This Is Football. This Is A Business. The Jets Don't "Owe" Anyone Anything.

[The Gun Of Bavaria]

Look, I'm not exactly ready to crown the Jets as the AFC East Division champions or even anoint them as a top 5 NFL Super Bowl Contender just because Favre is here, but I'm trying to figure out at what point along the way, Chad Pennington was elevated to "god" status amongst some Jets fans?

Don't get me wrong, lost within that extremely long run-on sentence is not displeasure for the Favre trade, just a pessimistic cloud built from years of Jets misery that I'm desperately trying to shake. It was a 'no-brainer' move for the Jets and quite simply, it was a win-win attempt at making this a better team. Even if it fails, and let's hope not, the Jets are out a 4th. I'll take that any day of the week for the chance to make the playoffs, something that based upon the performance of CP and KC in Preseason was most likely not going to happen. Sure at first, I didn't think it was a good move to bring him here because as much as I like Favre, he's simply not the same QB he used to be, just as Joe Montana wasn't the same QB in a Chiefs uniform that he was in a 49ers jersey. Additionally we as an organization have been a revolving door hodge podge of starting QBs since Ken O'Brien threw bombs to Al Toon. However, my doubt, or at least my pessimisim, went out the door when I saw the team's reaction to his presence on the team. One guy's arrival for whatever reason, has a lot of players feeling that they can win right now, and confidence is a big part of the game.

So back to the whole Chad Pennington issue to which I bring before you. You can knock CP for a lot of things, but you can't knock the guy's heart. Sure, he had an accurate arm that everyone wished could have been a little stronger and he routinely choked in the playoffs, but you can't knock the man for never giving his all and coming back from adversity. Truly, character was Chad Pennington's best quality as a New York Jet.

However, being behind center for a full season and taking this team to a Division Title. AFC Championship and/or Super Bowl wasn't one of them, and at the end of the day, that's what matters most in this league. How long were the Jets supposed to carry on with this experiment? It's been 6 years since the infamous 2002 playoff run in which Chad Pennington built a name for himself. Since that time, it's been a virtual orgy of inconsistent carnage from #10 and the NY Jets as a whole, and throughout that time, we still haven't found a way to beat the freaking Patriots outside of a fluke game.

Simply stated, while I appreciate Chad Pennington's time as a NY Jet and his dedication to the team, at the end of the day, when it's all said and done, he had his chance here and failed to produce, period. This is a NFL franchise, not a little league team where you have to make sure every player gets at least 3 innings during the game. This is the NFL, where pardon the Glanville-esque pun, stands for "Not For Long" if you can't consistently produce. I think the Jets gave Pennington MORE than enough opportunities to lead this team to playoff victory and it just hasn't happened. There's noting classless about it, it's not a backstabbing move, it's just business. But to hear some of you, it's as if Chad Pennington led this team to 3 Super Bowls, 5 division titles and all of a sudden the Jets just kicked him to the curb. Not even close. Not even remotely close. Chad had 6 seasons and at the end of the day, while valiant in his efforts, didn't get the job done. It wasn't a classless move, it was a practical business move.

There's no "Ifs", "Ands" or "Buts" about it, CP, while valiant in his efforts in dedication, failed to produce and the Jets were right to let him go. He did nothing to warrant a ticket tape parade or some sort of ceremonious send-off that a few of you apparently think he deserves. He was an average to above average QB who led the Jets to some average to above average seasons, and while I'll always appreciate his time as a NY Jet, I'm not going to lost much sleep about it, nor the manner in which he was released.

[greeniemeanie]

Very passionate and excellent post.

[GodWearsAGrayHoodie]

You are right it is a business. Don't think for a moment that the Jets decision to replace the most accurate passer ever, with the the league leader in interceptions was done solely on the basis of who is most likely to lead the team to victory. It was done because even if the Jets go 3-13 this year they will sell more Farve jerseys than they would sell Pennington jerseys in a 13-3 season. The Jets are going to be on more TV stations than they would have been which is also more revenue.

Win or lose getting Farve was a brilliant business decision that will greatly increased the dollars in Woody's pocket. Only time will tell if it was good football decision as well.

[L.I.MikeBleedsGreen]

Look, I'm not exactly ready to crown the Jets as the AFC East Division champions or even anoint them as a top 5 NFL Super Bowl Contender just because Favre is here, but I'm trying to figure out at what point along the way, Chad Pennington was elevated to "god" status amongst some Jets fans?

Don't get me wrong, lost within that extremely long run-on sentence is not displeasure for the Favre trade, just a pessimistic cloud built from years of Jets misery that I'm desperately trying to shake. It was a 'no-brainer' move for the Jets and quite simply, it was a win-win attempt at making this a better team. Even if it fails, and let's hope not, the Jets are out a 4th. I'll take that any day of the week for the chance to make the playoffs, something that based upon the performance of CP and KC in Preseason was most likely not going to happen. Sure at first, I didn't think it was a good move to bring him here because as much as I like Favre, he's simply not the same QB he used to be, just as Joe Montana wasn't the same QB in a Chiefs uniform that he was in a 49ers jersey. Additionally we as an organization have been a revolving door hodge podge of starting QBs since Ken O'Brien threw bombs to Al Toon. However, my doubt, or at least my pessimisim, went out the door when I saw the team's reaction to his presence on the team. One guy's arrival for whatever reason, has a lot of players feeling that they can win right now, and confidence is a big part of the game.

So back to the whole Chad Pennington issue to which I bring before you. You can knock CP for a lot of things, but you can't knock the guy's heart. Sure, he had an accurate arm that everyone wished could have been a little stronger and he routinely choked in the playoffs, but you can't knock the man for never giving his all and coming back from adversity. Truly, character was Chad Pennington's best quality as a New York Jet.

However, being behind center for a full season and taking this team to a Division Title. AFC Championship and/or Super Bowl wasn't one of them, and at the end of the day, that's what matters most in this league. How long were the Jets supposed to carry on with this experiment? It's been 6 years since the infamous 2002 playoff run in which Chad Pennington built a name for himself. Since that time, it's been a virtual orgy of inconsistent carnage from #10 and the NY Jets as a whole, and throughout that time, we still haven't found a way to beat the freaking Patriots outside of a fluke game.

Simply stated, while I appreciate Chad Pennington's time as a NY Jet and his dedication to the team, at the end of the day, when it's all said and done, he had his chance here and failed to produce, period. This is a NFL franchise, not a little league team where you have to make sure every player gets at least 3 innings during the game. This is the NFL, where pardon the Glanville-esque pun, stands for "Not For Long" if you can't consistently produce. I think the Jets gave Pennington MORE than enough opportunities to lead this team to playoff victory and it just hasn't happened. There's noting classless about it, it's not a backstabbing move, it's just business. But to hear some of you, it's as if Chad Pennington led this team to 3 Super Bowls, 5 division titles and all of a sudden the Jets just kicked him to the curb. Not even close. Not even remotely close. Chad had 6 seasons and at the end of the day, while valiant in his efforts, didn't get the job done. It wasn't a classless move, it was a practical business move.

There's no "Ifs", "Ands" or "Buts" about it, CP, while valiant in his efforts in dedication, failed to produce and the Jets were right to let him go. He did nothing to warrant a ticket tape parade or some sort of ceremonious send-off that a few of you apparently think he deserves. He was an average to above average QB who led the Jets to some average to above average seasons, and while I'll always appreciate his time as a NY Jet, I'm not going to lost much sleep about it, nor the manner in which he was released.

POTW NOM