The *official* Chad Pennington Summary

[PaJetFan]

Here's the bottom line. FIRST OF ALL - I HAVE ALWAYS BEEN THE BIGGEST PENNINGTON FAN. He is a great person and role model. The problem is not just his arm strength. I mean, sure, Pennington does not have the strongest arm. But that's only part of the problem. I think the greates trouble is his brain! He is VERY smart, but is a major head case. He oftentimes 'overthinks.' Instead of just playing the game, he tries to think his way through problems on the field. I believe that Chad has good intentions, but he gets too worked up...too tight and he doesn't relax and play to win. Sometimes he does relax and play to win, and when he does - we win. But generally he is the epitome of playing 'not to lose.' He is mostly afraid of making mistakes... AND THEN HE MAKES THEM IN BUNCHES!!! Think about it... When there are chances to win the game, or make clutch plays... that seems to be when chad most often screw up. He has been doing this for years now. It's not a big mystery. It's not totally his arm strength nor is it the fault of the injuries. People who say that it's his surgeries must not have watched the game I watched last weekend vs the Giants. On one play he hit Coles in stride on a fade that Coles couldn't catch up to. It hit his fingers, but it was really well thrown and thrown deeply. However, at the end of the game, he STARES down the intended receiver and telegraphs the passes. Sure, he has poor velocity, but loses his 'cleverness' at clutch moments, which is the greatest problems. In his history the only time Pennington played lights out awesome was when he had nothing to lose - 2002. In retrospect that was such a tease. It kept many of us hopeful of his greatness until THIS year. Back then, people didn't know about him and coaches weren't gameplanning for his weaknesses. That - I believe is why he played so well, but also why Oakland kicked our ass in the playoffs that year. BECAUSE HE'S NOT TOM BRADY!!!!!! He can't fire it in the cracks AND go deep when he needs to. CHAD CAN'T MAKE ALL THE THROWS. But most of all he does not play to win. No, instead he gets flustered under duress. I don't think there is and ONE answer for his poor play. He is very very smart and can draw penalties, waste other teams' Time outs, and make great short timing patterns - even for TD's. But he is a head case.

Quick story... I remember when everyone was comparing Chad to 'cool' Joe Montana back in 2002. If you want a rude awakening, here is a great clipping and one of my favorite stories (from ESPN). While reading this, think about how Pennington compares...then take a valium.

"He possessed an almost mystical calmness in the midst of chaos, especially with the game on the line in the fourth quarter. While others saw turmoil and danger after the snap, Montana saw order and opportunity. He was Joe Cool, the unflappable king of the comeback.

Take the 1989 Super Bowl against the Cincinnati Bengals. The San Francisco 49ers were down by three points with 3:20 left when Montana spotted -- no, not an open receiver -- but a personality. "There, in the stands, standing near the exit ramp," Montana said to tackle Harris Barton. "Isn't that John Candy?" And then he led the 49ers 92 yards, throwing for the winning touchdown with 34 seconds left.

This was one of Montana's 31 fourth-quarters comeback in the NFL. Montana was neither exceptionally fast nor tall nor did he have a bazooka for an arm. The man whom his high school quarterbacks coach said "was born to be a quarterback" won by wits and grace, style and reaction. It was if he saw the game in slow motion. Whether it was with Notre Dame or the 49ers, whether the game was played in an ice storm in Dallas or in the humidity of Miami, Montana was The Man in the fourth quarter."