Chad & the QB Situation

gustoonarmy · Jun 27, 2006

Apologies if this has been done already......................

Hanging Chad?

By Charles Robinson, Yahoo! Sports
June 26, 2006

HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. ? Chad Pennington was prodded for a measuring stick. Would it be 10 straight passes with maximum velocity? Or would it be ? not to be greedy or anything ? 10 straight months without a scalpel getting near his throwing shoulder?

Surely, the latter would be preferred. But even then, Pennington has seemingly lost the ability to define his own health.

"To be honest, I'm not sure I even know what normal feels like anymore," he said with a wry smile.

Undoubtedly, Pennington longs for the days when he could feel the title in reach: Mr. New York Jet. A fantasy that, believe it or not, did briefly present itself during the current presidential administration. It's hard for Pennington not to look across the way at the New York Giants and Eli Manning and not feel the sting of a world gone by.

But it's been so long since those days. You have to peel through the X-rays and medical reports just to remember that Pennington's career started with the pop of a champagne cork: 8-4 in his first 12 starts, 22 touchdowns and four interceptions as a leading man, and untold heartstrings plucked across the Big Apple.

Three injury-marred seasons later, that Pennington has proved to be a deceptive apparition. Those with photographs are encouraged to come forward ? not that anyone still believes that man exists. The real Pennington has yet to be defined, though 2006 may be the ultimate closing argument. Without a doubt, he enters next season at a crossroads, closer than he ever has been to becoming the Mr. Jet he never was.

"Absolutely ? I definitely can feel that," Pennington said. "But what I've tried to do is look at the challenges of the last three years and, instead of get mad and sulk about it, just try to embrace it. I'm telling myself to try and enjoy the journey of coming back."

It's a path that has brought him to a dubious intersection. His biggest supporters are sprinkled across the NFL landscape ? chief among them former head coach Herm Edwards, who is now plying his trade in Kansas City. And the new New York Jets administration? It did nothing but force him to take a pay cut, trade for a former starter (Patrick Ramsey), draft another young arm in the second round (Kellen Clemens) and install a youthful offensive coordinator (Brian Schottenheimer) who is expected to think beyond the typical "veterans first" mentality.

Oh, and lest anyone forget, new general manager Mike Tannenbaum has structured Pennington's new contract in a way that forced the team to ponder cutting him again in 2007, thanks to a $2 million roster bonus.

So when Eric Mangini declared the quarterback position up for grabs, his claim seemed something more than the typical offseason bluster of a new head coach. Clearly, Pennington is in a race for his job for the first time since his glorious introduction as a starter in 2002. And this time, he's Vinny Testaverde ? the veteran scrambling to hold off a rookie who has been drafted to be the franchise's future leader.

"There's no doubt, the circumstances have changed," Pennington said. "But some of those circumstances are out of my control. How can I feel bad about it? I can't control those injuries. I just deal with the situation at hand."

With Mangini and his staff placing a premium on preseason results, Pennington has slightly over three months to tip the scales in his favor. For now, the 6-foot-2, 225-pound Clemens looks to be his lead competition, with Brooks Bollinger likely the odd man out and Ramsey remaining the same commodity he was with the Redskins ? a strong and often errant arm.

Even now, Pennington may already be lagging behind. In the team's final minicamp, he was given a scripted number of passes and didn't appear to be putting his normal zip on the ball. Conversely, Clemens looked solid and appeared to be getting the lion's share of instruction when players broke into positional drills.

Perhaps more telling ? though Mangini downplayed it ? was Clemens opening the first day of minicamp with the No. 1 offense. Interestingly, it was also the first day a ravenous New York media corps was going to see Pennington play live since last season's shoulder surgery.

"There is nothing to read into it," Mangini said. "It's part of the rotation. And this [was] really our third camp. ? I didn't really script the rotation based on [the media's] visit. It's just the way that it fell."

While at least one New York media outlet theorized Clemens as the frontrunner, it's far too early to pick a legitimate leader. Pennington is worlds ahead of the pack when it comes to poise at the line of scrimmage and leadership in the huddle. Those are two qualities that will afford him every last opportunity to win the job.

To Mangini's credit, all four quarterbacks saw time with the starters in the minicamp. While it's hard to know anything definitive about Mangini's motivational tactics, he had to know sending Clemens out first would raise plenty of eyebrows in the media ? and leave Pennington to deal with some sinister suggestions from reporters (and yes, he chafed when it was brought up).

At least, it was a sign there won't be tip-toeing around feelings or making face-saving gestures in this quarterback race. And at the very most, it might have been a sign from Mangini that Clemens is on the fast track to a starting job. Don't discount the latter, either. Despite Mangini's insistence that Clemens' debut with the starters was merely happenstance, there are few Bill Belichick disciples who wake up without having scripted which foot will touch the floor first.

To that suggestion, Pennington shrugged.

"Competition is good," he said. "I guess I feel like the only thing I can do anymore is work as hard as I can to get as consistent as I can. I guess that means the measurement is consistency. First I have to get consistent physically, then we'll see about the mental part of it.

"I think then I'll feel confident about where I'm going to be."

Charles Robinson is the national NFL writer for Yahoo! Sports. Send him a question or comment for potential use in a future column or webcast.
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Starting to sound like maybe Clemons could start.

PTD Duck · Jun 27, 2006

Start Chad if he's healthy....

.....he's been successful in the past. He's a proven commodity. Never start a rookie QB if you can help it IMHO. The Jets have a lot of holes and there's no reason to destroy the confidence of a young QB or make him a tackling dummy.

jetophile · Jun 27, 2006

Eh, I'm taking every thing with a grain of salt until KO, gus; which doesn't bother me at all, really. Sportswriters have to fill their time in the lull. Keep me in the dark now and win later. Show me something that is, because I don't think we'll be seeing tons of wins. But, I'm good with that in light of my last sentence. I've waited forever, I can be patient for the right reasons.

stinkyB · Jun 28, 2006

I hope Chad pulls of the improbable and returns healthy, and regains his old form. It is unlikely, so I'm glad the JETS have given themselves options.

MatinDoyle · Jun 29, 2006

Chad is a noodle nerd. I likes the Ramses

ScotsJet · Jun 29, 2006

Rameses? Playbook in hieroglyphics?

gustoonarmy · Jun 29, 2006

ScotsJet said:

Rameses? Playbook in hieroglyphics?
Click to expand...

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl: Pyramid formation:smile:

gustoonarmy · Jun 29, 2006

Clipping from British newspaper 'First Down'

ScotsJet · Jun 29, 2006

First Down would be great if I hadn't already read everything in it online a week before publication...

MatinDoyle · Jun 29, 2006

ScotsJet said:

Rameses? Playbook in hieroglyphics?
Click to expand...

ha-has. If use wanted to make the funnies, you should havbe wented with the Ramses the condom, use know whats a condom for isn't it?

MN_Jet_Fan · Jun 29, 2006

MatinDoyle said:

ha-has. If use wanted to make the funnies, you should havbe wented with the Ramses the condom, use know whats a condom for isn't it?
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Which is laughable considering Ramses fathered many children!

gustoonarmy · Jun 30, 2006

MatinDoyle said:

ha-has. If use wanted to make the funnies, you should havbe wented with the Ramses the condom, use know whats a condom for isn't it?
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Are you Borat?

crazylion26 · Jun 30, 2006

im tired of posting responses to this topic. I give up

crazylion26 · Jun 30, 2006

MatinDoyle said:

ha-has. If use wanted to make the funnies, you should havbe wented with the Ramses the condom, use know whats a condom for isn't it?
Click to expand...

English??? Please????

NYjets2335 · Jul 1, 2006

MatinDoyle said:

ha-has. If use wanted to make the funnies, you should havbe wented with the Ramses the condom, use know whats a condom for isn't it?
Click to expand...

WTF is wrong with you. Do you know how to spell Ramsey?!?! Or better yet, do you know how to speak english?? read english??? are you mentally handicapped?? Why don't you read what you have just typed before you actually post it dumbass.

NY Vilmaniac · Jul 1, 2006

MatinDoyle said:

ha-has. If use wanted to make the funnies, you should havbe wented with the Ramses the condom, use know whats a condom for isn't it?
Click to expand...

i dont know about anyone else but you are really tiring with your stupid gramatical errors that no one that uses a computer would make.

either your very very uneducated or youre a 3 year old......( or a 10 year old playing a joke which lacks comical characteristics)

which one?

Chad & the QB Situation

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