http://www.newsday.com/sports/print...705jul29,0,3832336.story?coll=ny-sports-print Once the golden boy, he has no guarantees under Jets' new coach BY KEN BERGER Newsday Staff Writer July 29, 2006 Once Chad Pennington removed his helmet and shoulder pads and walked off the field, to his adoring fans on the other side of the chain-link fence, he must have felt like the Jets' starting quarterback again. He must have felt like the old No. 10. He interacted with autograph-seekers, graciously thanking one of them who said, "Stay healthy this season, Chad. Have a good season." Pennington responded, "Thanks, buddy." But posing for pictures with kids and signing jerseys are all that is left from Pennington's glory days as the quarterback who would lead the Jets to their second Super Bowl title. The first practice of training camp brought with it a renewed dose of reality Friday. Not only is Pennington fighting for his job, he is fighting for his career. Long after the throng of media and fans dispersed, Pennington candidly admitted as much after his latest step on another comeback road. He chose the words "precious" and "finite" to describe his career, sounding like someone desperately trying not to let it slip away. "It's made me appreciate the opportunities that I have as a professional athlete," Pennington said in a quiet moment after practice. "And I think when you're injured, you start to realize how finite your career can be and how quickly it can go. I look back, this is my seventh year, and it's gone by." This is easily the most difficult football challenge he has faced. He is trying to do what perhaps no NFL quarterback has done: return from operations on his throwing shoulder in successive years. "I just want to use this opportunity to show people that even when you get hit in the mouth twice, even when you get stung twice and it looks like there's no light at the end of the tunnel, there is as long as you maintain the right attitude and focus," said Pennington, 30, looking more sturdy and strapping with the 10 pounds of muscle he added in the offseason. His words are the same as those he uttered after the first shoulder injury two years ago, but the body language is not. Dividing the reps with Patrick Ramsey, Kellen Clemens and Brooks Bollinger in what coach Eric Mangini repeatedly has called "an open competition" seems to have knocked Pennington off his emotional pedestal. "I'm not going to lie about it," he said. "It is a little bit difficult." Mangini is dividing the reps equally, a process that could retard the development of the quarterback who eventually wins the job - especially if it's Pennington. "I want the reps. I need the reps," Pennington said. "If I could, I'd take every rep." Mangini said he will name a starter "as soon as someone distinguishes himself." Other than a 64-yard touchdown pass to Jerricho Cotchery Friday morning, a ball that traveled 40 yards in the air, Pennington looked tentative and unsure of himself. His throws at times lacked zip, and his head was down more than it used to be after a play that he missed. "No excuses, no explanations," Pennington said, resurrecting one of Herman Edwards' expressions at a time when the new coach, Mangini, isn't cutting him any slack. "He's not pulling any punches and he's not playing any favorites," Pennington said. "It's made me better." He still spoke about "winning a championship," but his eyes used to burn when he said that. Now it comes across almost as wishful thinking. "All athletes, that's what drives us is to be the best, be a champion, and that's what I want to be known as - as a champion," Pennington said. "The only way to do that is to win the ring." As he began trudging through the players' parking lot toward his next meeting and next round of rehab exercises, Pennington was asked, "Is this your team?" He turned around and said, "T.B.D."
wow even as a non pennington guy.. i have to admit this article is harsh i feel bad for him.but thats bunsiness.
I think the piece reflects a harsh reality for Chad. Not only is he fighting for his starter's job but if he has a bad camp he is even money to get cut. That's just the way the NFL is, and should be. In a sport where the average career is under 4 years and the average player has nearly a 1/7 chance to suffer a career ending injury each season there's no room for sentimentality on a good team.
I love Chad Pennington, but it is the harsh reality that he is fighting for not only his job but his career, his pride, his passion, and the game he loves. Now we also have to remember that this was his first real practice in 10 months and that the two bad throws that were intercepted were two of his very first three. We also have to remember that Chad Pennington has always looked shaky early in training camp, but strives in game situation. I truly hope he can pull it off (it would make a good movie wouldn't it? haha), though I know the chances are very slim.
For CP to succeed he needs to just put everything into perspective and work on his strengths. I.E. the play action fake and selling plays. Eventually we will see if his arm gets stronger as time goes, or maybe it doesn't...it's just something we have to wait and see. There's nothing worse than having the fire to make a play but not the ability. It'll get yourself injured every time. I hope it pans out for CP. The man has heart and a great perspective on life and his career. That's someone who I want leading the team...if it doesn't happen then make way for the future and show club loyalty...maybe QB coach is in the future for him.
Play action fakes require a running game that is effective. do you see us having a effective running game in 06?
It is quite possible that we come out of the gate against Tennessee and surprise them with tenacity and aggressiveness...I think we will surprise alot of teams that play us early...Our running game will be fine against teams equal to us in talent level, however we might run into a brick wall in week 2. Then again...we never had a good run game against an elite D.
I think the article is just realistic. He is not only coming back from serious surgery, but he's going to be playing behind a new, inexperienced o-line. Mangini wants to see if he can survive in this offense, what looks like a tough year. Right now, it looks like they have an arm in Ramsey, a head in Pennington, legs in Bollinger and a future in Clemens. Best case is their defense does well and they can win a bunch of games with less than 20 points, because I don't see them ringing up a bunch of points this year. And I want nothing more than to be proven wrong...
hmy: even with the fakes, teams know he has no arm. they can send pressure like the raiders did or flood the middle with defenders like the pats did and dare him to throw outs which will result in picks. :sad: plus, with him in there, they can load up the box to shut down the run. face it, he's more of a liability than an asset.
i just got back from training camp today (where curtis, laveranues, ben graham, nugent, mccareins, and others all signed autographs, btw), and for the first hour or so chad looked shaky and most noticeably he looked like he lost his swagger. But then at some point he really seemed to turn it around, made a bunch of nice throws, and started clapping and yelling in the huddle, in a good way. Then when Mangini made the offense run laps for committing a false start, chad led the way and was about 10 feet ahead of anyone else. Almost like he decided to act like the starter and be a leader whether the job was his or not. Dont know how much this reflects on anything real, but it was nice to see
