Coach was going to go," Frerotte said of being named the starter. "That was my big moment.
"I knew things would go well, and then, as you go through the year and keep playing and you're doing things well, then you get a clue and get an idea that you're fitting in, and you're the guy they want here."
Frerotte didn't have much fun the last time he played at Aloha Stadium. As a junior in 1992, Tulsa played Hawaii and was sacked five times in a 38-9 loss.
"The thing I remember most is I spent a lot of that game on my back," said Frerotte, who completed 15 of 31 passes for 183 yards and one interception.
"That was our last game of the season and everybody partied every night in Waikiki, so we
didn't play that well."
White was the only one of four Pro Bowl players from Green Bay, who attended the Super Bowl party at frigid Lambeau Field. That same day, Brett Favre, LeRoy Butler and Keith Jackson arrived here for this weekend's Pro Bowl.
"I felt like I should be there for the celebration," White said. "I wanted to take part in it to show my appreciation for the Green Bay fans."
Since it arrived in 1980, the game has been a sellout except the strike-shortened season. NFL officials expect it to be sold out by the 3 p.m. kickoff.
The Roslyn, N.Y., native who beat out 20,000 other entrants must make a 35-yard field goal to win $1 million. The consolation prize is $10,000.
When: 3 p.m. Sunday