For the first time in like...ever...Clemens actually looked like he knew what he was doing. If he plays like that the next few games, I think O'Connell is cut and they go with Sanchez, Brunnell and Clemens and put Ainge on IR. Clemens moved confidently in the pocket and didn't have happy feet. His passes had some nice zip and touch when needed. Really big improvement from last year to this year. I think the Jets should keep him around. It never hurts to have too many QBs.
I was at the game and I thought he looked very impressive. His arm strength looked excellent on that throw to Holmes. Just some other things I noticed- Coles looked lost on the plays where I was watching him. Also, Clowney was wide open on a few plays and Clemens never looked his direction.
Before we get all dewey eyed here, throwing to Santonio Holmes against the second team defense is not a good test of how Clemens is actually doing. And he did look a little bit spooked at the start before he got his feet on the ground. I do tend to agree with the OP that if there's a question as to whether Clemens has value or not we should keep him. He's cheap for a developmental QB and who knows where things will go in the next few seasons.
Yeah it was only one preseason game and Clemens looks like he will be #2, but is Brunnell really better than O'Connell?
The other two QB's had #10 too. O'Connell only had him for a short period, but they both had him. It was clear Clemens had much better control of the offense, making presnap changes and things.
Rex already guaranteed that Brunell will be on the roster. He is just a great veteran presence even if he is a 50 year old man.
I'm not wetting myself over his high completion percentage because he had Holmes on the field which had to make for some easy completions. What I was very impressed with was his pocket presence. He wasn't afraid to put his back foot in the ground and move up into the pocket. I think he may have looked like this that one time he played a good 4th quarter against the ravens but other than that I can't remember seeing him look so confident.
Clemens looked good enough that I wouldn't be shocked if some teams with unsettled quarterback situations came calling after another outing like that. Teams along the lines of the Niners, Cardinals, Bills, maybe Seahawks. He's not likely to cost more than a middle to late round pick, and although he hasn't accomplished a heck of a lot on the field, he hasn't ever imploded in a game either, and there are a lot of guys around the league competing for starting jobs who can't say that. His most impressive play might have been the one he didn't complete to Holmes in the end zone. He recognized almost immediately that Holmes had beaten single coverage and put up a pretty catchable ball. Obviously could've been better, but that's the sort of thing that the 'building chemistry' thing is all about. Personally, I think he's a much better option for a backup than Brunell, but the Jets don't seem to think so, and anyway, I kind of prefer to see him go somewhere and have some success of his own, he deserves the shot at a starting job he's never really had.
Brunell is in a new system, and he hasn't gotten many snaps. O'Connel scares me. Kellen had a nice effort, and knows the system. I'd much rather keep Brunell and Kellen.
I for some reason have always had a soft spot for Kellen and was glad he out performed my expectations of him tonight.
Kellen as #3 is a nice option. Its where he belongs. O'Connell's release angers me. Its too long and deliberate and I was watching the game with a friend of mine and once Jaws or Gruden mentioned his delivery I said "shit, I was going to say how much I hate his release" Compact please. You're not throwing a baseball. Kellen looked at his best ever because he had Santonio Holmes embarrassing depth players.
Put O'Connell on the practice squad. He just looks awful. Put Ainge on IR for the season. As much as it pains me to say, keep Kellen. Imagine if we cut him and the patsies picked him up. He knows the offense - can't play it, but he knows it.
He definitely made some progress this off-season. If he continues to look like that through pre-season games I'd feel better about keeping him around.
Before the game I had 100% given up on Clemens. But last night he didn't even look like the same guy. Like others have said, the difference was pocket presence. I would hate to see us cut him in favor of Brunell/O'Connell. O'Connell looked horrible.
