Jets' Clemens on road to winning QB job Posted: May 29, 2008 NEW YORK -- If Kellen Clemens doesn't win the starting quarterback job for the New York Jets, it won't be because of a lack of preparation. So said the third-year quarterback and coach Eric Mangini after an offseason team workout this week at Hofstra. "The things that I was working on in February and March and April are showing up out here on the field," Clemens said after an impressive performance throwing the ball with the first unit in seven-on-seven drills Wednesday. "To me, it's encouraging." That work included both the mind and body. "I did a lot of film work, not only on myself but on some of the other top quarterbacks in the league," Clemens said. "Kind of comparing and contrasting, trying to take bits of things that they do and just working on drills." Clemens spent hours working on his footwork and throwing the ball into a 5-foot wide by 7-foot tall accuracy net at the Jets' training facility. "I'd take an equipment guy with me, and I'd just be throwing at targets." The net, Clemens said, "doesn't lie. It tells you, did you hit it or did you not?" Clemens' arm strength was evident Wednesday, his day to work with the first unit. The highlight of the day: A tight 30-yard spiral that found Laveranues Coles streaking down the sideline. Clemens went into the offseason knowing where he needed to improve to beat out veteran Chad Pennington for the starting job but said he "needed a road map to get there." Quarterbacks coach Brian Daboll and offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer provided that map, preparing what Mangini called a voluminous "tip sheet" for each quarterback. It covered "all different areas that they can improve in," Mangini said. "Some of them are bigger areas, some are more subtle. ... Here's specifically what we think you can do better and a plan in place for how you can do that." Neither Clemens nor Pennington staked a claim to the starting job last season. The Jets were 1-7 with Pennington as the starter, 3-5 with Clemens in charge for the final eight games. Mangini said he is in no hurry to make a decision between the two this offseason, saying he won't know who has the edge until watching both in preseason game situations. The Jets open the preseason Aug. 7 in Cleveland against the Browns. "Whether it's heavy pressure or situational awareness, you do the best you can to simulate that stuff," Mangini said. "But you just can't simulate it until it happens." Mangini says both quarterbacks will receive an equal shot at the starting job. After the first round of offseason training activities (OTAs), Mangini said both had 68 pass attempts. "Basically, it's been 50-50 across the board," he said. Bill Eichenberger is a staff writer for Sporting News. E-mail him at beichenberger@sportingnews.com.
Whatever. Everyone's a vastly improved in May. Everyone's in the best shape of their career in June. Everyone's excited to start hitting in July. Everyone's chomping at the bit for the season to start in August. And then football season starts. People get injured. Players play to their talent level. Guys looking for "bust-out" years do pretty much what everyone expected before they became "vastly improved" in May. . . . . and somewhere in Santa Monica, Curtis Martin may still be running hills, between planting shrubs and cleaning his gutters.
it wont end until one QB emerges and wins games... then which ever QB is doing so, those supporters will attack the non-supporters of how they were right all along. One of these QBs needs to leave the team or retire before it all goes away.
