Before I go any further, I should say that I am a Chad Pennington fan. I have a life-size cardboard cut-out of No. 10 in my office (not the sort of thing a 39-year-old should admit to, I suppose) and I will always support him while he is with the New York Jets. But Chad is the methadone of NFL quarterbacks, and we?ve been taking him so long we?ve forgotten the buzz that can be enjoyed from the position. Back in 2002, when he first took over the team, it was exciting to watch Pennington play. During coverage of an early game, Marty Lyons exclaimed on a radio broadcast: ?you get goose bumps watching this guy play!? Pennington doesn?t give you goose bumps any more. There are reasons, of course. His injury history has torn the heart out of his career, effectively taking three seasons off him, although he struggled bravely at the end of 2004 with a shoulder that required surgery. This is why it?s so painful to voice doubts. Pennington is one of the bravest and toughest players to ever pull on a Jets uniform. Anyone who saw his ankle twist horribly on week one can only marvel that he was ready to play the next week and actually did play the week after. Pennington is also a quarterback that can win games, as long as he has a solid supporting cast. He needs a defense to give him a short field and plenty of possession time. He needs protection from his offensive line because he isn?t very mobile. He needs a running back to keep defenses honest and he needs players who can get yards after the catch because most of his passes are short. These are the things that make you want to hang on to Pennington, to wait until the other pieces are in place around him. A couple of linemen on both sides of the ball, a monster of a linebacker and this team could be primed for a big run. But it?s a dream, really. We?re holding on to Chad?s high-percentage, low-risk passes like a security blanket. We?re scared to imagine life with a player who may complete less than 70% of his passes, or who throws the ball 40 yards downfield. Because that?s risky. When Kellen Clemens played in week two we saw how risky. He looked out of his depth and we started to long for that Pennington security blanket again. But then KC started to click in the fourth quarter, and suddenly the Jets had a quarterback the other team were scared of. And Jets fans had a quarterback who was exciting to watch. We felt the rush of deep passes fired with zip and accuracy, the sudden hope that our quarterback might take the game by the scruff of the neck and win it, rather than manage it. Clemens? best pass of the day, a laser-guided rocket to Justin McCareins for the tying touchdown, was dropped. Jets fans felt that sudden comedown, the emptiness that follows the high, but Clemens hit us again, and again, repeatedly putting the ball where our receivers had a chance to make a play. The rally fell short, and we were back on the methadone the following week. It was safe, it was comfortable, it was a win. But wasn?t it also slightly numb? I started to follow the Jets when Ken O?Brien was approaching his short-lived peak, when Wesley Walker or Al Toon would glide under his deep balls, almost effortlessly putting six points on the board again and again. I?ve watched Vinny Testaverde throw for 235 yards and four touchdowns in a quarter. Before my time, Joe Namath used to deliver the ball (in the words of Paul Zimmerman) ?almost with an anger. Boom! It was out there. I?m going to complete this. To hell with you.? I?m not saying the Jets can?t win with Pennington. They can and they have. But unless he can rediscover that 2002 (and early 2004) mentality, he will remain a quarterback that frustrates fans rather than thrills them, a boxer who methodically wins on points rather than by knockout. It may yet lead the Jets to a championship, if the next couple of drafts are kind. But add a couple of losses to the Jets? current record and it may be time to try it the other way. To live dangerously with a quarterback who might just destroy the other team whatever they do, however well they play. A quarterback who might just throw the ball downfield and say ?I?m going to complete this. To hell with you.? It?s risky. The methadone is safer. But oh man, what a rush? Note: this article is not intended to promote the use of drugs ? just the use of deep passes.
Nicely said :beer: I saw a couple of those 25-30 yard (not catch and run) passes he completed and I am like dude u can make those throws why don't you do it more... I think after the 2 surgeries he has zero confidence in his arm.
Great Title, well said as well. IV said once before we've been spoiled by our over achieving last year and this is where it’s at! We are not a good Football team. Offensively and defensively and that’s the long and short of it! Bad teams don’t win games that often and usually loose the tight ones.
Well done, a good read indeed. I was out of town so I missed the game and do only really have the stats to go off of....but perhaps it makes me a little more objective when looking at our performance. I would have to say that from the looks we got out-coached, nothing more, nothing less. We didn't expect them to pass so much and for some reason we decided to abandon the running game, both of which are bad ideas. Apparently they were banking on Neon Leon in the flats to make a big play, but whom knows what truly went down. I will say this, I'm truly disappointed in the coaching this year so far. I used to believe that they would do everything they could to put us into the best position to win, but it continues to appear otherwise.
This was way better than I expected. I was avoiding this one. Now, I am glad I read it. It really makes some sense. We know Chad can get it done, but without other tools around him; like an extremely physical defense and a good running game he can not be nearly as productive. I am not ready to annoint Clemens yet, but I will be far greater P.O.'d if our defense does not play any better than it has. Our 18 ranking is misleading because teams are starting to pass on us more and run less.
It is clear that you missed the game. Coaching had very little to do with this loss. As for the OP, great read. Very well stated. Get out of my head.
That was a good read, although I don't completely agree. As someone who has been supporting Chad on here, I think you're looking a little deeply into it. I just want to win, to me that is exciting. I don't care if it's O'Brien or Vinny throwing bombs, Herm giving the ball to Curtis Martin 30 times or Chad's short passing game. Just win baby. To me it is exciting to wake up on a Sunday in December and have the Jets in a game that means something. We played probably the most exciting, thrilling games week in and week out in the Richard Todd years and they were always heartbreaking at the end. A lot like that Baltimore game. Now I'm not saying Clemens will be Richard Todd, just that a momentary rush of excitement isn't that good if you don't win the game. So speaking for myself, I'm not clinging to any kind of safety, I just want to win games.
Unless I read the OP wrong, you missed the point. Chad can only get it done under perfect conditions. In this era of the NFL you have to win different ways every week. We need a guy that can get it done regardless of what the defense throws at us. That guy is not Chad anymore. Our defense is not as bad as people say. They are on the field way too long because we're constantly going 3 and out. They did more than enough to win the Bills game. Still, a 4-3 switch would make things somewhat better. Our running game sucks because the defense has no fear of Chad and puts 9 guys in the box.
My mom called me after the game this weekend. I said at least we had a chance, she said she was bored to death. I'm a Jets fan because of my mother. She watched Joe Namath. She watched Wesley Walker. She likes the long ball, and I can understand. If we win now, yipee. You just spent 3 and a half hours asleep, but we win! There is nothing exciting, outside of miraculous plays by Coles and Cotchery, about the offense under Chad. His arm, sadly, is toast. Time to move on.
That's your opinion. Go watch the circus if you need arial tricks for your entertainment. I'm a Jet fan, I'd rather win 3-0 than lose 41-38.
we dont even need the long ball, the best offense in nfl history (imho) was the joe montana 49ers who ran short passes, what opened it up was the THREAT OF THE LONG BALL, AND THEIR SUCCESSFUL RUNNING GAME!
The Niners also ran the West Coast offense to perfection, and the short passes were to receivers who had space to run after the catch. I'm sure I read a quote from Montana once where he said their practice field was only 50 yards long. They didn't even practice bombs because their practice field was too short! When I think of that team I think of Rice and Taylor catching short slants and then running through defenders for big yardage.
