I voted O'Brien. Penny had more a "winner's mentality" but O'Brien had more a pocket presence and a much, much better arm. It's too bad he spent 30 percent of his career on his ass. When he had time to throw the ball he was a fucking stud.
Really? The guy was as statuesque as they come. There is a reason O'Brien holds the dubious distinction of most career rushing attempts without ever scoring a touchdown in league history.
I was thinking the same thing. How great was Toon? When O'Brien had time to throw and those guys down the field it was so much fun to watch. Problem was when it got cold at the Meadowlands that part of the game didn't click for us. Most of those highlights are early season games, except for a few.
If O'Brien was a few years older it would have been great to watch him play with Walker for a decade instead of three years (85, 86 & 88).
What's all this O'Brien love? He was deer in the headlights under pressure. Slowfooted in the pocket. He had an arm. That's about it. There is more to the position than throwing it. Any QB is going to get pressured. It''s what you do under pressure.
Though I voted for O'Brien, I was a big fan of Chad's as well, a smart quaterback, a bit fragile, but smart.... [YOUTUBE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oJ4xd6TamH8[/YOUTUBE]
The guy was on the run all the time. Our OL was pretty, pretty awful back then. Sweeney was a good C, the rest of them were mediocre, at best. Fucking Jeff "false start" Criswell might be one of my all time hated Jets.
id go o brien chad gets alot of love from us but he really only had 1 truly good season (2002) fact is he could never stay healthy and while he had great accuracy and was as smart as they came his lack of arm strength always held the offense back, everytime the jets scored it was always a 8 min drive, which is great with a lead but the jets had no ability to complete big plays with chad under center
I got Chad here if it's only for is gamesmanship. I also have better recollection of the Pennington years. I once had a conversation or debate with Kim Bokamper arguing the point that if O'Brien had Duper and Clayton he would have had Marino-ish numbers (wishful thinking on my part)
Pennington all the way. O'Brien could make almost any pass in the league if you gave him time. However, this guy had no pocket presence. Would constantly go down when he had the time to unload the ball for an incomplete pass. Also, lots of times he has time to make the pass & he just lofts it in there nice & soft & lays out his receiver to take a big hit. So many of those big hits Toon absorbed was from O'Brien leading him right into the defender. O'Brien on Parcell's team would not be going to the AFC championship. This has to be a case of nostalgia makes ppl remember the positives without the negatives.
O'Brien outdueled Marino a few times because both teams lacked top defenses. Against shitty defenses O'Brien can hang w/ any of the elite qb. The problem w/ O'Brien always comes to play when there's pressure.
How do you outduel a guy when you only throw for 174 yards? Yes, O'Brien threw 3 TDs, but again he only threw for 174 yards. I cannot classify that 1988 game as a passing duel. The Jets won that game because of interceptions more than they did brilliant passing from O'Brien. When I think of passing duels I mostly think of games where each passer throws for over 300 yards.
That magical 2002 season seals it for me with regards to Chad. Both QBs that weren't appreciated as much as they should have unfortunately as well.
_ 174 passing yards is nothing special. It'd be like a pitcher going 7 innings and allowing 4 or 5 runs. I couldn't say that that guy was in a pitchers' duel regardless of what the other pitcher did. I actually do believe that there does have to be fancy passing yardage totals on both sides for the game to be considered a passing duel. Maybe I am in the minority for thinking along those lines.
How is this for a duel then? Ken O'Brien 09/21/1986 New York Jets vs Miami Dolphins W 51-45 29/43 479 yards 4 TDs 1 INT 126.0 passer rating NFL Record: 927 Combined yards passing. Marino had 448. This was Ken O'Brien's 8th best game by passer rating.
