It was so refreshing to see the Jets go vertical when Kellen Clemens threw deep against Baltimore in 07. Of course, Justin McCareins dropped the game winning touchdown two times as not to show up Chad’s torn rotator cuff. At that moment it was sealed that we would have the privilege of watching Chad Pennington start at quarterback for the Jets until the end of time.

Excellent post.

Look, I am okay with a camp/preseason competition at QB. If Chad still presents the best chance to win, then I am okay with that. Next season we can draft a QB and drop Chad. But if KC (or even Ainge for that matter) proves he is ready to start, then he should start Week 1 regardless of who the opponent is. Our starting QB should not be babied into the first 2-3 games of the season because if he loses he will be out on his ear. And who says that will be the case anyway.

What if KC plays exceptionally well as the starter, scoring 30+ points per game, but our defense falls apart and gives up 40 points in each of the first 4 games. Is KC going to be thrown out because we are 0-4?

What if he plays mediocre in those losses, but Chad has lost the ability to make throws and Ainge isn’t ready? KC would then present himself as the best option right? Are you going to tank the season by inserting Chad or Ainge?

Let’s see how preseason plays out and then make some decisions.

For the health of our franchise, both short term and long term, we must give Kellen the opportunity.

I couldn’t disagree with you more. Kellen not only gives us the best chance to win in the future (since he and Ainge have the potential to improve while Chad only has the certainty to regress), Kellen gives us the best chance to win right now. And it’s not even really that close.

I know that Kellen Clemens is still real raw, undisciplined in the pocket, takes too many sacks and is inaccurate. I know that he only had a 52% completion percentage and that he finished 2008 with a lower QB rating than Chad did. However, I also know that Kellen is 24 and healthy while Chad is 31 and abused. I know that during Kellen’s last two years at Oregon, when he was playing behind a line that actually gave him more than 0.3 seconds to look at the field before having to switch into panic mode, he went 408 for 661 (61%) for 4954 yards (7.4 YPA) and 41 TD’s against 14 INT’s (a 2.92 ratio). The last time Chad had a TD-INT ration that approached 3 to 1 was in 2002, and that was two arm surgeries ago. I know that Chad Pennington’s game, while extremely accurate on short slants and dumpoffs, is so limited vertically that in the fourth quarter, where defenses tighten and load up for the pass, Chad’s inability to go deep lead to CB’s keying on short routes and Chad posting a miserable 59.7 rating with 1 TD against 5 INT’s.

I know that Chad will be better in 2008 than in 2007, because our team is improved and Chad’s a game manager… you surround him with talented people and he’ll distribute the ball and move the offense. But, we also know that 2008, 2009, and 2010 Chad Pennington is a very limited quarterback who has, with increasing frequency, played horribly (especially against good defenses) and singlehandedly cost us games because he just can’t make every throw and can’t dictate the offense, instead only working within the space the defense allows him to work in. There will be multiple situations in every game where Chad will need to make a play that he simply is incapable of making. It’s like when Jim Abbott pitched in the NL his last year – he’s still a decent pitcher who will keep you in most games, but there’s going to come a time where you really need him to sacrifice bunt over the guy on second and he’s going to end up striking out instead because his body just isn’t capable of that.

I concede that Kellen may end up bombing the joint out and he could be worse than Chad. However, Tony Romo could have very easily been worse than Drew Bledsoe; Jason Campbell could have been worse than Mark Brunell; David Garrard could have been worse than Byron Leftwich; Matt Hasselbeck could have been worse than Jon Kitna; etc. etc. etc… and, yes, Chad Pennington could have been worse than Vinny Testaverde. But all of them had the potential to be better, which Kellen has. All of them have upside and physical ability and needed to be given an opportunity to start and show if they could hack it or not. For the health, both short term and long term, we must give Kellen the opportunity. We know that Chad If he fails, Chad will be there to take the second half of the season.

Again, there will be multiple situations in every game where Chad will need to make a play that he simply is incapable of making, and the defenses know this and adjust accordingly, thus reducing our offensive effectiveness before the ball is even snapped. Kellen only has the potential to play poorly; he therefore also has the potential to play excellently. Chad will play slightly above average QB in many situations and horrible QB in several others. Those are not potentials, those are absolutes.

It’s simply foolish to not play Kellen Clemens from Week One. Name him the starter, give him the confidence and the practice week reps, let him lead the drills in camp and build a relationship with the WR’s. Let him sink or swim.