What Kind of Starting Quarterback Has Chad Pennington Really Been?
Yet another piece in the ongoing quarterback controversy…
Jets fans seem to be roughly split 50/50 on who the starting quarterback should be. One of the main points that is constantly argued is the previous accomplishments of Chad Pennington, and whether or not his past is enough to warrant him starting this year. Let’s take a look back at Chad Pennington’s history as the New York Jets starting quarterback:
2002: Chad took over for Vinny Testaverde after the Jets stumbled to a 1-3 start. He promptly led one of the greatest turn arounds in team history as the team finished the year 8-4 and won the AFC East title with a 9-7 record. This was clearly Pennington’s best year as he finished the season with 3,120 yards passing, 22 touchdowns, and only 6 interceptions. He also led the team to a 41-0 first round blowout victory over the Colts, before they eventually lost to Oakland 30-10 to end their season.
Stat Line: 12 starts, 3,120 yards, 22 touchdowns, 6 INT’s, 104.2 quarterback rating, 68.9 completion percentage.
Positive: Over the course of the Jets last two regular season games (which were must wins to clinch a playoff spot) and their 1st round win over the Colts. Pennington threw 10 touchdowns and zero interceptions, while averaging over 225 yards per game, and a 73 percent completion percentage, which is probably one of the best 3 game stretches for any Jets quarterback in the team history.
Negative: Went 21 of 47 for 183 yards, with 2 interceptions in the Jets second round loss to Oakland.
2003: Pennington got hurt in the pre-season and came back as the starting quarterback with the Jets in a 2-5 hole. They finished the year 4-5 under Pennington, as he clearly took a couple of steps back from his banner 2002 season. Regardless, the Jets were clearly a much better team with Pennington on the field, rather than off it at this time.
Stat Line: 9 starts, 2139 yards, 13 touchdowns, 12 interceptions, 82.9 quarterback rating, 63.6 completion percentage.
Positive: Led the Jets on a last second game winning drive against Jacksonville, and played well in a Monday Night upset of the playoff bound Tennessee Titans.
Negative: Threw 5 interceptions and 0 touchdowns against the Patriots on Monday Night Football, in a 23-16 loss.
2004: Pennington received a big contract and promptly led the Jets to a 5-0 start. However, after losing 2 of their next 3, Pennington hurt his arm against Buffalo and missed three games in the middle of the season. He would return for the stretch run and finish the year 2-3 as the starter. Pennington played well in the Jets first round upset against San Diego, but struggled heavily in their second round heartbreaking loss to the Steelers. Despite the Jets returning a punt and interception for a touchdown, they still lost in overtime thanks to a pair of Doug Brien missed field goals.
Stat Line: 13 starts, 2673 yards, 16 touchdowns, 9 interceptions, 91.0 quarterback rating, 65.4 completion percentage.
Positive: Led the team to a 5-0 start; went 23 of 33 for 279 yards and 2 touchdowns in San Diego en route to the Jets wild-card victory.
Negative: Only threw for 180 yards, zero touchdowns, and one interception against Pittsburgh in the divisional round loss.
2005: Many people questioned whether Pennington was healthy from surgery the year before, but he began the season as the Jets starter anyway. He was knocked out for the season in week 3 against Jacksonville and the Jets limped to a 4-12 record.
Stat Line: 3 starts, 530 yards passing, 2 touchdowns, 3 interceptions, 70.9 quarterback rating, 59.0 completion percentage.
Positive: Played well in the Jets week 2 win against Miami, where he went 8 for 8 with a touchdown in the 4th quarter.
Negative: Fumbled 6 snaps in the opener against Kansas City.
2006: Pennington won the 4-way quarterback competition in camp and went on to have a solid season. He captured the NFL’s Comeback Player of the Year Award, and was good enough for the Jets to be a 10-6 wild-card team.
Stat Line: 16 starts, 3352 yards passing, 17 touchdowns, 16 interceptions, 82.6 quarterback rating, 64.5 completion percentage.
Positive: Starting the season with back to back 300 yard games.
Negative: Was only 23 of 40, with 1 touchdown and 1 interception in the Jets first round loss to the Patriots.
2007: We are all very familar with this story. Pennington started the year off, got hurt, got his job back, struggled, got benched, played late in the season, and is now facing Kellen Clemens in a quarterback battle.
Stat Line: 9 starts (Counting New England), 1765 yards, 10 touchdowns, 9 interceptions, 86.1 quarterback rating, 68.8 completion percentage.
Positive: Jubilant spike after running for a touchdown against Miami week 3.
Negative: Pick 6’s that cost the Jets the Giants and Bengals games.
Overall: Pennington was a great quarterback in 2002. He was average in his limited number of starts in 2003. He started off the year great in 2004, but then struggled after his injury. He was hurt all of 2005. He was a good quarterback in 2006, and an average at best quarterback in 2007. In his 5 playoff starts, he played great in the wild-card round against the Colts and Chargers, struggled heavily in the divisional round against Oakland and Pittsburgh, and played below average in the wild-card round to the Patriots.
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5 Responses to “What Kind of Starting Quarterback Has Chad Pennington Really Been?”
June 27th, 2008 at 8:35 am
VERY fair assessment Joe! I’ll have to agree with your article completely because facts are facts.
Another thing to keep in mind: What has happened to the team as a whole during that time? Chad played great on very good teams, and he played average with injuries or a crappy supporting cast.
In the end, I don’t think Chad’s past guarantees him a spot as the starting QB, but I do think his past performance makes it likely that he beats Kellen out for the job and the Jets pull off a winning season and at least 1 playoff win. I think its very telling and admirable that when Chad did go down in the playoffs, it was to the eventual Superbowl winner.
June 27th, 2008 at 1:42 pm
The Jets, as a team, coaches included, for years, have a very bad habit of sitting back and saying “Yea were winning” durring a game. The next thing you know their fighting for their lives to survive the game. Recent case in point last year in NJ against Miami. You could argue that it’s a divison game but I’m just using that as an example.
This type of mindset has put Chad in a position were he has to preform above average in order for us to win the game. Now, maybe he puts to much pressure on himself not to screw up but how many times, at that point in the game, does a pass come out of his hand and you sit there and say “What the hell was that?” This is my arguement about him as a QB.
Last year there was a lot of points made about how the Pats were running up the score on games. If you look at Brady durring the season he was as sharpe and as focosed in the 4th quarter as he was in the 1st, not soley because his team is winning, it’s the name of the game and, to my point, the consistent… nature of the beast.
Chad lacks consistecy. If you take all his “stats,” his injuries, his decisions and his “accuracy” and average them out he becomes nothing more then a 50-50 QB at all times.
Thats why I for one would rather have a fresh start with Clemens and let him fully go through his growing pains. From the little I’ve seen from him he already brings physcial skills to the table that Chad doesn’t or no longer has. Everything else can be learned over time.
June 27th, 2008 at 1:46 pm
If this was 2004 I’d be more inclined to give Pennington the job, but he was only pretty good in 2006 and below average in 2007, which leads to me to rather see Clemens get a shot. I don’t think alot of pressure will be put on him because the Jets will be a run first offense and a defensive orientated team. However, he will get some early education against NE and SD, but the guy needs to be given a shot in a big game like those
June 29th, 2008 at 5:55 pm
Dear Joe,
There’s no doubt that you, Angel, and Mike make some very good points that any reasonable fan has to look squarely in the eye, whether they agree with them or not.
The question is, with this reasonable logic how and why do the NYJ CS and FO set themselves up for yet another competition between Chad and Kellen?
What can be the thinking behind this kind of a decision when so many of their other actions are so well thought out and intelligent? (I didn’t say EVERY one. Kendall was not handled very well).
2006 in my mind was the pivotal year. Chad won a four-way competition that was scrupulously fair from the first day. It became obvious before the preseason games were finished that this was Chad’s job.
However, there were a lot of shakey Chad throws that year — especially early on. Chad even on more than one occasion after a game admitted to the fact that sometimes he did not know how that ball was going to come out of his throw — it was a crap shoot sometimes.
This seems to mean that Chad’s rehab was still ongoing during 2006 — which is reasonable when you think about a second rotator cuff operation less than a year removed from the first one. I’m sure he was exaggerating that Vinny T. overhand throwing technique because it was probably the one motion that hurt him the least or the one motion that was more reliable than any other.
This rehabbing QB was judged head and shoulders above the other QBs on the roster all of whom were not nearly so physically challenged as Chad.
This CS judged that Chad’s head and spirit was more important to his QBing than his arm strength — otherwise any of the other QBs probably was throwing more strongly than Chad was.
Patchwork QB cannily nurses along a patchwork new offense behind a patchwork line to 10-6, and then the Pats cruise in for the kill.
Last year, 07, sometime during the first quarter of the Pats’ game the NYJ CS came to the sudden realization that their OL was not working — not for the run, and not for the pass either.
This means that the skill players were in jeopardy. And sure enough, right away, Chad goes down with a high ankle sprain. But the CS AGAIN doesn’t take him out in favor of Kellen because they come to the judgment that Kellen is too far behind Chad to make any difference in the game. Maybe Chad can play through the high ankle sprain and…. This had to be their thinking in those early games. Because that is what they did: Leave Chad in there regardless of the high ankle sprain.
Finally, it was clear no matter what any skill player did, the 07 season was lost — the D had only belatedly began to come around, and the OL was just chronic.
It’s time for some trial by fire experience for as many green guys as there are on the roster.
Kellen goes in and every defensive and offensive body they can try out against the opposition they do. 4-12. The D starts playing better — they play the game of the year against the Pats the second time, and still lose. Chad actually comes back and his ankle lets him throw a little bit.
But Kellen has to finish it. 4-12. The team all along tries as hard as ever, nobody quits in spite of Chris Baker’s venomous words, the team fights for everything it can get knowing it is hopeless. 4-12. A crippled team that will not give up — not even against Kansas City.
So the CS comes into O8 — what are they doing?
First they start with new OLs, then new DL and OLB in FA,
then when the draft they work on the offense and the defense.
They call up a competition between Chad and Kellen — they don’t know what they have in the OL and in the D — looks good on paper but there are no pads yet, and the opposition has nothing to really gain since they are on the same side.
The CS has to build up everybody they have because they know they may need EVERYBODY they have before the season is finished.
So they set up a competition at QB. So they set up a competition at OLB and ILB, and TE, and RB, and Safety, and Cornerback.
Now take notice that they’ve done all this before they’ve even got into TC.
I believe this CS is going to set up a winner take all competition at every possible position on the entire team as long as they can keep it going.
Why?
Well, this forces everybody to fight for their job, to fight against every mistake, to learn every technique — any single edge you can grab may make the difference between your staying on the roster and being cut.
I don’t know that this CS has any real choice: Why should they take a chance that they might leave a single stone unturned, or a single player unthreatened, complacent like Bryan Thomas complained so about himself…?
It is how this CS plans to force this team to play for keeps from day one.
At least, this is the rationale they seem to be behaving within.
I don’t know who is going to be first string anything by the time this compeition free-for-all runs its course.
But keep your eyes wide open, this off-season can get really interesting.
June 30th, 2008 at 9:51 am
Amen.
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