Day 6: the afternoon practice This quarterback race is starting to remind me of some of the classes from my high school and college days; maybe from some of yours, too. You know, those classes where you maybe didn?t quite have a handle on the material for the first, second and third tests, tanked the mid-term and then really, really had to cram for that final to get some kind of grade. Kellen Clemens needs to get to the final (s) - meaning games - and he needs them quickly because after this evening?s practice this quarterback derby is starting to get away from him. He threw another interception, telegraphing a pass to Wallace Wright about 15 yards down the sideline that Darrelle Revis read from the start and easily picked. That makes it five interceptions for Clemens and zero for Pennington. Now, there was a sixth interception and there?s some debate on whether to count it. Because the quarterbacks are to finish each play out, Clemens, after being ?sacked,? tossed a ball up for grabs in the back of the end zone that Eric Barton (E.B., again?!?) intercepted. Let?s keep it at 5-0 in interceptions because in a game situation, he would have not had a chance to throw the ball anyway. Besides, 5-0, 6-0, whatever; doesn?t matter at this point. Clemens is behind. Is this over? No, because some guys are just better in practice and these still aren?t ?game? situations. But I would say the Cleveland game can?t get here soon enough for K.C. * The evening was a ?review? of previous things covered which meant mainly situations; two-minute, goal line, Hail Marys, etc. During the Hail Marys, neither Pennington or Clemens threw a touchdown, though with eight DB?s back, you?d have a better chance of hearing ?Keith Olbermann? and ?criticized Barack Obama tonight? in the same sentence (we don?t do PC here and I?m a registered Indy, so whatever) than a touchdown getting thrown. * Anyway, James Ihedigbo knocked down a couple of the Hail Marys, but the one thing that stood out from that drill was that when the quarterbacks lined up at the 45 ? meaning they let loose from the 50 ? Pennington?s toss reached the end zone. Clemens? pass came down at the 2. Does Clemens still have the stronger arm? Yes. I?m just reporting. I?ll also report this: Pennington?s best play was a 20-yard touch pass down the left sideline that Brad Smith made a great grab of over Drew Coleman, whose coverage was fine. As I furiously wrote down that sequence, Jets PR person Jared Winley gently let me know the official on the far side of the field ruled Smith to be out of bounds. Striving for accuracy as we do, Winley?s contribution is appreciated. * An entertaining part of the practice ? oh, heck, it?s all entertaining of course ? was when the Jets worked on their version of Cal-Stanford. If you don?t get the reference, Google it. Just add the word ?laterals? and then don?t ever come back to this blog. We jest, of course. So the situation was the offense was down 31-28 with eight seconds left and the ball at its 32. And so it was a Clemens handoff to Leon Washington who tossed to Jerricho Cotchery who tossed to Wallace Wright and back to Washington and, hey! there?s Clemens with it, and, whoaaaa, Bryan Thomas knocks down Clemens? cross-field ? but legal lateral ? throw but doesn?t cover it up so the ball is still free and? I lost track at that point, but seven more laterals ensued as the ball got just inside the 20 with the madness finally stopped when Thomas fell on the loose ball at the 35 or so. When Pennington?s group tried it, there were just five laterals before the ball hit the ground where Cameron Worrell recovered. * Speaking of Bryan Thomas, he became one of the first defenders to successfully cover Dustin Keller this camp. In an 11-on-11 drill, Keller looked to come open in the seam but Thomas, dropping back in coverage, stayed within reach of the increasingly-looking fleet-footed tight end and poked the ball away at the last moment. Nothing wrong with Clemens? pass there, just a nice play by Thomas. * Tight end Jason Pociask has quietly had a good camp. I can?t remember him dropping many and his juggling end zone catch tonight of a Brett Ratliff pass was particularly good. Tight end A.J. Schable did not have a solid evening, dropping a pass early in practice, then false-starting later to earn a penalty lap. * Laveranues Coles spent the evening practice on an exercise bicycle. He did practice in the morning so I don?t imagine there?s an issue there. We?ll see tomorrow. Also worth checking on is David Harris, who missed both workouts, but was on the sideline and spent some time on the bike, too. D?Brickashaw Ferguson got to sit out this morning?s practice as a reward for his offseason accomplishments in the weight room but he was back this evening. Someone earlier asked about Coles; good camp so far. I?ve probably not mentioned him as much as I should but I supposed I?ve tried to focus on some of the lesser-proven receivers. Coles has made several one-handed catches and he did the same things in the OTAs and minicamp. I really believe Coles and Cotchery combo is going to be a dangerous one. And Brad Smith is back in the picture as the No. 3 guy, but Stuckey is still ahead I?d say. At least that's what I told Mangini when he asked me (it's late, ok?) * A couple of nice bursts out of Jesse Chatman, particularly during an under two-minute situation when the offense led 16-7 and was in ?protect? mode. On third down, Chatman blew through a hole on the left side and went for about 30 yards. An aside to loyal blog poster Bryan, Tony Richardson will help this running game immensely I think. Totally selfless and happy to be a lead blocker. * Finally (yes, we?re definitely in rambling mode here), Dmb asked about Bill Callahan?s influence on the offensive line. We have not yet talked to Callahan ? we will get access at some point this preseason ? but based on something Alan Faneca said today, dmb, I think it?s more tweak than outright change in terms of blocking schemes. ?He?s a great technician,? Faneca said. ?He does a great job of not only coaching the big picture, but the little things. Sometimes, even a guy like myself, an 11-year vet, may not have thought about in a while and may not have been doing ? a hand placement or a foot placement. He?s very wise in the game.? Speaking of wise, this was a long post for a ?specialty? practice, and it would be wise to end it now. Just one practice tomorrow, at 1:30 p.m. I also forgot to mention earlier today that Newsday?s NFL columnist Bob Glauber was in Hempstead this morning and I am sure that produced something fascinating for tomorrow?s paper. Check it out on in the paper or on newsday.com, or I?ll provide a link to it here tomorrow if I like it. I mentioned to Bob today that I thought it was nice, him acknowledging a second football team in New York. Ever hear crickets after saying something you think is funny? Get it all the time. Got it from Bob there. Time to hit the lights at Hofstra. __________________
^ BT is the only guy in the right place at the right time to stop a play made by Keller? Speaks volumes for a rookie to do that to a defense that has looked good thus far. Maybe the kid will justify the 31st overall pick. I hope so, I was one of the few who loved the pick on draft day.
Clemens has me TRIPPIN'... It's early but holy sh*t Noodle is outplaying him from what reports everywhere are saying.
Great news about CP's throw reaching the end zone, i have always said that we needed CP's pitch awareness and game control with Clemens strong arm. Pennington seems to have improved conditioing on his arm and is throwing the ball longer. The outright Chad haters will dislike him even if he is the complete package it seems but most of us will probably be delighted with the way he is playing this pre season.
Remeber the Bengalsgame from last year, when he threw that deep bomb right into Coles Breadbasket for 6? If he has time for the propper throwingmotion and space to step into his throw, he can get it downfield. But that rarely happens in the NFL. When he´s pressured or can´t step into his throw or has to get rid of the rock quickly, his only option left is the dink-and-dump and that´s what makes him week.
I remember that GJF, but then Clemens threw a bunch on INT last season and some of them he has time to take a good look, Pennington doesn't often throw picks when he has time, and he will have a lot more time this season with the new O-Line and Fullback. Clemens is running with the same offense the same line as Pennington in TC but seems to be throwing countless INT, Pennington is clean so far. I just don't have faith in Clemens, nothing i saw last season or so far in TC has given me anything to think about. I do think that some Jets fans hate Pennington just for the sake of hating Pennington.
I expected this from the beginning. Not so much Clemens playing terribly, but Pennington looking good in camp. Pennington ALWAYS looks good in camp, and, unfortunately, if the CS determines the starting QB based purely on the outcome of the TC competition, and not on potential, and considering what is best for the future of the franchise, Pennington is GOING TO BE THE STARTER... This means we are going to endure a limited offense, and, even if Pennington cuts back on the mistakes, and we're winning some games using a ball-control offense, our ceiling is going to be very, very low (10 wins, and an early playoff exit, as usual).... I want this franchise to start moving FORWARD at the QB position, not sitting in neutral....
Chad didn't look good in camp the past 2 years, 2 years ago he played well and last year he did not. Chad is healthy(for now) and when he's healthy he's a good QB. It's adisappointing to read how poorly KC has been though, he was awful last year and didn't improve at all but after getting that experience I expected him to make great strides this camp and so far he hasn't.
Completely agree, we will know more when we get into some pre season games, but if he keeps throwing picks then can you blame the coaches for picking Pennington? i sure don't. Its one thing moving forward, its nother to move forward in the wrong direction, the wrong direction being Clemens, and playing him just to give the impression we are moving forward when realistically were not.
This is a point that hasn't been made enough. I agree with you. If Clemens is so bad that he can't beat out Pennington this year, then we endure watching Pennington one more year and then another QB is drafted. It's that simple. I'm a Ratliff fan so I don't care who is behind Center, I just know that the rest of the team has to make him better, not the other way around.
Well I'm also a big fan of Ratcliff and looking forward to seeing him in action this pre season at some point, everything i hear is that he is making vast improvement which is more than i can say for Clemens. I don't dislike him but i want whats best for the Jets and going with Clemens i feel could be a mistake which will alst a fair few years. If Florida take a NCAA title this year we could see Tim Tebow declare for the draft, and if we suck this year we could have a run at him. :beer:
I'm really getting concerned about Clemens...like I said all offseason. Pennington will be the starter in 2008.
folks, its not whether CP can hit the end zone from the 50...... IMO, CP gives opposing defenses all sorts of opportunities to gain that extra go..... from the time he receives the ball from center to the release, CP is very methodical and tends to be almost too mechanical. It is very smooth but lacks the urgency that can give the defense that split second hesitation. we started seeing it in 06, saw a bit more in 07, and will likely see plenty of it this year if he is the starter......defenses are going to try to isolate their 2 best corners - one on one with coles and cothery - and give them the freedom to jump his 10-15 yard passes. of course the jets are fully aware of this and thats why they have improved the TE and RB positions - more QB friendly options - especially for CP. that is the biggest risk with pennington and you are not going to see that at camp, but we will when it counts. jil
I agree with some of this, but I wouldn't call the offense totally limited. What has limited us of late is barely any running game at all and an Offensive line that was as porous as a hair net. Combine that with a inherent inability to consistenly stop the run on Defense and all of this helped to catalize the focal point at Pennington and then Clemens. With our FA, coaching, and draft additions, one would sincerely hope that we are significantly better in the points just mentioned for this year or many will be scrutinized, held accountable, and could even lose theirs jobs. This is a new year and I am glad there is a QB competition. While Clemens's performance thus far is worrying, it is still a bit early. Pennington looking good is not a surprise - he is a veteran and this is no contact. Possibly his benching mid-season last year may have served as a wake up call and he worked extremely hard during the off season - maybe even harder than Clemens did. Let's see how each does in some pre-season games. Let's see who seems the most in control. Last year, Pennington had his worst pre-season of his career, and it carried over to the start of the regular season. Maybe this year will be different. My point is that while Chad may not be proficient at the long ball, when he does not have to carry the team, he does not trun the ball over as often and makes good decisions. I have yet to see that from Clemens, but I am hoping for it. Nevertheless, I want the QB in at the start of the season who gives us the very best chance to win. I also, bytheway, look forward to seeing Ratliffe and hopefully, some of Ainge, too. From what I hear, Ratliffe is turning some heads.
I have been on record that the QB position is completely overblown by the media, fans and more specifically Jet fans. W/ that said, I don't think I can take another year w/ CP behind center. The low risk safety valve dump offs over the last few years have taken a toll. The jets are NOT a fun team to watch w/ him behind center. The offense is held back schematically and frankly it gives the team an overall "soft" image. It goes against everything I believe about football to overblow the QB position...w/ that said if CP is the starter, I may take a year off from watching the jets. Id rather Clemens set an nfl record for # of interceptions than see Pennington pass for 130 yards game w/ an average of 4 yards per completion.
Young QB's throw picks if they have any balls. Why is this so over blown? If the team really thinks this is a win now situation, they are going to make a move for Favre. If they really want to hold back Clemens for a hold the fort 8 or 9 win season with Pennington, Tannenbaum and Mangini should be fired.
I want to see Clemens win the starting job. Not because I hate Pennington, but because it's time to find a younger QB. With that said, if this continues for much longer I want the best QB to win the job.
There's a difference between airing it out and throwing the occasional pick, and staring recievers down (which seems to be Clemmens problem) and throwing picks. Kellen's big strong arm won't help this team one bit if he's "telegraphing" where the ball is being thrown.
