Clemens was NEVER the answer and that was apparent from the day he got here. He would probably be "ok" if we got McFadden and he turns out to be as good as the hype. It would be similar to what Pennington was with Curtis Martin.
That bomb to Cotchery was enough of an audition for me to give Clemens another shot next year. By no means does that mean that the Jets should not bring in a new QB (or two) through FA or the draft. But if Shottenjunior would open up the deep pass some more, Clemens could be a graet weapon for the Jets. But obviously he needs a lot of work on reacting to pressure.
I agree that Clemens has not yet given us any reason to believe that he can lead this team. That is perhaps the most disappointing thing about this season. I was really looking forward to seeing what life after Chad would look like and so far it doesn't look too good. Realistically though, he gets at least one more full season as his "audition". Next year is do or die time and the training wheels are off. The Jets really have no choice here because there is no "can't miss" type QB sitting at the top of the draft. The problem for the coaching staff and FO is are they willing to take another mulligan for next season if Clemens continues to flop. If that happens then it may cost them their jobs.
It's still too early to make a final judgement but he did not progress at all during the year. We will be making a HUGE mistake if we let Chad go and go into '08 w/ KC as our starting QB.
I totally agree. If things work out I am all for bringing Chad back to compete with KC. If we let him go without a solid backup on the team its much worse than what we did with Kendall.
I just love how Jet fans are among the most shortsighted, impatient fans I have ever seen in my life. It is too early to say whether KC will be a success or failure. He has not looked good. Yeah any blind person can see that. However, to extrapolate a QB's career on his first 7 starts is ridiculous. Unless of course he is one of the 5-10 QB's in the last 30 years that came in an lit it up right from the get go. He should rightfully have decent competition in training camp next year. He should also have at least a couple of games with his #1 WR and a much better O-line to work behind. Most importantly he will go into the off season with a better likelihood of being the starter for 2008. Which will make his preparation a whole order of magnitude different. When and if he is working behind a true NFL caliber line and has at least 2 WR's on the field that does not drop the ball at the other teams command then you can honestly judge if he is good enough or the Jets need another option. It is too freakin early to tell.
Yes we are impatient, we haven't been to a SB in nearly 4 decades, what else should we be other than impatient. If KC comes back to start without Chad or someone capable as the backup then Tangini is writing their ticket out of town and we are headed to another top part of the draft year in '08
I agree it's too early but you are blaming everyone but KC for his poor play. There were factors against him but w/ allt he dropped balls there were MORE poorly thrown balls, he was w/o oles b/c he got Coles hurt on an underthrow, his OL stinks but when he has had time he holds onto it too long. h did not show any signs of progress from that Baltimore game until yesterday. That is a major concern. I am not giving up on him but we need to bring back Chad ad have a true open competition. I'll feel alot more comfortable w/ that then letting Chad go and bringing in a Sage Rosenfels type. We were told how it was Chad's fault when Chad was in there, how the running game would open up w/ KC's big arm, how we'd attack downfield and really open up the O. None of that happened, he has a big arm but it's useless when you have no accuracy at all and you can't read a defense. I HOPE he gets ALOT better by the beginning of '08 but I'm not confident.
That fact remains that some of the main contributors to KC's poor performance are an O-line that is substandard and a WR corp that drops more balls than a proctologist. Maybe just maybe by removing these problems we might be able to see if KC is also substandard. It really is not about assigning blame or creating excuses. More to the point it would mean eliminating excuses and getting to the heart of the matter. Giving a young QB with 7 starts under his belt a pass for a piss poor O-Line and for equally piss poor WR's play is just being reasonable for now. When he gets a decent O-line and another decent WR option and he still stinks, well then it is time to be unreasonable.
I really don't see those as being Clemens main issues. I see a young QB who is being asked to set up all the line motion prior to the snap and go through a complex progression on passing plays rather than a guy who is getting a play sent in lining up dropping back and letting it go. Let the guy stop thinking and throw the ball. He will throw INT's and make mistakes but asking him to do what only a veteran QB can do isn't helping him. The one positive is we have had a better running game with Clemens than with Chad and we have won 3X as many games with him than with Pennington. Pennington had a great game against TN and we scored 1 TD. Clemens sucked yesterday and if Cotch hangs on to one beautiful pass we score 17 and win easily. In spite of that we still scored 3 times instead of once.
Heres your gamble then.....stay with Clemens who has caused some serious doubt , and give him the same time as Chad . Cut our losses and ship him out. This franchise has already waited far too long for ANY success so its understandable that fans are becoming more fickle each and every year.
That was a great pass to Cotchery on the deep ball BUT even if he catches it(it was a difficult catch w/ a defender right on top of him) he's not scoring.
You can keep Clemens, either get Chad to take a pay cut and let him compete next year or cut him and bring in a Veteran QB and draft a QB at some point next year. We aren't locked into anything.
Its his job to complete passes, hand off and run when necessary and occasionally think. They are all basics. Changing the play at LOS is also necessary to stop the play going dead. If he can't do that then he should be coached into doing so , if thats possible. If not then , see yer. edit; he should stay with the Jets at least for one more season. I wish him well. How many decent QBs haven't hit it off straight away?
There are things about this game that can change with reps and practice. Although i'm not ready to give up on him, I can see the cause for concern.
I was hoping that Jeff Garcia would be available , but I think hes still under contract. It would be absurd to 'waste' a pick on another QB in this next draft which is weak at QB anyway. If we are to get anything for Chad we have to do it this year , and there are a few teams that would like to take him I'm sure. As you say , we do have flexibilty.
Let's keep running the Chad O for the next 10 Jets QB. You want to be the Jets QB draft guys from MIT, Harvard and CAL Tech or a Rhodes Scholar to be real tricky at the LOS and try and disguise where the next 3 yard pass is going. We need a total rebuild of our O. Bring in an OC that wants to combine the power running game with the over the top passing game. Build the lines bring in some outside speed and let this kid throw the ball down the field. And bring in a good QB coach who's on the same page. The WCO is for teams in SF. The Jets roots are in the AFL, time to go back to the roots.
So who or where do you start on a total rebuild? Do you build around a franchise QB or RB? Personally I would build up both lines first then start slotting in the pieces and QB being one of the last , find a QB that fits our system not the other way around , which I think is pretty much what you've said.
Winston, KC came into this season as the back up. It was announced back in February by Mangini. Now I know a player is supposed to be ready at all times because a starter is only one play away from being finished. However, at that point KC still had not started a game. So yeah he was coming into a complex offense ostensibly structured for Chad. It was even too complicated for him. I realize sticking KC into that offense is not the smartest thing to do. However, if he had a O-line that was at least average NFL caliber and WR's not dropping the ball all over the place, his comfort level would have been an order of magnitude better. In reality there are so many things wrong with the situation he was thrust into, that making a post about them would be a thesis. As far as preparation and structuring an offense, this off season should be altogether different. He is going into it as the starter so his preparation and expectations should be way better/different. Not too mention that if the coaching staff has a <excuse the curse because it fits here> fucking brain in its head they will "dumb" down the playbook and make it less complicated. Of course that is not getting into bringing in an NFL caliber LG and RT.
