Pennington Can Only Hope That Life Begins (Again) at 30

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

For most NFL quarterbacks, 30 is the age at which their teams expect them to have developed a full grasp of the mental side of the game while still maintaining their physical skills. But Jets quarterback Chad Pennington, who turned 30 on June 26 and will soon begin his seventh training camp with Gang Green, faces a very different situation.

Pennington became the Jets’ starter in 2002 and seemed to have a handle on the strategic and playbook side of the game almost immediately. He showed a precocious ability to manage the Jets’ offense and read opposing defenses, leading the league in the NFL’s passer rating statistic (which combines completion percentage, yards per attempt, touchdowns, and interceptions).

In the last two seasons, though, his mental sharpness could not overcome his one serious physical flaw: A shoulder that won’t stay healthy. Pennington had surgery to repair a torn rotator cuff on his throwing shoulder twice last year — once in February after the Jets were eliminated from the playoffs following the 2004 season, and once in October after re-injuring the shoulder in a game against the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Pennington, once thought to be the very future of the Jets organization, has started only 37 games in his NFL career, a very low total for a 30-year-old. That is partially because he spent five years at Marshall and entered the league older than most rookies. It’s also partially because the Jets eased him into the NFL, drafting him in the first round in 2000 but keeping him on the bench for his first two seasons.

But as any Jets fan will tell you, the most troubling reason for Pennington’s lack of experience as a starting quarterback is that he has missed 22 games because of injuries. Several younger quarterbacks have started more games than Pennington has — Philadelphia’s Donovan McNabb (29) has 88 starts, New England’s Tom Brady (28) has 78 starts, and New Orleans’s Drew Brees (27) has 58 starts, just to name a few. Even Pennington’s successor at Marshall, Jacksonville’s Byron Leftwich, has started one more NFL game than Pennington has despite being four years younger.

All those missed games took a financial toll on Pennington in March, when he agreed to restructure his contract, a tacit admission that his production hasn’t lived up to the expectations the Jets had for him when they signed him to a seven-year, $64 million deal in 2004. Pennington would have made $9 million this year under that contract, but his new contract pays him only a $3 million, with the potential to make up the rest in bonuses if he reaches various incentives tied to playing time and statistical output.

But there are reasons to doubt whether Pennington will even get the chance to reach those incentives. Former Jets head coach Herm Edwards always expressed affection for Pennington, but Pennington will have to start from scratch with new coach Eric Mangini and learn a new system designed by offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer. Pennington is generally considered the favorite to enter the season as the starting quarterback, but Mangini has said that the other three quarterbacks on the roster — Patrick Ramsey, Brooks Bollinger, and Kellen Clemens — will all have the opportunity to compete for the job.

Despite having no NFL experience, Clemens has the best chance to supplant Pennington as the starter. Mangini and general manager Mike Tannenbaum have repeatedly expressed enthusiasm for Clemens’s abilities since choosing him in the second round of the April draft. Mangini even had Clemens take the first snap with the first-string offense at the first practice of the Jets’ off-season mini-camp, though he insisted that nothing should be read into that.

Mangini was an assistant coach in New England when Bill Belichick handed the starting quarterback job to the youngster Tom Brady over the veteran Drew Bledsoe while Bledsoe recuperated from an injury.That worked out very well for the Patriots, so Mangini won’t hesitate to promote Clemens over Pennington if he thinks the former has what it takes to start as a rookie. Clemens, in fact, resembles a young Brady; at Oregon, he excelled in the short passing game, displayed solid mechanics, and lacked any extraordinary size or speed.

Clemens, who threw for 2,406 yards, 19 touchdowns, and four picks while completing 64% of his passes before missing the final four games of his senior season after breaking his leg, entered the draft with little fanfare, going as the 17th pick of the second round. But the truth is, he might start more games than any other rookie quarterback in the NFL this year.All three quarterbacks selected in the first round — Vince Young of the Tennessee Titans, Matt Leinart of the Arizona Cardinals, and Jay Cutler of the Denver Broncos — go into the season as backups behind veterans who are more firmly entrenched as starters than Pennington.

Clemens at least knows he has a spot on the roster — teams hardly ever cut second-round draft picks. The conventional wisdom says Pennington will definitely make the team as well, and Ramsey and Bollinger will compete for the third and final roster spot. But if Clemens wins the starting job in training camp, the Jets would have to start to question whether they want to keep Pennington around at all.

Both Ramsey and Bollinger are younger and make less money than Pennington. Bollinger struggled in nine games as a starter last year, but he improved late in the year and gave the Jets the kind of mobility at quarterback that Pennington never could. Ramsey has experience running an offense similar to Schottenheimer’s with the Washington Redskins. The Jets might just decide that they would rather build for the future with Clemens, Bollinger, and Ramsey, and sever ties with Pennington completely.

A more likely result is that Pennington will end his career with the Jets as he started it — sitting on the bench. It would close out the New York career of a player who just a few years ago looked like the first franchise quarterback the Jets have had since Joe Namath. But it would also begin the Kellen Clemens era. Jets fans shouldn’t count on Clemens to lead the league in passing in his first year as a starter, but they can probably count on him starting more than 37 games in the next six years.

Mr. Smith is a regular writer for FootballOutsiders.com.


The New York Sun

© 2024 The New York Sun Company, LLC. All rights reserved.

Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. The material on this site is protected by copyright law and may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used.

The New York Sun

Sign in or  Create a free account

By continuing you agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use