I'd Take Pennington Over Russell Posted on June 27, 2007 by Dan Leberfeld http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-8zW_1ZtuIg I'm getting sick and tired of hearing about JaMarcus Russell's amazing arm strength. There is so much more to playing quarterback than having a howitzer arm. Things like accuracy, field vision, study-habits, leadership and the ability to read defenses are just as important as arm strength. It remains to be seen how he measures up in these other five significant categories. Chad Pennington gets high marks in the aforementioned five categories, but has no where near Russell's arm strength. I'd take Pennington over Russell right now. Remember, Pennington has been compared, at times, to Joe Montana. Remember, Montana didn't have a great arm, but thrived because he was good in the other five areas. Why did rocket-armed David Carr fail in Houston? According to an NFL source, he was a terrible leader, and had bad study habits. Why hasn't Eli Manning lived up to expectations yet? That is simple. His accuracy isn't very good. It doesn't matter how hard you can throw, if you are inaccurate. And the disturbing part of Manning's problem, according to a source close to the Giants, is that he's inaccurate in the pregame warm-ups, even with nobody covering his wideouts. That's disconcerting. So next time you hear a fan or reporter rave about a quarterback's great arm, take the praise with a grain of salt.
very good points made on the specific areas in which quaterbacks can make up for "poor arm strength", based on these strengths, i would stay with chad, yet would point out that 1 of the other "knocks" against him is that he has been termed "fragile" in terms of injuries........
I agree completely with this article. I still think Chad can get it done, and what worries me more than him throwing a few ducks every now and then is the possibility that he could take another injury. Then again the injury factor is something we will have to live with as long as he is the QB of the Jets.
why even post his articles......hes such a dumb shit! maybe aftr 2002 he was compared to JM.....i havent heard those comparisons since then. hed take a solid weteran over a never played in the nfl rookie....wow....stunning stuff! and as far as carr goes....it must be tough to study when youre cuncussed, and its gotta be hard to lead when youre underneath the front 7 of the d every other play.....carr got such a bad rep in houston....that team is garbage, and has been that way since its inception. no better now then it was with him.....carolina is better with him now.....an actually viable backup to delahomo....
Chad Pennington doesn’t read defenses…he stares them down until he gets the information he wants. Chad Pennington knows the last digit of Pi and he can divide by zero. Chad Pennington can win a game of Connect Four in only three moves. There have been no steroids in professional sports; only players that Chad Pennington has breathed on. Chad Pennington once challenged Lance Armstrong to a “who has more testicles” contest. Chad won by five. There are no different races playing pro football; only people Chad Pennington has beaten to different shades of black and blue. It takes Chad Pennington 20 minutes to watch 60 Minutes.
My first reaction too. He does bring up valid points though , (gulp...praise?). HOPEFULLY Chad won't be so 'fragile' after completing a season and building himself up in the off season.
This is just a no-brainer. I'd have taken Vinny over Peyton Manning for the 1998 season no questions asked. I have no clue why Leberfeld wrote this article.
Thank you. What gigantic balls to say that an established veteran with playoff experience is better than a guy who hasn't taken a snap yet.
What I find interesting about this article is there is an assumption that Russell is dumb, not hard working and innacurate that reeks all over it. I keep missing the genetic link between great arm strength and intelligence, leadership, and study habits. Reading between the lines if I was an NFL scout, I would be over at MIT and Cal Tech looking for nerds with pocket protectors to QB my franchise.
Not that I disagree that this article is fluff bs, but I think he is using Russell to represent all the strong arm QBs in the league and claiming he'd rather have a QB with the other qualities. But the article is retarded. VickBlows, are those simple rehashes of Chuck Norris jokes or are you just that funny?
I agree that it's a fluff article to compare and choose a veteran QB over a Rookie who hasn't even been to camp yet. Granted, Russel's arm strength is up their with the best of 'em, but it doesn't hold any water to: 1) Assume Russel is going to be innacurate 2) Dumbfounded by an NFL playbook 3) Unable to lead the Raiders It's also pointless to even compare these QB's for now and maybe even in 2007 because Russel isn't going to have a line to even protect him while Mangold eats NG's and Guards and Brick is ensuring Chad doesn't feel like Theisman vs. Taylor. Which reminds me, if anyone is in between books or looking for a great, great read, related to sports; go out and get "The Blind Side. Evolution of a Game." The author is Michael Lewis and it's awesome.
this man should lose his job for writing such a retarded article......i llok forward to his "i would take mike mussina over phil hughes " article....gus, you should be banned for a week for posting this! j/k bro
