First I would like to point out that this is not a "hate on Chad thread." I know you are all used to expressing either your man-love, or pure hatred for Good ol Chadwick, but please dont turn this thread into one. Lets keep it civil, lets look at all sides of things. Now there is one main problem that befalls chad when it comes down to throwing interceptions, it is that his INT's are so much worse then most other QB's because when Chad gets picked, its likely because someone jumped the route, not because of a bad pass. It doesn't sounds as bad since he didn't make the mistake, rather the CB made a good play. But it does mean that its going the other way. Chad doesn't just get his routes jumped due to his weak arm, he gives them 6 points. Here is something else to think about. Chad was brought up in the Herm era, with the "you play not to lose the game" mentality. Look at his first drive. Then looks at his 2nd and 3rd. He had 152 yards passing in the first half of the game, with 79 yards coming on the first drive, and a combined 127 coming off of 4 passes (Ryan 21,22 - Coles 59,36) Now on his last 2 drives, Pennington had to pass since his team was down. He threw another 61 yards, including a very lucky reception by Cotch on the Hail Mary ( 32 yards :smile Pennington's number may have looked more gaudy then usual, but keep in mind he did play Cinci, and he only threw for 45 yards in the 2nd half until they lost the lead. <-- Hence the philosophy you play not to lose the game. Chad didn't have a good game, he had a good 1st half. The part that kills me is that he played well in the first half, showing he could carve the D up. Pennington has never had that killer instinct to finish off a team, instead he lets them claw back. It kills me to say this but that type of attitude is not what this team needs, because I find it impossible to believe that in the 2nd half, Pennington was handed plays that included nothing but checkdowns and safe passes. The loss of the game can partly be placed on his shoulders, because he put his trust on the defense to hold a very potent offense to less then 10 points ( 13 points if you want to include the FG we got in the 2nd half, before relinquishing the lead) and its not the right attitude to have. Watch other good teams attempt to finish off their opponents. Watch them rip the heart right out of their opponents, while they have the chance instead of letting them claw back. Pennington's passive method is coming back to bit him in the ass this year, which shows that he can not compete with the best. The best don't sit back and let the defense win the game. The best put the game away by the 3rd quarter. If you are tired of settling for not being the best, but instead the worst, then I suggest we move on to Clemens, a QB who can spread the field ( more often then once a year) and can quick strike and possibly tear the life out of an opponent. We know Pennington cannot, we don't if Clemens can. It's time to find out. I love Chad's heart and his smarts, but his arm has been depleted into nothing, a non factor. It more of a liability then anything at this point. Lets face it. Our schedule gets harder from here on out, and we are 1-6. We might as well cut our losses and get on with it, its time to see whether or not Clemens will be the man in 08. Lets hope he is:up:
I think it was the defense who lets teams claw back. In the 3rd quarter the score was 23 to 10. More times then none that is enough to spell a win for teams which are well balanced. Chad also tacked some more points on in the 4th. The defense has been so poor they have let leads disintagrate over and over again. They have made a rookie QB in Buffalo look like Joe Montana and a third string RB look like Walter Peyton in Cinc. Chad usually does not put up 40 points a game. The offense simply is not able to put up points like that. The Oline in general is not able to produce numbers like that yet. They are mostly young and learning still. Most teams are not able to put up 40 points a game. Maybe this years Pats are but thats about it imo. If a team can consistantly put up 20-30 points a game that should be enough. With this team it is not enough. The defense does not stop the run and can not rush the passer on any consistant basis. They get blown off the line and pretty much manhandled the entire game. Any leads are gone by the fourth and the offense goes from having a lead, to playing catch up. In other words, the defense gives up points faster then the offense can put up. That senario is not a winning sinario. Chad does not let teams claw back. The defense has that honor. You can say Chad does not put teams away all you want, but I know what I have seen so far.
I have a real issue with the "it's ok if we kick FG's it's still points approach". I saw it in the Giants game and I saw it yesterday. We are blessed with great field position and we don't take advantge of it by attacking the D and trying to get 7. Instead we get complacent and play or FG's. We should at least have had another TD and one less FG going into the lockerroom yesterday. BTW Can we please dump the fade route to Coles in the endzone? I think I'e seen it work a grand total of ZERO times in about 30. Yet we continue to run it.
im confused...i just want them to win..with pennington or clemins..BUT ITS NOT OVER TIL ITS OVER WE CAN STILL DO 10-6...IMAGINE!!!!
actually its worked about 3 or 4 times, and not worked about 3 or 4....but the defense knows its coming everytime now....we need a different go to play
Im as big of a chad fan as the next guy...but not adding to the point total puts alot of pressure on the defense. Yes the defense once again sucked...but what about last week? 16 points? Chad does just enough to barely win when they win, and recently he has done just enough to lose
I Agree man pennington cant finish teams off and for the guys who dont wanna hear it think to your self has Chad ever had a 4th quarter comeback ??? Give Clemens the ball and lets see what the kid has i mean where 1-6 whats there to lose....but more games....
I find it hard to believe that Mangini wont give Clemens the reigns...I think he may have been planning for this to be the week since Chad has shown us nothing in 7 games... 1) We are at home against the Bills...remember when Penny came out for his first start and was so amped that he was headbutting his own players...Clemens needs this kind of support to give him some confidence...it will go a long way in a QB 2) hes got 2 games before the bye to get critiqued and hopefully that will allow his to adjust and fix any glaring problems he may have. 3) He has 9 games to prove himself, adequate time to see whether or not he can be the QB of the future. I expect to hear that he is starting sometime around Thursday or Friday
