Clemens’s Comeback Charge Falls Short

This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.

The New York Sun

Kellen Clemens got off to a shaky start but provided a thrilling finish before falling just short in his first game as the Jets’ starting quarterback yesterday.

The shaky start in the 20–13 loss to the Baltimore Ravens was to be expected from a quarterback as inexperienced as Clemens, who had thrown just 11 career passes going into the game. The exciting finish was enough, no doubt, to make many fans think Clemens should remain the starter, even after Chad Pennington has recovered from the high ankle sprain that forced him to watch yesterday’s game from the sideline.

For three quarters, Clemens was a disappointment, failing to spark the Jets’ offense and looking hesitant and, at times, confused. But he took over the game in the fourth quarter and came agonizingly close to forcing overtime, leading the Jets back from a late 20–3 deficit.

Clemens completed 19 of 37 passes for 260 yards, with a touchdown and two interceptions. Those numbers (which came with a huge assist from

Jerricho Cotchery’s seven receptions for 165 yards) don’t tell the whole story, though. The whole story is that Clemens was masterful when the Jets were on the ropes in the fourth quarter, and had receiver Justin McCareins not dropped a perfect pass that Clemens placed into his hands, the Jets would have tied the game with minutes remaining.

Like many backup quarterbacks, Clemens had been a fan favorite without ever doing anything to justify it. Last week he was cheered enthusiastically at the Meadowlands when he came on the field in relief of Pennington, but for most of yesterday’s game at M&T Bank Stadium it was Baltimore fans who were cheering. The Jets’ first possession ended with an interception, and five of the next seven ended with punts. The Jets’ offense couldn’t go anywhere.

But at the start of the fourth quarter, Clemens engineered a 10-play, 68-yard drive that ended with a field goal. The next drive lasted 11 plays, went 81 yards and culminated with Clemens hitting tight end Chris Baker for a touchdown. And the final drive went 73 yards, included that McCareins drop, and ended with Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis intercepting a deflected Clemens pass in the end zone.

Coach Eric Mangini has said that Pennington will be the quarterback as soon as he’s healthy, and that is, for now, the right decision. One good quarter from Clemens doesn’t negate Pennington’s enormous experience advantage, and there is every reason to believe that Pennington is the Jets’ best quarterback. But Clemens did enough to start a lot of water cooler arguments this week.

No matter who the quarterback is, the Jets need to do a better job protecting him. Just as the offensive line failed to keep Pennington upright in the opener, it didn’t give Clemens, who was sacked four times, much help yesterday. Left tackle D’Brickashaw Ferguson, in particular, appears to have regressed since his rookie season and has been repeatedly beaten in pass protection in both of the Jets’ first two games.

Thomas Jones, the Jets’ highest-profile off-season addition, is a disappointment through two games. In last week’s opener he carried 14 times for 42 yards, and yesterday he had 24 carries for 67 yards. Jones also had what could have been a costly fourth-quarter fumble, but he caught a break when teammate Adrien Clarke pounced on it.

The Ravens were also without their starting quarterback, Steve McNair, and Baltimore backup Kyle Boller had a productive day against the Jets’ defense. In five years in the league, Boller has earned a reputation as a quarterback who’s prone to mistakes and easy to rattle, but the Jets couldn’t pressure him at all yesterday. Although the Ravens were playing without their best offensive lineman, left tackle Jonathan Ogden, the Jets couldn’t get to Boller, and that might be their biggest liability as a team. In two games the Jets’ opponents have now thrown 63 passes without getting sacked once.

Given that they played two good teams in their first two games, an 0–2 start isn’t a big surprise for the Jets. But the goose egg in the win column is a reminder that while everyone will be talking about the quarterbacks this week, there’s a lot of work to do on the rest of the roster.


The New York Sun

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