Audible: The Return of Pennington?
Chad Pennington tried his best during his years with the New York Jets to make everyone’s dreams of a Super Bowl come true. Unfortunately injuries and poor playing took its toll on Pennington and the fans and before he could even state his case for the 2008 campaign he was quickly ousted to the curb in favor of future HOFer Brett Favre. Quickly snapped up by the division rival Miami Dolphins, Pennington came back strong taking the Fins to the Playoffs and receiving the AFC Comeback Player of the Year award. Come 2009 Miami headed out on the field with high hopes under new leader Pennington however three losses into the season, the Dolphins found themselves without Chad who would yet again injury his shoulder.
There has been continous talk that this could be the end of Chad’s playing days as his shoulder has taken quite a beating over the years and some of you have expressed your willingness to bring back the former Jet as a QB coach. Gary Myers is one who agrees with your line of thinking. Having Pennington coach Sanchez could help Mark grow into the quarterback the Jets are hoping he’ll be and as Bassett pointed out a while back who better to teach the emotional Chez than the guy who is the most accurate passer in the NFL? Personally with the way the Jets handled Pennington’s ousting, I believe it would be hard for him to return (let’s not forget that Matt Cavanaugh was hand-picked by Ryan as well) but then again he still has fans in New York and it wouldn’t be out of the question (especially if Tanny actually began to put his foot down in certain situations a.k.a. Fire Schottenheimer!).
What do you think should happen? Will Pennington want to come back? Will the front office let him? Would it help Sanchez?
73 Responses to Audible: The Return of Pennington?
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washington heights says:
I think we have all been thinking it for years, even when he was healthy and starting. His leadership and understanding of the game make coaching inevitable, probably with more success than his playing career.
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Jimmy Shnoogen says:
As I said in the Chat on Thursday, I think if Chad Pennington’s injury has forced him to consider a back up role, then I hope that the Jets at least reach out to him, to make him an offer.
However, I’m skeptical of Chad being interested in coming back to New York. I mean, he’s said he’s enjoyed working with Henne, and lets face it, if you’re resigned to being a back-up, where would you rather do it, New Jersey or Miami?
I’d also add, that there could be some possibility of this injury forcing Pennington into retirement. Under those circumstances, and I might be naive in thinking this, I’d love for him to come here as a QB coach of some kind. And if Schotty gets fired, and Cavanaugh gets promoted to O.C. then there will be a void to fill. Just throwing it out there.
Pennington is one of the most competitive, intelligent players I’ve ever seen. And I think that he and Mark Sanchez share those attributes. Chad is one of my favorite players of all time, and I think because Sanchez and him have those same qualities, is why I think Sanchez could be so successful.
Just imagine Sanchez’s physical abilities, which I believe are better than those of Pennington, paired with the “IQ” of Pennington. Not to say Sanchez isn’t smart, but lets face it, Pennington is the most accurate passer in the history of the NFL for a reason.
Lastly, I want Chad to come back for one other reason: I can finally take my #10 jersey out of the closet and wear it again. Because as long as he’s a member of the enemy, I will not wear it! LOL
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benjam says:
bring him back as the backup. that makes much more sense. chad can tutor him and also serve as a solid number 2. watching kellen out there against the bills made me wonder why he’s even on the roster.
first chad is going to need to realize there isnt a starting job for him anywhere in NFL…
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Jon Berman says:
we should get USCs offensive coordinator, and pennington could def help this team
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Jets = Misery says:
I don’t know if he’d be willing to come back. Remember how people cheered when he got injured that one time? That was one of the few times I really felt sick to be a Jets fan. It must’ve been infuriating for Penning, who put his soul into this team, to have to go through that. That, and the way the administration treated him at the end of his tenure may keep him away from coming back to New York.
However, if he’d be willing to come back, either as a backup or as a coach, I’d do it in a heartbeat.
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ekill says:
This would be a great move if he would want to come back. If we even had decent QB play this year, were probably 8-4 or 9-3.
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Jeff says:
He would be a great back-up, would be a smart move on the Jets part…Gotta think that Pennington will always consider himself a Jet first.
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Ed says:
We should actively try and sign him if he has wrapped his head around being a back-up. In this situation, Chad would be the perfect back-up for the next three years. Give him good money, and we’ll get we want – a SB – and Chad will get his ring – perfect. Do I think he’ll come back? Maybe. Depends on what his other offers are. I’d put the chances at slim, but Tanny should do everything in his power to change Chad’s mind. If he still doesn’t understand he isn’t a starter, then I hope he makes it – with a team other than the Finns.
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James in TN says:
I’ll go you one better!
Fire schotty make Chad the Offensive Coordinator!
He knows our system AND the wildcat in and out!!!!
Chad for OC/ assist HC
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or backup and OC , he is that smart.
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Peyton starts and is the OC in Indy. True?
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LifeLongJetsFan86 says:
i’m a huge Jets fan and a huge Chad Pennington fan. He wasn’t going to win us a superbowl but i think the Jets and Jets fans were lucky to have him.
I would love to see him back in the organization.
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rollercoaster says:
I’m pretty sure pennington still sees himself as a starter material in the league. I doubt he would come back to nyc. That warm miami played a huge role in his rebound (see grant hill and shaq in phoenix). If he does retire and decided he wants to coach, we should look into it.
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Steve K says:
If Chad comes back to the Jets in any type of role I’ll cry
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Neville says:
Chad’s not coming back for a while if you ask me. The Jets management kicked him to the curb just so they could have fun by dumbing down their offense for Brett Favre. As this only happened two years ago, I would think Chad would rather be somewhere else.
I would love it if he came back as a back up that would hopefully evolve into some type of OC role then to head coach for 30 years full of super bowls…. keep dreaming right? -
Dean Barbella says:
James in TN,
I know you love Chad. He’s smart and would make a great back up to young Sanchez, like Gary Kubiak the one time quarteback Cyrano Debergerac to Elway and now head coach.
Get Chad!!!
PS: I gotta think ESPN wants him in the booth too.
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Mike R says:
RE: Jon Berman– USC Offensive Coordinator for Sanchez was Steve Sarkisian who just wrapped up his first season running the show at UW. It was a rough year, but two of their four wins were against ranked teams so that’s out of the question.
Johnny Reefer has it right–Unless he is somehow convinced that there is NO way he can play anymore, he’s too competitive to not give it a shot.
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Dan says:
Bring him back! What a pleasure it was to watch Pennington lead my squad over the years. What a competitor, what a class-act. Bring him back to coach Sanchize!
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RichKotite2.0 says:
I am a big Pennington fan, and think he would be a perfect backup QB for any team except for the Jets!
If Pennington came back as an active, backup QB, it would completely undermine Sanchez’s leadership.
Remember, Pennington was the leader and the face of the franchise for a while. He still has many, very loyal followers on the Jets roster including: TJ, Leon, Mangold, Brick, Moore, Cotch, Ellis, and Rhodes. They are used to looking to Pennington for leadership and I am afarid that they would immediately revert back to that if the team hits a rough patch with Sanchez struggling.
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Johnny Reefer says:
Well if he does become our back up. He will only be it every other yr anyway with his injury history.
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hangar says:
Steve K can you explain?
I have been calling for this to happen and truly feel he can made a difference with Sanchez.
Not worried about leadership as Chad the coach and Chad the player are 2 different people
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Doug says:
RichKotite2.0
Great point
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Ben Nevis says:
If Chad’s career on the field is indeed done, then it would be a dream to have him come back abd coach Sanchez. But I don’t think it’s anthing more than a dream.
For one thing, I don’t think Chad sees himself as being done. I think he’s looking to come back as a QB in 2010.
For another thing, if I were Chad, the Jets would be the last team I’d consider working for. Simply put, we treated him like crap. Just because he showed class through the whole humiliating thing, doesn’t mean he’d be willing to rush back here for more of the same.
And then there’s Big Tuna: if Chad’s on-field career is indeed over, I think Bill P would be smart enough to hire CP back as a coach.
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Bent says: By “we” do you mean the team or the fans (or both)?
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Formerly Section 108 says:
Off topic: For the love of God. NOBODY WAS CHEERING THAT PENNINGTON GOT HURT! If anything, the fans were a) cheering Pennington for getting up and being able to walk off the field and b) trying to rally Clemens who was walking into a tough situation in a tight game at a crucial moment. Everyone from the sports media, to other teams fans to our own fans gets that wrong and it makes me sick… Obviously, I can’t speak for everyone who was at that game that day — but it seemed pretty obvious to me at the time and I was stunned to read how fans cheered Pennington’s injury in the report the next day… On Topic: Chad will make an excellent coach. I only hope it is for us.
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Scott says:
Wrong. The crowd was definitely boo-ing the fact that Chad was down. It was a VERY embarrassing moment for Jet fans.
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I mean cheering the fact that he was down. Oops.
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JetsFan131 says:
It can’t Hurt
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i do not want Chad or his water pistol arm back,and further more i hope Brett f** breaks his leg the old fart he’ll blow it for the vikes dont you worry.
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Ryan says:
it would be a nice move, he could help teach Sanchez the NY way as well. Chad wasnt a New Yorker either he was from a small laid back town, but adjusted well.
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Bent-
By “we,” I meant the front office, the head coach, and the fans.
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Bent says:
Right. Thanks, Ben.
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igs says:
You think something is wrong with Braylon’s eyes? I mean that touchdown drop he really just kind of ran right into the ball. I wouldn’t be surprised if it came out that something is wrong there.
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Dylan says:
igs,
He said that he lost the ball in the lights. -
I love how no one in that picture is on the team anymore and it was a year ago…elmo was never on the team.
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Yeah, I hope it was just that. My favorite moment of the game was Braaaaaylon’s touchdown. I don’t remember that he dropped so many balls at Michigan. I hate to be a conspiracy theorist, but, as the drop problems continue, I wonder if there is something else to account for the drop off in receptions. It’s a thought.
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Why did the Jets ever drop Ben Graham?
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Boozer up the middle says:
I don’t think you’ll see Chad doing much coaching. The guy’s a Rhode’s scholar. I think it’s much more likely he’ll go into politics or business rather than coaching. As for a back up QB, yeah I’d do it but I bet he doesn’t.
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StvDoe says:
I’d love to have him come back as a coach, as he is one of my all time faves. When we traded for Favre I had mixed feelings because I really wanted to see what Chad could do with our rebuilt roster.
That said, I don’t want him back as a player. As a coach he’d be a great asset for Mark, but as a back-up/coach he would just undermine Mark.
I do doubt that he’d want to return in any capacity, and frankly, it would be hard to blame him. My only caveat would be if the rumors are true that Chad requested his release immediately after the Favre trade so he could hook up with another team, and the Jets granted that request. In that case perhaps the relationship between us isn’t as poisoned as I thought.
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igs,
Yeah you never know he could be distracted. Personally, I doubt it though. He dropped balls all the time in Cleveland. He has inconsistent hands so that is just part of his game. I think on NFL network they were saying he was running on his heals instead of his toes and thats why the ball hit his helmet.I was surprised when the Jets dropped Graham too. He wasn’t playing well, but was still always better than Hodges. If you look at his stats though he only averaged about 43 yards per punt as a Jet so its hard to fault them too much.
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True, but none of this at Michigan, which is why he was a top 5.
Graham also caused a lot of fumbles with his kicks. I never go that move.
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Oh wow Graham only had a net of 32 yards per punt in 2008 with the Jets. Its no surprise they cut him.
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Yeah I liked his punting style too but a net of 32 wont cut it. Braylon did has inconsistent hands at Michigan as well, but he put up such big numbers it probably wasnt as noticeable. If you read a scouting report though the one negative is that he drops the occasional easy pass.
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Zartan says:
If Chad can’t play ,then what other team would bring him in. he a jet and needs to accept it and come coach.
I would love for the Jets to bring in Jeff Garcia. i think he is a very underated QB and very smart. Would help Sanchez a tun.
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Joe S. says:
I for one would LOVE to have Chad come back in a Back-up / Teacher / Mentor / Coach role… whatever!
Chad is a True Jet and I will never foget what he did for this team.
If Chad didn’t get hurt… I believe he would have Lead the Jets into a Super Bowl.
You guy’s were to quick to buy the Media Bull Sh_t that Chad needed to go.
Chad should have been a Lifetime Jet… PERIOD!!!!
Come Back Chad… The REAL Jet Fans still Love You!!!!!!!
Joe S.
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Bent says:
The relationship is fine. Having decided to get Brett, the Jets had no choice but to release Chad that night because they were over the cap and I think Chad understood this.
Will he ever be back in any capacity? Maybe, maybe not. Neither can be ruled out IMO.
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JAY says:
I WOULD LOVE IF CHAD CAME BACK!!!!!!!!
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freddiesdead says:
id take chad as a back up qb
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Finally, some sense! Thanks, Bent. I was upset when we left Chad go without any compensation. We left a starter find a new home without any strings. Chad should be grateful. We did him a great favor out of respect. Getting a future Hall of Famer was too good an opportunity to pass up. Bret broke down, not his fault, just like Penny did more than once. A healthy Bret down the stretch and we are talking playoffs; same for Penny on many of his breakdowns. Right now we need an experienced backup. The Fish should return the favor we did for them giving up Penny and not having to pay us a cent. Release him now and let him put back on his Green # 10.
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Dylan,
True, but why d the jets cut a good player like Graham off of 1 down year and hold on to bad players like Vinny and BT through years of mediocrity. Folks already calling Braaaaylon a bust after, what, 4 games.
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Dylan,
Thanks for the tidbit on Braaaaylon at michigan. I had not heard that. But I never read any of his scouting reports either. He must have been a beast to be dropping balls and still get heisman consideration. But I guess that throws my cokamammy vision conspiracy out he window. Thanks for humoring me. Lol.
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Bent says:
igs – Why’s your name changed to “It’s”?
Anyway, it doesn’t necessarily rule it out. Maybe he has had eye problems all along and never realized it.
I remember them announcing that Celtics forward Eric Williams found out he had terrible depth perception at age 30…probably after looking into it following one too many bricked threes. Perhaps you’re onto something.
The good news is that – according to stats llc, he has 2 drops this year after 16 last year.
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andrew says:
I was happy to see the jets get favre but I would really like to see him come back to mentor but I also love how your all hypocreits because when he left you all were happy
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igs,
Yeah he was an absolute beast at WR. He didn’t drop quite as many, but then again college is much easier than the pros. He was also getting around 8-10 receptions a game so I guess a couple drops every now and then isn’t really noticed.The big difference between BT and Graham is that the Jets had to much invested in BT to just cut him. Also, Graham’s stats were just around average even on his best season. Plus Hodges was like 26 and Graham 35. I’m not saying it was a good move I’m just giving possible explanations.
http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/players/stats?playerId=9291 -
chad says:
well i wouldnt mind him asa coach but also as backup qb.but the problem i have is do we want sanchez to b a game manager in the future?
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I was glad he wasn’t our starter, but I wanted him on the coaching staff.
Graham sucked, and honestly we should try and find a Lechler type and draft him in the 2nd or 3rd and quit the merry go round effect at the punter posistion. OR……we never punt ever with our RB position secure we could just go for broke every play.
er…
Draft a great punter. There has to be one out there.
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James,
Lol drafting a punter in the 2nd round would bring back bad memories of a certain Ohio State kicker. Thats too early idc how good the guy is. -
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/writers/jon_wertheim/09/17/no.punt/index.html
haha I like the going for it on every 4th down idea. It work for this HS team! -
mike s says:
We want the rookie to learn to attack a defense… that is not the way Chad played the game. The guy should go to Cleveland and coach for Mangini.
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bleedsgreen&white says:
how can you attack a defense if you dont know what they are trying to do to you. Chad never had to tools to attack a defense but he sure knew what they were trying to do to him. Hes the only one that gave the belicheat defense fits. Im sure he can teach alot of thing to the kid. Bring him back if its possible he would do wonders with the kid. Chad is the man!!!! He’ll Always be a jet in my eyes
on another note what was the story with nugent? i never knew what happened with him since were on the story of kickers.
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Bent says:
Anyone remember when we did a caption competition for that picture? I posted this:
#
Bent, on December 19th, 2006 at 3:27 pm Said: Edit CommentAs always I am going to try to win using the old “quantity not quality” technique.
1. Mangini counsels a confused Elmo after some guy called Herman had tried to teach him how to tell the time.
2. Coles: “How exactly are you operating that puppet, Eric?”
3. Eric: “…and this is the jar I’m going to keep Bill’s brain in when I’m finished with him”.
4. Chad: “Even when I comb my hair it looks like I slept in my helmet”.
5. Graham: “Elmo? That’s a funny name?…I’d have called it a chuzzwuzzah.”
6. Chad: “J-A-R-R, Jarr, Jarr, Jarr…wait a minute – is that right?”
7. Elmo: “1, 2, 3, 0…”
Eric: “No Elmo, it’s 4 next”
Elmo: “Oh, I’m not counting, I’m just looking at a rundown of Blaylock’s carries this season”.8. Eric: “So, anyway, we think you’ll be a huge upgrade for us next year, we have this guy called Justin who is leaving”
9. Coles: “Elmo? Aren’t you the guy who started a riot against the Knicks?”
10. Chad: “Hey, do you know Jason Fabini? He was a Muppet too (Most Useless Pass Protector Ever Trained).”
11. Eric: “Look, I’m sorry, you’re just too small, you have no real experience and we already have someone to play your position”
Kellen Clemens (out of shot):”Ah, come on boss, give me a shot.”12. Eric: “So anyway, we were hoping you could help us out at training by being a “tackle-me Elmo””
13. Chad: “Elmo, the thing is, we’d like you to take over from Bent at thejetsblog.com so that the comedy on the site is more mature.”
14. Eric: “Elmo, these are my three friends, Chad – who can’t lift his right arm above his waist, Laveranues – who has overworked his pecs, and Ben – who we are about to fire out of a cannon.”
15. Elmo: “The Jets v Dolphins has been brought to you by the letter W and the numbers 9 and 6.”
I think I should have stopped ages ago…
16. Coles: “Coach, that wasn’t what I meant when I suggested we sign Furrey”.
17. Chad: “No, Eric, I said we need advice on how to stop a *cocky* monster!”
18. Fish: “I don’t know what you’re all looking at, I handed the ball off to Ronnie Brown five seconds ago”.
19. Eric: *thinks* “I wouldn’t mind frying that up and having it with a portion of fries later…and the fish.”
20. Chad: “Well, it’s good to see you again, Brooks. I never realised you looked like that with your helmet off.”
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he wouldn’t wanna come back cause tanny ran him out of town to bring in that shmo “4″… for he is who we most not say his name
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Jets-Fan-4-Life says:
I do not see Chad ever coming back to the Jets as a player, because of the way the front office handled the Brett Favre trade (even if it was the right gamble to take at the time). I also do not believe the front office will want Chad back as a player because of the reasons “RichKotite2.0″ listed above.
I “DO” however see Chad coming back as a coach with out any issues….
1. As a coach he “wins” making the Jets front office realizing that they were wrong for giving up on him, while Chad also gets to be useful again to his real home team.
2. The front office doesn’t have to worry about any reasons “RichKotite2.0″ listed above.
3. Sanchez gets a mentor he needs that has done it before (in recent years) in this market against the NY Jets division rivals.
I think it is a good fit, and a perfect match!!
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Bent,
Thanks for the response. I was typing from my iphone. Sometimes I just mess up with it.
Dylan,
I agree about BT, but for how long? The thing about Graham though was that he caused a lot of fumbles with his kicking. Every punt return was an adventure for the returning team. That’s a good thing. And now he’s in, I think, Arizona, still punting just fine. Maybe not as much fumbles.
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Bent,
That’s also a great historical point about Eric Williams. You really know your stuff. I guess all in all it is something to think about. Most of the failed passes, from what I could see so far, are from mis-communications. But even on that 1st catch after the 2nd dropped pass, Braaaaylon looked like he was concentrating so hard to bring that one in, it looked awkward.
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Brandon from Illinois says:
I would love to see Pennington back in NY, but he will stay in Miami, if he doesn’t get an offer to start for another team.
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Bent says:
igs – I fully understand about the iphone thing. Happens to me all the time (but luckily I can edit my own comments!)
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Schotty is not getting fired he is a great coach i really dont understand people who want this man fired ya’ll dont know football
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Thanks e star I needed a laugh this morning.
On side note which team helps us the most by winning Miami or NE? I can’t pull for either unless it helps the Jets.
Thanks
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Bent says:
James – When this was discussed earlier in the week, I think the consensus was that Miami losing helps more. Miami have beaten nobody good other than two close wins over the jets and has a tough schedule, so another loss makes them highly unlikely to be 9-7.
Pats have an easy schedule, so even with a loss, the Jets probably can’t catch them, unless something like a Brady injury happens.
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Thanks Bent
He wont, He still wants to play.