Lupica on Pennington

[GimmeShelter]

Pretty good agendaless article.....be it the Yanks or Chad, Lupica usually tells it like it is whether we want to hear it or not.

http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/football/jets/2007/10/14/2007-10-14_chad_pennington_faces_toughest_test_of_c.html

As he walked toward the sideline last week after his third interception, Chad Pennington looked like he was drowning in a pool of dark emotions. He pulled off his helmet, as if he was desperate for air, revealing his pained expression to the world. He was in a bad place, looking beaten, drained.

A long way from Oct. 6, 2002.

That day, his first NFL start, Pennington exploded out of the tunnel at the Meadowlands and head-butted teammates during the introductions, energizing the team and the city with his enthusiasm and near-flawless play at quarterback. It was so blissfully simple then.

"You're looking at a first-year quarterback with no expectations, with a clean slate," Pennington said this week, sounding as if he was looking at pictures of himself in a scrapbook. "You're doing exactly what you're coached to do, although you're not really asked to do a lot in the first place. Then the old word 'momentum' catches on and you start to roll."

What happened to that guy?

Head butts have been replaced by head banging. The time has changed, and so has the quarterback.

Pennington's 31-year-old body has absorbed a beating over the years, his always-suspect right arm looks weaker, he's trying to carry a flawed team and he's doing it all with the knowledge that his eventual replacement - Kellen Clemens - is warming up in the bullpen.

Suddenly, he has a new first name in the newspapers - Embattled. As in, Embattled Chad Pennington.

For the first time in his five-year reign as the Jets' starter, Pennington's job status is an issue. If he doesn't improve and/or the team doesn't start winning, he will be replaced by the strong-armed Clemens, a second-round pick in 2006.

Today's home game against the Eagles will be the most scrutinized start of Pennington's career, and that's saying a lot because he has started five playoff games and several must-wins in December. Those games involved team survival; this is about personal survival. He's trying to avoid his first three-game losing streak as a starter.

"I understand the situation and I take full responsibility for how I've played in the four games," said Pennington, who doesn't feel he has played that poorly. "I'm accountable for that. I don't shy away from it, I'm not scared of it and I feel really good about where I am as a quarterback."

Maybe so, but his performance over the last two games has raised red flags. He has thrown five interceptions in the last five quarters, four of them on short passes, his forte. Some opposing scouts believe his arm isn't the same after two shoulder operations. Some observers say he's forcing the ball into bad places, something he rarely used to do.

"The alarming part is, he's making mistakes and they're huge mistakes," said ESPN analyst Ron Jaworski, a former quarterback. "Chad has clearly made some poor decisions. Historically, he has not done that."

An NFC scout, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, watched Pennington's three-

interception debacle last week against the Giants and was saddened.

"I felt sorry for the kid," the scout said. "When he came off the field after Aaron Ross' touchdown (the third interception), I thought to myself, 'Gosh, he's a really great kid, but he may be done.' After two operations and getting beat up, maybe it's time to replace him.

"I don't think he has the arm strength anymore," the scout continued. "There wasn't a lot of zip on the ball. He can still throw the middle patterns decently, but for the out, the out-and-up and the take-off routes, you need an arm. His ball really floats. He looks like a backup to me."

I

n his heyday, 2002, Pennington was compared to Joe Montana. Heck, even Montana liked what he saw, once saying, "He's got great touch and his arm is strong enough to make the big throws." A thumbs-up from Montana is akin to receiving a college letter of recommendation from Bill Gates.

Unfortunately, Pennington hasn't been the same since he tore his rotator cuff for the first time, Nov. 7, 2004. In the 29 starts before the injury, he threw 44 touchdown passes with just 18 interceptions, a Hall of Fame-caliber ratio. In the 28 starts since the injury, he's had 32 touchdowns and 30 interceptions. Those are journeyman-type numbers.

So it came as no surprise last year when the Jets' new regime drafted Clemens. At first, Pennington didn't see it the way most people did. Upon hearing the news, his immediate reaction, according to a person with him that day, was: Brooksey's going to be mad.

He meant third-stringer Brooks Bollinger, who would later lose his job to Clemens. Maybe it was a moment of naivete or maybe he was blinded by competitive pride, but Pennington missed the big picture: Someday, Clemens was going to be a direct threat to him.

That time is now.

After carrying the clipboard as a rookie, Clemens took a quantum leap in the preseason and played a strong second half in his Week 2 start in Baltimore, where Pennington sat with a high-ankle sprain. Clemens might be the people's choice - the backup always is the most popular guy in town - but the locker room is behind Pennington.

"I'll ride or die with him," wide receiver Laveranues Coles said. "That's 'hood language. That's the way it is. We ride or die together."

It's easy to fall in love with Clemens' arm, but his lack of experience is glaring at times. Against the Ravens, he failed to recognize three backside safety blitzes, resulting in costly sacks. He also doesn't have Pennington's acumen for operating the no-huddle, directing traffic and changing plays at the line.

Those things don't show up on SportsCenter highlights, but they carry a lot of weight with Eric Mangini. The coach also loves Pennington's leadership, toughness and competitiveness. Quite simply, he's the heart and brains of the offense.

Pennington is completing 71% of his passes, second in the league, but he isn't taking many chances. In fact, he has yet to attempt a throw over 30 yards.

But let's put aside the numbers; the quarterback's job is to get his team in the end zone, and Pennington has led the offense to only 62 points in four games, including 24 in hurry-up situations against soft coverage.

When forced to drive the length of the field under regular circumstances, it's a struggle. Defenses crowd the line of scrimmage because they don't fear his long ball. The Jets play on a 20-yard field, as if every play is in the red zone. You can get away with that if the other components are clicking, as they did in 2002 and the first part of 2004. That's not the case now. Every interception is a debilitating body blow.

"That's not the guy they believe is their quarterback," said former Texans GM Charley Casserly, a CBS analyst. "They have to decide at what point he becomes a detriment. He's too smart to be making those decisions."

Conversely, Clemens can stretch the field, loosening things underneath. He has "the

ability to play at a high level in the NFL," said Jaworski, who called him the best prospect in a quarterback class that included Vince Young, Matt Leinart and Jay Cutler.

That said, Jaworski declined to give his opinion on whether it's time for a change, claiming he's not close enough to the situation.

Former Jets quarterback Boomer Esiason wasn't shy about expressing his feelings.

"I think he's being made the scapegoat," the CBS analyst said of Pennington. "It's way too early to panic

[jaspegs]

Nice Article. Pennington has to play great today. I say 1 bad interception and hes gone.

[Irish Jet]

Nice Article. Pennington has to play great today. I say 1 bad interception and hes gone.

LOL, 1 good interception and hes gone.

[green_blood]

1 Second half INT and he is gone.

[bobbyjet69]

1 Second half INT and he is gone.

a couple of 3 and outs and he's done!!

[Sperm Edwards]

One incomplete pass and he's done.

[NJ]

One check down and hes outta here - complete or not.

[jaspegs]

One float from Carvel and hes out

[Irish Jet]

A perfect game and hes gone!!!!!

[Bugg]

its' Rich Cimini, not Lupica. Cimini comes on and chats all the time. Least we could do is credit his usual fine work.

[AVM]

If an article could get POTW, it'd be this one. Its the truth. No I want Chad to die, no Chad Pennington is the scum of the earth, and no Chad is perfect and does no wrong....it's just truth.

I agree Chad has lost something important, but it's not the arm strength(he has lost it, but thats not important). He's lost some passion, and he's lost some smarts.

Here's to hoping he wakes up and refinds that passion, and makes those smart decisions he used to make. Go Chad today, but more importantly, go Jets.

[GimmeShelter]

its' Rich Cimini, not Lupica. Cimini comes on and chats all the time. Least we could do is credit his usual fine work.

You're right Bugg....thought I ckicked on a Pic of Lupica to get the article.

Smizzy if you're on can you correct the title.

[Boozer76]

If an article could get POTW, it'd be this one. Its the truth. No I want Chad to die, no Chad Pennington is the scum of the earth, and no Chad is perfect and does no wrong....it's just truth.

I agree Chad has lost something important, but it's not the arm strength(he has lost it, but thats not important). He's lost some passion, and he's lost some smarts.

Here's to hoping he wakes up and refinds that passion, and makes those smart decisions he used to make. Go Chad today, but more importantly, go Jets.

Chad Pennington has not lost his "smarts". You don't suddenly become stupid overnight. Most D's play a Tampa 2 style. This style defends from big plays and allows short plays, relying on a swarming D that tackles well. Chad takes advatage of that D with short underneath stuff. D's have adjusted against us now. They have pretty much abandoned the Tampa 2 stayle and allow the CB's to play up tight against the receiver. The safeties cover anything over 20 yards. They know they're not going to get burned, so they are now defending the short stuff exclusively rather than allowing it to prevent big plays. Like the article says, we play a redzone style offense on the entire field. It is what the deficiencies Chad has limits us to do. Now the D's are getting more and more aggressive and Chad's bread and butter is no longer available. That's not him becoming "stupid", it's the D's becoming more and more emboldened. Until Chad shows that he can punish the D for being so brazen it will only get worse. Problem is you and I and everybody else knows that he isn't physically capable of doing that.