With all due respect to Curtis Martin, I do believe he has been in decline through most of Chad's productive years. And if not that, one could easily argue that Herm and Hackett's playcalling limited Curtis and Chad's production also. My point is, we really don't know what Chad would be like behind a really solid O-line (we're almost there) and with a young, strong, talented RB. If we could ever acquire a Reggie Bush-type RB or at least a reasonably close 2nd, could you imagine what that would do to compliment Chad's carve-'em-up passing game? We'd be moving the chains like there's no tomorrow.
The 64-yard shovel "pass" to Washington was a thing of beauty. It even half-assed fooled the cameraman. The Dolphins were blitzing and ran right by him, then turned and said "WTF?" And when Pete Kendall was asked about the blocking required for that particular play, he said: "We didn't block anybody. The ball was snapped and he was gone!" You gotta love it!
Its a good situation for the Jets. I am pretty sure we won't see Ramsey next year. It seems as if Mangini feels confidenet with Chad so he won't have a problem with Chad being the QB next year. How many years did Chad sit out b4 being the qb and he was drafted in the first round. Clemens could wait.
This is not a monkey wrench. This is almost the best-case scenario. Chad comes back strong and takes charge of the team for the present and the foreseeable future. Clemens learns, and then goes up to #2 QB next year. Chad keeps the job until he loses it (and I'm like Bill Parcells: I don;t have a crystal ball -- so I can't tell you when that will be), Clemens comes in ready to go like Chad did in '02. Don't look like no monkey wrench to me...
I think the FO loves the problem of Chad being healthy and leading them to the playoffs. There is absolutely no rush to get Clemens in there. I do hope when he does play though that he can throw it harder than Tony Kornheiser's dog.
I watched Clemens in person at TC in August and believe me, he can toss the football. When he's under center, it's hard to watch anything else because you can't believe it's a rookie in there. I remember sitting near another Jets fan who must have been thinking the same thing because he said out loud, "Is that Clemens in there? Holy sh*t! He looks like a pro who's been running the first team all year!" The kid has presence and a lightening fast delivery. After you watch Chad for awhile, you tend to forget how awesome it is to see a guy with real zip on the delivery. As far as all the other "intangibles" and even such tangibles as reads and decisions, that I don't know. Chad really shines in all the other departments and it's hard to imagine anyone doing a better job (smart decisions, leadership qualities, relationships with others, etc.). If Chad checks out medically at the end of the season, with no complications or further injury and gets a green light to work out and strengthen the arm, watch him do nothing every single day in the off-season except prepare himself for August. He knows this is his window and the chance may never come again.
Pennington is an injury liability. Sure he'll start all 16 this year, but that doesn't erase his past injury history. Clemens should beat him out this year. I gasp every time Pennington lobs the football hoping it won't be picked off or a receiver won't go down with an injury.
And maybe he will. Let the best QB start. I'm just saying, don't necessarily assume Chad can't get a good deal of arm-strength back through supervised, modern sports training. If he does, Clemens won't be able to match the other qualities Chad brings to the table.
This coaching staff does not care about politics or the media or the fans when it comes to what players to put in. They will put in the players that give the Jets the best chance of winning. If it's Chad, he'll start and, if it's Clemens, he'll start. Next season, the best QB will play. But the Jets can definitely afford both QBs so I doubt the front office is really all that pissed off.
We could do worse than Pennington and Clemens. Give me a real solid O-line and a hell-raising running game and look out!
