No surprises here. But this is one writer who often actually does live up to my expectations as a Jets fan. He speaks for me here. The Link Dan Leberfeld : Chad doesn't care that writers want him out Nov 22, 2006 Attention lunatic-fringe segment of the Jets' fan base . . .And you knee-jerk sportswriters who get story ideas from them. This is for all you people out there, devoid of vision, who think the Jets should consider a quarterback change. Don't think for one second you are on Chad Pennington's radar screen. Your opinion is just not that important to him. Actually, he's not even aware of it. While you are calling sports-talk radio shows bashing him, he's "going at it as hard as he can," attempting to right what is wrong with the Jets' passing attack. "To be honest, I've been totally disconnected from [the criticism]," said Pennington. "What I'm trying to do is just do everything I can do to work towards getting back to how we were playing earlier in the season within the passing game." Chad may have struggled of late, but he's not going anywhere (AP) But let's not forget, between this two substandard performance against the Browns and Bears, Pennington did a terrific job, in bad weather, leading the Jets to an upset over New England on the road. So how can you call for his head a little over a week after that stunning upset at Gillette Stadium. And let's not forget, over the first two months of the season, devoid of a running game, and with inconsistent pass protection, Pennington's play was the biggest reason the Jets were able to stay afloat. Chad Pennington is an outstanding quarterback, and the Jets are lucky to have him. If you think Patrick Ramsey or Kellen Clemens are better options right now, you just don't get it. Pennington does something a lot of quarterbacks can't do -- read defenses. There are many one-read quarterbacks in this league, ala Jake Plummer and the team's next opponent, David Carr. They have better arms than Pennington, and can make every throw you want, but if their first read isn't there they are often in trouble. Pennington is a poor man's Tom Brady in his ability to diagnose defenses. A lot of that comes from his Rhodes Scholar-candidate intelligence. And a lot comes from a work ethic of biblical proportions. "What gives him a great chance to be successful every week is the prep that he does prior to the game," said Jets coach Eric Mangini. "Like Peyton (Manning) and like Tom (Brady), he’s able to slow down the game when he gets into it because he has seen and studied the looks and he anticipates some of the things. He does a really good job not just understanding what we're trying to do, but understanding what the defense is trying to do to us and works to take advantage of that." Because of Pennington's top-shelf study habits, and his history of making excellent decisions, his costly end-zone interception in the first half against the Bears had a lot of people scratching their heads. What is Chad doing throwing into triple-coverage? Why didn't he throw to Laveranues Coles -- who seemed to be open in the left corner of the end zone? Why did he force it to Chris Baker in what seemed to be a congested middle section of the end zone? Well, it turns out the decision was as bad as it looked. Bears linebacker Brian Urlacher made an amazing play. These are the kind of plays that make him a Pro Bowl fixture every February. "The read didn’t tell me to go to Laveranues’ side," said Pennington. "They were playing cover-2 zone, and had three on two over there. They just happened to bust the coverage and I can’t control that. Chris Baker did a great job of winning on the route and Urlacher made a great play. He just broke on the football really quickly and made a great play. I didn’t see him until I let go of the football." Urlacher was assigned to another player, but "cheated" as he put it, and quickly moved over to Baker. Urlacher has amazing speed for a 258-pound linebacker, in the 4.5 range. Pennington's interception in the third quarter, in an attempt to throw it away, was actually a worse play. But last time I checked, the Bears are a pretty good defense, ranked #1 in the NFL. "This is a pretty good defensive football team [Bears]," said Mangini. And it's not their run defense (ranked 10th) that spearheads this attack, it's their pass defense, ranked first in the NFL. They have a tremendous pass rush, combined with really fast linebackers, and three excellent corners -- Charles Tillman, Nathan Vasher and Ricky Manning. This is a really hard team to pass on. So if you are going to rip Pennington for a bad performance this year, focus on the Cleveland game. But you know what, while the Browns aren't a very good team, their pass defense is ranked seventh in the NFL. In this sports-talk radio era, everyone seems to be into pointing fingers. Maybe we should start acting like the Japanese. In Japan, pointing is taboo. Why can't we ever say, "Hey, the other team's defense played great." Why is it always the fault of the quarterback when the offense has an off-day? Now if Pennington struggles against the Houston Texans' 25th- ranked pass defense, then his detractors might be on to something. But after leading the Jets to an improbable 5-5 record after 10 games, Jets fans should count their blessings they have Pennington. Especially after many people thought he was done after a second shoulder operation. The Jets are fortunate to have this guy. When healthy, he's an elite quarterback. "He is a very good player," said Jets offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer. "He gives you a chance to win every ball game. He’s smart, a great leader and I just enjoy being around him. The guys play for him, he’s competitive as anything and driven to succeed. He wants to be great and you’ve got to have that burning desire inside your gut to be a good quarterback in this league." And having Pennington running his complex San Diego-based offense gives Schottenheimer peace of mind. "I feel very comfortable that when Chad steps out on the field, he’s going to be prepared, he’s going to do the things that we ask him to do," said Schottenheimer. "It has been fun to watch him grow and watch him step into this system -- take it and run with it." And if Pennington stays healthy, he should be the guy running it for a long time.
this didn't look like "news" to me, just a commentary. So my apologies to anyone who thinks this should have been in the "news" thread...
To be honest, I hope he's completely disconnected from all the talk. The last thing he needs to be paying attention to are people writing sports stories, or arm chair coaches in the fan base. He should focus on playing football.
I can get behind most of what Leberfeld says but this guy is as dumb as it comes when he's talking about the QB position. From his ridiculous Brooks Bollinger love letters last year now to this. It's distressing because this guy is usually on the money with his commentary but when he's talking about QB's he turns into Pete Prisco.
Considering this is a man who took his playbook with him on his honeymoon (even before he got the starting job), his focus is not even open to questioning.
He also applauded the hiring of Rich Kotite in 1995 and called for Mike Tice earlier this year after Herm left. I know he doesn't walk on water. But this is one of his good ones...
oh my gd this article made me puke rhodes-scholar *candidate* please if he was a rhodes scholar, yeah anyone can run for president few have a chance and only one wins CP is an inconsistent decision maker bottom line
He actually would have been a Rhodes Scholar, however, when asked what was more important to him he said football..
Good for Chad. I hope he proves everyone wrong who doubts him. Make the writers feel like the idiots they really are.
I get it, I just couldn't resist throwing in that fact that he didn't neglect his marital duties either.
Of course Pennington doesn't care. He knows the Jets don't stand a chance this season, he knows he's probably gone after this one, and he knows he can take his $9m this year and run.
