Link: Pennington’s Desire to Start Will Lead Him Elsehwhere
Dan Leberfeld is pouring cold water on the idea of reuniting Pennington with the Jets as a backup in 2010.
What about the Jets?
“I’d be shocked if it was the Jets,” said the source.
The source makes a good point about the Pennington-to-the-Jets story. Why would Pennington go to the Jets, a team that didn’t treat him that great later in his tenure with the club?
Pennington always says the right things, but don’t you think he’s still a little ticked off at the Jets for the whole Favre circus in the summer of 2008 when they left him twisting in the wind? And the season before that, he was benched in the middle of the season in favor of Kellen Clemens. Pennington is clearly much better than Clemens.
It would it would [sic] be shocking if Pennington signed with the Jets.
Look for him to sign with a team that will give him a chance to start like Arizona or maybe Minnesota (if Favre retires).
I agree that given a shot to play somewhere, he’d gladly take that over returning to the Jets. But, the operative phrase in this argument by Lebs is “chance to start.” Let’s look at his injury history.
2002: Broken non-throwing hand
2004: Right rotator cuff tear & bone spur (during cuff surgery 2/05) removal
2005: Right rotator cuff tear & surgery
2007: High ankle sprain
2009: Right rotator cuff tear & surgery
How many teams aren’t going to consider this history for someone they’re considering banking their season on should be be a starter? Obviously if other teams pursue him as a starter, he’ll go there no question! But are other teams really interested in making him a starter? I don’t think so. With an injury list that long, Pennington might not have many real options. Pennington has always wanted to become a coach and coaching someone like Sanchez might be a real first step down that road.
I’m not saying it’s 100% that Pennington will be a Jet in 2010, but I do think that the Jets would be crazy to not pursue him. He’d be the perfect complementary backup to this team, no matter how things ended in 2008.
33 Responses to Link: Pennington’s Desire to Start Will Lead Him Elsehwhere
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Shamik says:
Well, yes they didn’t necessarily leave on the most amicable terms. But the Jets didnt have to outright release him. They could have shopped him around and traded him for a pick or a prospect. He was released outright so he could look for a spot he wanted and he’s never said anything bad about the Jets. He may yet be of some use to us.
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Or, why not just bring him in as a coach if he really can’t play and does want to be a coach eventually?
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Kicas says:
I would like to see Pennington back.. He is a really smart QB,,, just without the arm strength. When he took over for Testeverde he was great, making good reads and hitting targets.. After he blow his shoulder out he was never the same. I think pennington would be a good coach or mentor for sanchez because of this football IQ… He also makes a perfect backup making low–risks passes and controlling the tempo of the game.
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Shamik – the Jets needed him off the roster the same day they signed Favre to clear cap space. Other teams knew this as well, so I doubt any team would have offered anything for him knowing that he’d be released a few hours later. Perhaps if there was a clamor for his services, there could have been a bidding war (who was offering the better 7th round pick!) but since his 2007 season who so bad (not all his fault of course) and he hadn’t wowed anyone in the ’08 training camp, that seems unlikely.
FWIW, I’d be ok if he ended up being the backup, but I’m not head over heels about the idea either. Any decent vet is fine with me.
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PA Matt says:
This is all PR, and does nothing to his chances of coming here (sorry Drew).
Of course the “source” is saying that it is not likely. The “source” probably makes money when CP gets paid. And starters get paid more…
His days of starting are over, and I think there’s a good chance he comes back to us. If so, cut all the other QBs and let’s use Brad Smith at #3! lol
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SackDance99 says:
I’m also betting that Rex is privately not a fan. His Ravens defenses completely dominated Chad. Why would he want a back up QB that he provided the blueprint for defeating? I don’t want Chad back for a whole host of reasons. It’s a new era in Jets Nation, why go back to a painful future?
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ramble914 says:
Why wouldn’t we keep KC as the backup? He already knows the system, and is a known entity.
Hopefully KC realizes that he will never be a starter, and only a backup in the NFL.
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bernie says:
Good. The way the Jets, and a large portion of our fans, treated Chad on the way out, he deserves better. I’d like to see him go to Arizona as Leinart’s safety net. Makes so much sense, considering Leinart’s past struggles, the great weapons they have, and the favorable weather.
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ramble – KC makes me nervous. Can he win a game against a decent team if called upon? He’s had every chance to show that he could and has failed to prove it. He beat he lowly bucs and didn’t look to good doing it.
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DSmizzle says:
Clemens makes me nervous because he’s a bad player who, even in his 3rd year (in his limited appearances this year), often looked like Sanchez did in his first preseason game against the Ravens. Maybe he never got a fair shake and his happy feet were the result of him getting killed during his previous stint(s), but I’d rather have a Duante Culpepper even. The Bucs game didn’t make me feel great about poor ole’ Kellen!
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JesusRevis says:
Ive always loved Pennington, but lets not act like we need him. He may be a good mentor for Sanchez, but other than that he really doesnt have much value to us.
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If Chad doesn’t come back to the Jets wouldn’t it be ironic if he went to the Favreless-Vikes and led them to the Superbowl against the Jets.
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Ben Nevis says:
This story has come up before—the bring-back-Pennington story—and I’ve said it before: there’s no way Pennington comes back to the Jets, not after the way he was treated by the FO, the local media, and the fans.
Chad was not only shown the door so that the FO could bow down to King BF, he was booed on the field here. Repeatedly.
There are a lot of places Chad would rather be. Not just because he wants to start.
And even if he’s forced to face the future as a back-up, he’ll probably stay in Miami. The Big Tuna is smart enough to know how good a mentor CP would be to his young QB, and will try to keep him there if he can.
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Harlan Lachman says:
Kewpies to SackDance and Ramble.
We have 4 Qbs on the roster. Plus Brad Smith who can save a roster spot on game days.
I don’t see Chad offering much more value than Ainge, O’Connell and Kellen. I would hire him as a coach in a minute, but if I never see another soft out pass again it will be too soon.
I hope Chad goes to a team with more chance to start (the Rams, a winner without any backups, etc.).
Some may feel Kellen is not a backup (although he won his one start, he made the game closer than it needed to be). I think for the value, he and a choice between O’Connell and Ainge are the way to move forward.
harlan
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KC makes me nervous too! But is there a better alternative? Chad can’t throw the ball anymore, at least not beyond 15 yds. KC can at least throw, and knows the system.
Would Kerry Collins be better? Dante Culpepper? KC is a case of the “devil you know is better than the devil you don’t know”.
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Denis says:
You know what I’m sick of hearing of? Pennington’s supposed hurt feelings about being released. Even though in hindsight we know it was (arguably) a disaster, we had the opportunity to ditch a brittle, weak armed, yet decent QB for a hall of famer. Give me a freakin break! So sick of hearing about Pennington’s supposed delicate sensitivities. ENOUGH
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NJets says:
Oh god… its so sweet knowing who our starter is going to be. I love having these hypotherticals about our backups so much more.
In all honesty id be glad to have Chad over KC. Hes at least the type of backup Mark can learn from, not learn what he shouldnt do. Plus, Chad would fit our running game so much better now. His noodle arm wouldn’t even be tested that much (in a worst comes to worst scenario).
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NJets-
Good point. Yes, it seems like we haven’t had this experience in a long, long time, the luxury of going into the season—not only knowing who our QB is going to be—but looking forward to seeing him play, looking forward to seeing him develop, take command of the offense, lead the Jets all the way.
I’ve been a Jets fan since before they were the Jets (I saw them play in the Polo Grounds and at Shea), and this is the first year in a long, long time that I actually feel confident that we’re going to dominate our division, that we’re going to be in the playoffs, that we’re already a Super Bowl contender.
Feels good, man.
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While were on the subject, we need to find a viable backup because Clemens is just plain awful.
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Jesus-
Agreed. But I think Mike T already suggested that they’re going to look for a vet QB (a back-up) to mentor Sanchez.
Which means that Kellen is most probably gone.
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What about Jeff Garcia?
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Jesus-
I wanted us to pick up Garcia before the 2009 season began.
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Brendan says:
Ughhhh Jeff Garcia?!? Can we just stop with that already? He’s 40 years old.
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Oh, christ, Brendan-
Jesus and I were talking about a vet QB to MENTOR Sanchez. You know, a guy with a lot of EXPERIENCE.
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I know. But I’ve gone over this before, Garcia spent his entire career in a West Coast system. He was never in a system where they use the deep ball like we do. I would rather keep Clemens than bring in Garcia.
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And Sanchez seems to be developing pretty well with Schotty tutoring him (which I can’t believe I’m even typing). What you guys are talking about is a coach, I want my backup QB to actually be able to step in and play QB in case Sanchez gets his arm ripped off or something.
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Yeah, Brendan, I should have know: you’re a Clemens guy.
Great. Makes a lot of sense, given what you’ve said on other threads.
Clemens sucks. Period. End of story.
And if you want to argue with somebody about this, try to find somebody else.
I have no interest in revisiting this subject at all. It’s been discussed to death (the week before, the week of, and the week after, the game with the Bucs).
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I don’t like Clemens at all. I almost had a brain aneurysm when people wanted him to start of Sanchez for even one game. But that should also give you an idea of how I think of Garcia.
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Okay, Brendan, that’s a relief.
I’m glad to hear that you don’t like Clemens at all.
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kc says:
Chad should go to Carolina.
Considering the guy is healthy every other year, and absolutely owns even numbered seasons, 2010 ought to be a good one. Sign him, Panthers!