Kansas City, Mo. ? Trent Green has begun this season just as he ended the last, with one of the AFC’s lowest quarterback ratings.

Something else that hasn’t changed is Dick Vermeil’s unflagging defense of the man he gave up a first-round draft choice for.

“A week ago, he was a hero,” Vermeil said Tuesday. “He did a heck of a job. I can’t afford to go up and down because then he’ll never establish the depth of confidence he needs.”

After playing a nearly flawless game the week before in Cleveland, Green was intercepted twice Sunday in a 23-16 loss to Jacksonville. He missed several open receivers and failed to see a couple of others. His quarterback rating plunged to 75.3.

That’s fourth from the bottom in the AFC and not much better than the 71.1 he wound up with last year following his and Vermeil’s first season in Kansas City.

Also typical of last year has been his Jekyll-and-Hyde inconsistency. On their first two possessions against the Jaguars, Green drove the Chiefs smartly downfield, including an opening drive that consumed more than 8 minutes. But each time, they came away with just field goals.

His only touchdown pass was Tony Gonzalez’ great catch in the corner of the end zone after the Jaguars had taken a 14-point lead.

“He did some things well, and he did some things I’d like to see him do better,” Vermeil said. “We had guys open a couple of times and he didn’t see them. He missed a couple of guys by inches. For us to be a playoff-caliber football team, he’s got to do better.”

Vermeil admitted that any coach has to guard against sticking with a player too long.

“It’s human nature to want to prove you’re right,” he said. “Anyone wants to do that. But I’m still a realist. I’m still going to study the big picture. I’ve said this through my whole career you can’t go every Sunday re-evaluating your quarterback.”

Green had been sharp all week in practice before the Jacksonville game, he added.

“I watched every offensive meeting and watched the practice tapes last week and they were as good as any practice tapes I’ve ever seen, equivalent to anybody at the quarterback position,” Vermeil said. “It didn’t work as well Sunday. Credit the Jaguars. That’s what they’re getting paid to do.”

Another disappointment has been the inability to get the ball to Johnnie Morton, who was signed as a free agent to be Green’s No. 1 wide receiver target. In two games, Morton has caught just three balls for 38 yards.

“If you’re going to score points, you’d better put the ball in the hands of your wide receivers,” Vermeil said. “We wanted to get the ball to (Morton), but it didn’t work out. We sit in here every week and plan to do things. But when we line up with the perfect plan, and all of a sudden, they’re doing this or loading the corner up or rerouting him and he’s got to come up … it changes your plans.

“You can’t give all the credit to the defense, so we’ve got to make sure we check that out from coaching right on down to execution of plays.”

Morton, who had four 1,000-yard receiving seasons in the previous five years with Detroit, promised to remain patient.

“All we can do is get open and catch what’s thrown to us. As a veteran, it helps because you realize you have to have patience,” he said.

“It’s tough because I want to do what I can to get in there and make some plays. But at the same time, I have to be a patient and as a nine-year vet, I have to know that.”