faba Posted May 2, 2005 Share Posted May 2, 2005 Can Pennington thrive in Jets' new offense? Last year, from what I saw, Chad Pennington led the league in arc. The primary reason was a badly injured right shoulder that required offseason surgery in February. While some were initially worried that he could miss training camp, Pennington recently announced that his $64 million wing will be fine come July. It better be, because with West Coast offense guru Paul Hackett out as offensive coordinator, head coach Herm Edwards is looking for an offense emphasizing the long ball. "There's a lot of options [in the new offense], and a lot of those options are vertical," Edwards told Jets reporters. "You're going to miss some every once in a while and that's okay. I told [Pennington], you might not lead the league in completions. [but] I'm not going to worry about that." Chad Pennington, gunslinger. The Jets certainly have the receivers to spread the field with. In the end, it comes back to if they have a quarterback who's best suited in a Rams style of offense. Edwards' mention of completion percentage reminds of 2002, when I was working on a Pennington story for ESPN The Magazine. That year, Pennington had statistically his best season and led the Jets from a terrible start to a wild-card blowout over the Colts, and completion percentage was one of the big keys. Hackett did a study before the season showing that teams with the highest rate of completions were the most successful. That year, Pennington's completion rate was 68.9, and he averaged a career-best 7.8 yards per pass. Along the way he had 22 touchdown passes and only six -- yes, six -- interceptions. He finished the year as the league's hottest player. And I hadn't seen a quarterback so efficient in the West Coast offense since Brett Favre in the mid 90s. In the years since, Pennington's numbers have slipped some and he's been less consistent. In 2003, playing in only in 10 games due to a broken wrist, he threw 13 touchdowns and 12 picks. Last year, in 13 games, he threw 16 touchdowns and nine INTs and overcame not only his injured shoulder but hammering from the local media to lead the Jets to a wild-card win over San Diego -- a game in which he threw a deep touchdown bomb to Santana Moss and flexed his arm in celebration. It's clear that the Jets wanted an offense that attacked more and played it safe less -- and Mike Heimerdinger can certainly draw up a gameplan -- but I have to wonder whether Hackett was really that conservative, or if he was merely calling a game based on what his quarterback could safely deliver. I believe in Pennington. On my list of the game's best quarterbacks, I put him at No. 9, after Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, Donovan McNabb, Favre, Daunte Culpepper, Marc Bulger, Mike Vick, and Jake Delhomme. Even last year, when he was injured, his 7.22 yards per pass was still better than those of Vick, Aaron Brooks, Drew Bledsoe -- supposed long-ball specialists. I think that if he's healthy, there's no reason why he can't excel in any offense around him. But still, I go back to 2002, when he was throwing touchdown passes of 40-plus yards in the playoffs; it's just that he was throwing perfectly timed short passes that became huge gains. Which style fares better over the long term? The high-percentage short pass to Richie Anderson that becomes a huge gain? Or the low-rate deep bomb to Moss? It'll be interesting to see if Pennington becomes a better quarterback in a new offense. It's hard to be better than his 104.2 rating three years ago. In the end, it depends on his health. In Pennington's five-year career, he has never played a full season. As one of my ESPN colleagues says, "They're paying him for what they think he'll do, not what he's done." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spjets Posted May 2, 2005 Share Posted May 2, 2005 great article.....cant wait to see how he does inder DINGER Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
124 Posted May 2, 2005 Share Posted May 2, 2005 Great article. Chad is going to have a year like 2002, if not better this year with his arm completely healed and a new offense which will be able to show just how good he really is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichardSeymour Posted May 2, 2005 Share Posted May 2, 2005 You know honestly, I think he'll have a very good year too. I think he has a solid shot to play all 16, (has to happen sooner or later) and he's one of the best QBs in the league when he has a good "comfort level". Hell, I'll start a thread on this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greensince69 Posted May 2, 2005 Share Posted May 2, 2005 I think he will have the potential for a great year but much of it will depend on how healthy Curtis is. Hem will certainly institute a vertical game and Chad finnally has a tight end who will not drop the ball 50% of the time. Add that he has his favorite target back in the middle and you have the makeings for a very high powerd offense that may well scare some defensive coordinators. As for his declining numbers and injuries the last few years, I put them squarly on the shoulders of can't hakket. If I am guessing 98% of the plays the jets are going to run then so can your average defensive coordinator. When was the last time you saw a defense back on thier heels vs the Jets. How many unnessesary hits did chad take on 3rd and long with the other team blitzing. I pray and hope most of those days are done and we will see a very dynamic atrtack. It still comes down to Curtis being able to run to keep the defenses honest. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blackout Posted May 3, 2005 Share Posted May 3, 2005 You know honestly, I think he'll have a very good year too. I think he has a solid shot to play all 16, (has to happen sooner or later) and he's one of the best QBs in the league when he has a good "comfort level". Hell, I'll start a thread on this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PatsFanTX Posted May 3, 2005 Share Posted May 3, 2005 Last year, from what I saw, Chad Pennington led the league in arc. Post of the day! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PatsFanTX Posted May 3, 2005 Share Posted May 3, 2005 You know honestly, I think he'll have a very good year too. I think he has a solid shot to play all 16, (has to happen sooner or later) and he's one of the best QBs in the league when he has a good "comfort level". Hell, I'll start a thread on this. RS, do you have the flu? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jetsfan80 Posted May 3, 2005 Share Posted May 3, 2005 Post of the day! Key word: LAST year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GimmeShelter Posted May 3, 2005 Share Posted May 3, 2005 RS, do you have the flu? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Green DNA Posted May 3, 2005 Share Posted May 3, 2005 RS, do you have the flu? RS had the flu but a good dose of reality took care of it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farm Implement Posted May 3, 2005 Share Posted May 3, 2005 I especially like the last sentence in the article: " As one of my ESPN colleagues says, "They're paying him for what they think he'll do, not what he's done." Quite a bit of money for a "never has" played a full season. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joewilly Posted May 3, 2005 Share Posted May 3, 2005 mr implement, any thoughts on shortening your username to "tool" ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farm Implement Posted May 3, 2005 Share Posted May 3, 2005 My favorite Eli Manning pic! Does anyone believe CP would survive a hit like this unscathed? Which damaged body part will force Chad out of action this year? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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