Well said. Everyone needs to lay off the haterade for a while. He has weaknesses. So does every other QB. Chad's overall skill set is still very good, and I would take him over at least 15 other starting QB's in the league.
And all of you guys supporting Chad just aren't listening. Not one of the Chad detractors is calling for him to be benched right this minute. We all realize he gives us the best shot to win RIGHT NOW. We also realize that: 1) His arm is worthless for a NFL QB. 2) He is arguably the most intelligent QB in the sport. 3) He throws ducks even on "quick strikes" out to the flat. 4) His receivers are getting brutalized thanks to his floaters. It's you sunshiners that refuse to actually listen to an argument. Does Chad get credit for playing with the flu? Of course he does, and anyone who doesn't give him credit for that is just being a jerkoff. However, I have yet to see anyone take away any credit for his having heart. HOWEVER, the flu does not excuse his ineffectual arm. Throwing floaters is going to hurt us. Probably not this week, but it WILL in the playoffs. You think the Ravens are going to let Chad get away with a ball 15 feet in the air, and only 10 forward? While I seldom agree with 117, he is absolutely right this time. The fact that Chad played with the flu seems to make everything else okay for his supporters. Fine, if it were just one game where he threw up floaters, and it came out that he was suffering, I highly doubt any sensible fan would have anything bad to say. BUT IT'S EVERY DAMNED WEEK. I love Chad, and if he could just throw the way he did early in the season, he would be our QB for the forseeable future IMO. But he isn't throwing like that. Again, since Jacksonville, he has NOT thrown the ball hard, even on 5-10 yard passes. I don't care how smart you are, at some point, a real defense is going to catch up to that throw. That's who we will play in the playoffs. If Chad's arm strength isn't a problem, why have I seen things like this on the board: "Chad is tired from playing through a full season for the first time." "Chad played through the flu." "Chad played in the rain." Excuses. That's is ALL those are. You only make them when you see a lack of performance. As Herm Edwards showed us, you only need to make excuses when things are going wrong. But I guess some people never learn.
Absolutely. Good call. If people are this miserable at 9-6 with a playoff spot in our grasp, when are they happy?
How does wanting better play out of the QB position equate to being miserable? This would be like me asking someone that said Chad should still be the QB after a particularly horrific loss how they could be happy after a Jets loss. It makes no sense.
Wanting better play and incessant bitching when we've won four of five down the stretch and control our playoff destiny are two different things.
I guess "incessant bitching" is up to personal interpretation. I said several weeks ago that Chad's performance against the Bills and Dolphins down the stretch would tell the story for me and IMO he played poorly in both games. Luckily the Jets were able to escape Miami with the W.
If that was the case, than what is the point of talking about it now, when the season has already been one of the most enjoyable Jets seasons ever & a huge game coming up on Sunday. Chad won't get the respect he deserves on here until the next QB comes in and fails. We all know he doesn't have great arm strength, big freaking deal, it has never cost him or the Jets a game & he has proven multiple times that he could succeed in spite of it. I am so sick of hearing about arm strength, it is by far the most overrated attribute in determining a QBs success.
Where is the "incessant bitching?" I keep hearing the sunshiners repeating the same stale words over and over, but not actually responding to what us detractors are saying. Does Chad's illness excuse him putting Coles and Leon out there to get popped? Does Chad's illness excuse his interceptions in the Red Zone this year? Does Chad's illness excuse his lack of arm strength ever since Jacksonville? It's a legitimate gripe. Every single one of us, and I'm pretty sure I can speak for all of us on this, is ECSTATIC that we are a mere win from the playoffs. I'm pretty sure everyone can agree that Chad was a significant part of it. HOWEVER, his arm still SUCKS. All the brains in the world are NOT going to make up for that when we play defenses that can stop the pass AND the run.
I think it will be interesting to see at Training Camp 2007 whether another offseason of rehab/strengthening from Pennington has paid off. He said something earlier in the year about altering his mechanics to throw with the body more - has he stopped doing that? Is he playing more instinctively? I think he comes into camp as starter this coming year, but needs to be better to stay there.
His arm strength has never cost us a game? Really? What was the final score of the Chicago game? I'll help you out. It was 10-0. Let's have a look at some things that transpired in that game. Hmmm, Urlacher picks off a pass in the end zone. And a lobbed Pennington pass was picked off "easily." Nope, you're right. Chad's never cost us a game.
BINGO! Yes, he has stopped doing that. And if the green tinted glasses didn't cover up what I write, people would have seen I said it has been ever since the thrashing in Jacksonville. There's no reason to believe he COULDN'T keep his job, IF he learned how to stop throwing like a 12 year old girl.
It's all over this board. If you guys put the time and energy into curing cancer that you put into bashing our own QB after we win, you'd probably have saved a lot of lives by now. I don't care if he rolls the ball forward like Ken Stabler, if we end the game with more points than the other team, that's what matters.
Even if it costs us Coles? No one has bothered to answer that question yet, and I've asked it repeatedly.
Watching other teams play is when it really starts to drive me crazy. Seeing a rookie like Cutler make throws that Pennington couldn't make in his dreams really rubs me the wrong way. It's not all about arm strength, but damnit, you can't teach arm strength and it makes up for so many other deficiencies. Pennington and his weak arm have no answer against strong defenses, other then to make sure you don't make a mistake and your running game and/or defense is enough to get the job done.
It's called football, Bro. Ken O'Brien had a rocket for an arm and he shortened Al Toon's career greatly because he constantly threw the ball high and exposed him to brutal hits. How many different QBs were around for Wayne Chrebet's concussions? You catch balls in the NFL you're going to get hit. How about Coles 85-90 catches this year? Or do only the negatives register in your memory?
2... This year. And in his entire career. And if we had a credible Running game, Urlacher probably isnt close to the one he caught.
You can't teach intelligence but you can coach and gameplan around it alot easier then you can a weak arm. Look at Vinny in 98, the guy had talent but was a disappointment for almost his entire career, except when he had guys like Parcells, Henning and Weiss telling him exactly what to do. The Jets have tried to do this with Chad(with much less impressive coaches, I'll admit) and it only takes you so far. I also think Leaf is an unfair player to bring up as he clearly had emotional/psychological issues.
