NIGHT STALKER Posted September 1, 2006 Share Posted September 1, 2006 Dan Leberfeld Finally some big news from the Jets Sep 01, 2006 Jets camp this summer was somewhat nondescript. Not much of a buzz out in Hempstead. But in the past few days, the Jets brass has finally thrown the media and fans a few bones. In fact, stories have erupted like Mount St. Helens. Where do we start? Oh yeah, Chad Pennington was named the team's starting quarterback on Tuesday. And in the typical low-key fashion of Jets coach Eric Mangini, he waited until the end of his opening statement to make this major announcement. "The last thing is, Chad will be the starting QB against Tennessee," said Mangini. "I thought quite a bit about this and it has become clear to me that he has distinguished himself in the way that I was looking for and he has made great progress throughout the preseason. The consistency that I look for has been there and his presence and his ability to move the team, his leadership; all those things I have been looking for, he has done an outstanding job." "Outstanding" is a little strong, considering Pennington didn't produce one touchdown drive in the preseason. But Pennington clearly displayed this summer that he is the Jets' best option at quarterback. For him to throw the ball the way he did in camp, after two major shoulder operations, is awfully impressive. And honestly, his arm seems to be back to where it was before the two injuries. To some, that isn't necessarily good news, since he wasn't known for his arm strength prior to his shoulder issues. But that arm was good enough to lead the Jets to the playoffs two out of three years. And what he lacks in arm strength, he makes up for in smarts and hard work. While you can question his arm and legs, you can't question his heart and mind. And we've seen plenty of quarterbacks over the years loaded with physical gifts, but devoid of instincts. Pennington has no shortage of instincts. In simple terms, Pennington knows what the heck he's doing out there. CURT-TAILED In a lot of ways, Curtis Martin is very similar to Pennington. Not particularly big or fast for an NFL tailback, he's had a Hall of Fame career driven by an indomitable will, a nonpareil work ethic, and the heart of a lion. The same day Mangini gave Pennington some good news, he was the bearer of bad tidings about Martin and his problematic right knee. "We have done everything that we could up to this point to get Curtis ready for the season, but he is not going to be ready for the start of the season, so he will start the season on PUP," said Mangini. "He has worked as hard as he could work to get ready for the start of the season." Now Martin must sit out at least the first six weeks of the season before he can come back. And don't count him out. If he does, in fact, have bone-on-bone in his right knee, as has been reported, this is a condition with which you can play. Remember -- former Jets nose tackle Joe Klecko played with it, and current nose tackle Dewayne Robertson does now. You just have to be able to deal with a lot of pain, and we all know what a pain-threshold Martin has. It's off the charts. So if the Jets have some injuries at running back early in the season, Martin could come in handy. Plus, his presence could be the key to the Kevan Barlow trade. He has been a longtime mentor to the fellow Pitt back, and could be an important factor in the former 49er getting his career untracked. JETTING OUT Okay, what's next? On Thursday, they traded tight end Doug Jolley to Tampa Bay for a conditional draft pick. This made sense. Just like Ed Whitson and Kenny Rogers, Jolley was a bad fit for the New York market. He needed a change of scenery. Then the Jets filled Jolley's tight end spot by trading a conditional pick to the Dallas Cowboys for tight end Sean Ryan, who is a limited receiver, but a talented blocker. And they weren't done dealing. A few hours after the Jolley and Ryan trades, they sent quarterback Brooks Bollinger to the Minnesota Vikings for nose tackle C.J. Mosley and a conditional draft pick. The Jets lost three nose tackles this summer -- Monsanto Pope (retired), Sione Pouha (IR) and Tui Alailefaleula -- so they were very thin at the position. They loved Mosley coming out of Missouri, and at 6-2, 312, he is a good fit for the nose tackle spot in the 3-4 defense. With Bollinger gone, Patrick Ramsey and Kellen Clemens will back up Chad Pennington. While Ramsey didn't have a great preseason, he's got a lot of starting experience, so he's not a bad number two to have around. He's got a tremendous arm. When protected, he can make all the throws. And the Jets love Clemens, who is clearly their starter of the future. That future could be this year, if the Jets are out of it late in the season. And if you thought the last few days were action-packed, wait until Saturday when the team has to cut down to 53. They have a lot of real hard decisions to make, and some surprising names are going to be released. You get all that? Let me catch my breath. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoFlaJets Posted September 1, 2006 Share Posted September 1, 2006 OK don't tell me this guy doesn't read the boards-a few days ago I used these exact same two names discussing Jolley and how it seems some guys can't do anything right in the big city-I want my royalties man On Thursday, they traded tight end Doug Jolley to Tampa Bay for a conditional draft pick. This made sense. Just like Ed Whitson and Kenny Rogers, Jolley was a bad fit for the New York market. He needed a change of scenery. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NIGHT STALKER Posted September 1, 2006 Author Share Posted September 1, 2006 OK don't tell me this guy doesn't read the boards-a few days ago I used these exact same two names discussing Jolley and how it seems some guys can't do anything right in the big city-I want my royalties man On Thursday, they traded tight end Doug Jolley to Tampa Bay for a conditional draft pick. This made sense. Just like Ed Whitson and Kenny Rogers, Jolley was a bad fit for the New York market. He needed a change of scenery. Leberfeld and myself are business partners... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoFlaJets Posted September 1, 2006 Share Posted September 1, 2006 Leberfeld and myself are business partners... you BASTARD you Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Exit 117 Posted September 1, 2006 Share Posted September 1, 2006 Monsanto Pope retired? WTF? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoFlaJets Posted September 1, 2006 Share Posted September 1, 2006 Monsanto Pope retired? WTF? yea bro he just walked out right at the beginning of camp Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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