I urge all the Kellen Clemens advocates on here to do some research and go back and read some of his scouting reports from 2006. Clemens has NEVER been able to throw a respectably accurate deep ball, even in college. He was described as "erratic" and having "marginal athleticism that limits every aspect of play". He "needs development in the area of reading defenses and locating secondary recievers, and gets frustrated when the offense is not operating at full efficiency". People cry foul that he has never been given a fair chance. Sorry, but at the NFL level you have to make your own opportunities. Has he not participated in 3 training camps which included 2 open QB competitions? Don't you think he would have shown SOME promise over the last 3 years if he was worth a hill of beans? It was widely reported that he actually took a step backward from 2007's training camp to last years camp. And people really want this guy under center for our beloved Jets? I don't understand the love affair.
So you took only the negative comments from one scouting report ... that's a bit biased, no? How about a link to the report? How about looking at more than one? How about considering he's been in the same system for 3 years and had a chance to learn under Pennington and Favre? Rookie QB's don't win QB competitions with veteran starters. That was hardly a competition it was a joke. In 2007 Pennington was handed the spot and there was no competition. In 2008 Favre was brought in and we never found out who would win. Reports had Kellen coming on strong after starting off poorly. He deserves a shot is all I'm saying. Let's see if he can hack it behind a real O-line.
There is obviously a reason, whatever it may be, that he wasn't a 1st round pick. What I have never understood and still don't is why he went so high in the 2nd. He is a terrible passer and that has nothing to do with the offensive line. He misses targets by 5 yards as often as not.
I remember reading people saying he probably would have been a first round pick had he not been injured his senior season. Who knows how accurate they were. edit: http://bleacherreport.com/articles/...seems-like-a-no-brainer-for-the-new-york-jets
Do you even know how many GREAT QB's were drafted after the 1st round? Put it this way...There are more busts drafted in the 1st round than HOF QB's who were drafted in the 1st round...Alot more busts.
Some even say that Kellen was the most NFL ready QB out of Vince Young, Leinart and Cutler. Kellen had NO rushing attack along with NO pass protection for the simple fact we had Will Montgomery (Who?) as our starting LG with Anthony Clement (Are you kidding me?) as our starting RT. Where are they now? Exactly. Ferguson and Mangold were both only 2nd year starters for that O-Line. I would LOVE to see Kellen with a strong rushing attack with Jones/Washington with a HOF LG in Faneca on the O-Line with a veteran player in Woody as our starting RT, lets not forget that Ferguson and Mangold will both be 4 year starters which is a huge upgrade from that 07 disaster. Kellen was a 2nd year backup when he was thrown into the fire, he was just about a rookie in the league because this was his 1st time starting in 2007 and lets not forget that Pennington gave the keys to Kellen when the Jets had just about no chance to make the playoffs after that horrid start. Since then, Kellen has had a chance to learn behind a veteran QB in Pennington who is known for making good reads and Favre who is a HOF QB who is known for being a gun slinger...Since then, the Jets have upgraded the O-Line in a huge way I can go on and on...Kellen deserves another chance, a fair chance @ that. Not even Brady or Manning would have done anything special with that Jets "Offense"
Wow the misinformation people spew out there. Clemens fell to the second round because he was coming back from a leg injury. The Jets took a chance on that, and Clemens recovered, so the Jets were lucky there. But every commentator I read at the time said Clemens likely would have gone in the first round otherwise.
It's wide open this year. If either Clemens or Ratliff are ever going to win us a Super Bowl--or even get us to the playoffs--they should be able to win the starting job given the fact that there is no incumbent this year. Simple as that. Let them battle it out and hope one of them can do the job.
I'm more a fan of giving Ratliff the chance but I do believe we have the QB on our team right now for the upcoming year. Whether that Kellen or Brett thats up to Rex.
I seem to recall a divisional opponent that had 6th round pick that couldn't beat out Drew Bledsoe somewhere around 3 Superbowls ago...
Interesting I never knew he was a Heisman hopeful. I knew he had a decent college career before the injury but i didnt know he was so highly thought of. That being said he does deserve a shot to win the job. The eight or so games he played behind that swiss cheese line cannot be used as an argument against him. He had absolutely no time to throw the ball and when he did, Steelers and Ravens game, he looked decent not great but decent. Now if he loses the job to Ratliff then so be it, but this kid deserves a shot a the starting spot.
Exactly... If not for the injury, Kellen could have been the 1st QB drafted because he was "that good" @ the college level. As a Jets fan...I'm all for going after Cutler, Im all for drafting Sanchez, anything to make this team better at the QB position, and @ the same time, Im all for giving Kellen a 2nd chance because he's earned it. He's sat behind Pennington and Favre for a long time now, he has yet to hold out, he has yet to miss practices, put it this way...He's done everything a young QB needs to do inorder to get a 2nd chance. I believe with a solid running game, a MUCH improved O-Line with a pass catching TE like Keller...I feel this kid can be something good in this league. Lets not forget that Martys boy has more experience as an OC now than he did in 07 (duhh)
I'm not particularly high on Clemens based on the games that he's started to date, but you have to think that if the new staff decides to keep him here than they must see something promising in him. If he winds up as the starter than that will just mean that he proved himself to the coaches in the offseason, which you can't really knock. We just have to hope that Rex and company have a good eye for who is going to fit best into their plan for the season. They've been making some great moves so far, imo, so I have confidence that they'll make a wise move at QB as well.
A little searching around can find all sorts of positives and negatives on the guy. Since we have a few negatives at the top, I'll throw in a few positives: " Gil Brandt ? ?In my evaluation of the guy, I think he has really good mechanics and good velocity on the ball, which is a big thing when you play in a stadium that has a lot of wind like (the Jets) do. I think it was a good pick. I?d be really surprised if he doesn?t end up being a pretty good player for them.? Ron Jaworski ? ?He can be the quarterback of the future ? it would not surprise me if he?s a Tom Brady-type quarterback ? I think he?s going to be a real good pro. If you had mentioned Tom Brady a few years ago, people would have said, ?Who?? Well, I mention Kellen Clemens because I think he has that type of ability and will surprise people in the NFL.? Clemens also tied Leinart in his Wonderlic score 35 good enough for third total among QBs and the highest among QBs drafted in the first two rounds." Lets see, Leinart and Young are still on the bench and they were drafted earlier. Cutler was drafted after those 2 and hes playing. Irrelevant. Some of the analyst also had Clemens going in the 3rd and 4rth rounds, one had him at the 6th. Doesn't guarantee the guy is a starter or bust. We have a perfect situation here this year for Kellen or Brett to have success. Doesnt mean either one of them will, but odds are against both of them failing. As long as they both get a fair shot at the job, Ill support whomever Rex names as our starter.
Great point. I am generally reluctant to try and read the tea leaves of the little dribblets of info we get as to what the CS and FO are really thinking, but we HAVE to assume from the fact that Schott was retained after a discussion with Ryan that the subject of the current Qb's on the roster came up in that discussion. NO WAY it would not have. So if you were Ryan, how would you feel if Schott said either he has no idea whether Clemens can be an effective starter, or in fact has concluded he cannot be? Wouldn't you then say then why is he on the team? And if it was the no idea response, why would you have confidence in Schott's ability to serve as OC? Yes, one has to read between the lines, but it is highly improbable that Schott said either of those things, but instead must have expressed some confidence in Clemens, and perhaps Ratliff as well. Add to that that (despite the talk about Cutler) the Jets have said and done everything to indicate they are comfortable with Clemens. Perhaps not as comfortable as they would be if they could pick up Cutler at a reasonable price, but comfortable enough.
If I'm not mistaken, Oregon has a history of hyping their guys for the Heisman, too. Didn't they buy a giant billboard of Joey Harrington in New York City his senior year? Not that it really matters, but being a "one time Heisman hopeful", especially from Oregon, is kind of dubious.
Something of an unfair statement, given the considerably smaller class of HOF QBs than that of 1st round QBs. Let's put it this way: more QBs win the Super Bowl coming from the 1st round of the Draft than lower rounds or UDFAs. Having said that, the two biggest reasons why future stars end up drafted too low in hindsight are underexposure and injury. In Kellen's case, I thought he was outstanding in the several games I saw him play at Oregon. He only slipped to the 2nd round, and only that far because of injury.
Hey..Im down on him now..but I agree wsw. And if you want to go by one line in a scouting report..hate to beat something to death but go read Bradys scouting report..the same report that allowed him to drop into the 6th round. I mentioned this in another thread and I will repeat here. There are many many many reasons to want this guy to just be good..not even great...but good. Salary cap...future draft picks are two big ones. If this guy cant succeed for a coach that places so much on defense first..ball control offense..not needing a great qb..just a smart good one..then his days with the Jets are numbered. This is a young qb's dream to not have to score every time you have the ball. To have a damn good offensive line and two very good rb's to take the pressure off..and of course a defense that allows ppg's in the mid teens wouldnt hurt either.