the problem is most of the people answering are too young, this is not even a real questions, O'Brien was a lot better.
I'd feel a little better with a healthy Pennington at QB........lets not forget that Chad's arm was embarrassingly bad the last couple of years....Obrien had a huge arm but zero mobility and slightly less intelligence than Chad....
Major necro here. Since I never chipped in I'd say when healthy Chad was better but on balance O'Brien was better. They both got not enough protection and they both broke down earlier than they should have as a result. The nice thing about what is going on now is that the OL is obviously a big part of the rebuild. That gives us a better chance of not having the next QB retired early due to injuries.
Exactly, there is really no comparison. Pennington was a game manager but OBrien was the guy you wanted when you needed a score in a hurry.
It's an interesting debate but I'll take Kenny O. The guy had a big arm and the piss poor OL of Mike Haight, Jeff Criswell and the Human Holding Machine Dave Cadigan were among the worst OL's of the time. I think many Jet fans who never saw O'Brien play only know we took him over Marino but never saw the guy play so in their minds they just know Kenny from the mistake made by the Jets. In reality Marino was a much better QB who also had a chip on his shoulder but O'Brien would have had quite a bit of success had he been drafted by Buffalo or Miami. He might not have been a HOF player but he would have been a very good QB and those teams would have looked very smart for drafting him. The Jets biggest mistake wasn't drafting him over Marino, their biggest mistake was not being able to draft the OL to protect him. My memory is a little foggy but I believe O'Brien was the starter for the Cleveland debacle in which Gastineau applied the 4th and 10 late hit on Kosar. I know Ryan started the KC game (to this day the only home Jet playoff win I've ever attended) which was nearly 30 years ago.... sad
Chad Pennington is the only jersey in any sport that I've bought. I miss Chad I hope Geno is close to that accuracy.
I'm going with Pennington. Every year he was healthy we made the playoffs. We won the 2002 division BECAUSE of him. He did not have elite receivers to throw the ball to like O'Brien did. O'Brien had the better arm but Pennington was the better QB.
It was a huge mistake. Marino had the kind of release that made teams pay for rushing the QB. O’Brien could throw the ball with anyone when he had an open site line and could step up, but it wasn't just that the OL sucked. He wasn't good feeling the rush or getting the ball out quickly. Marino not only could unload the ball faster than almost anyone in the history of the game he had great feel for pressure and naturally moved away from it while leaving himself in position to make almost any throw required. Marino was possibly the greatest natural throwing machine in NFL history. This was an outright blown pick. The Jets had already proven you win with a brash over the top QB with outsizes talent. This was a decidedly conservative pick that cost us dearly.
I didn't say it wasn't a mistake, my point was had they been able to put a better Oline around him the mistake would not have been so magnified because there where times when O'Brien looked every bit like an elite QB. I don't know if by drafting Marino the Jets win the SB. Maybe it makes them more respectable and Marino belonged in NY because of his personality but it's not like the Jets drafted Steve Bartkowski or Tony Eason (who later played for us) over Marino. O'Brien had the physical tools to be an elite QB but a combination of bad OL, being gunshy and Joe Walton led to his downfall.
O'Brien and Wes Walker hooked up a ot so he had the deep ball. But Pennington was more accurate on the short pass. True O'B was pressured a lot but he hung Al Toon out to dry with some of his over the middle throws. Poor Al got his bell rung too many times. O'Brien had better skill players around him, but chad had better protection. I like the guy with the arm, usually, but I think in this case i would take Chad.
The eras they played in were different, I think Ken could have played in both were as CP could never hang in the era ken played in. I saw the beginning and the end of both of their careers and I would pick Ken.
I agree with FreeMcneil (an honorable name!) completely. I'm old enough to remember both of their careers and to have really liked them both. (Although this may be nostalgia. After all I spent a good chunk of the mid-80s arguing in high school that it actually WASN'T a mistake to have picked KOB over Marino. "If only he had the Dolphins' O-line . . . " etc. )
O'Brien was the better QB. Durability is a huge factor for being a QB and Chad just completely failed at that.
Having seen both QB's play I would have to say O'Brien. If O'Brien had been in any other draft class other than the one with Marino, or if Marino had been off the board when the Jets picked, O'Brien would be regarded much more highly by Jets fans. Clearly Marino was the better QB, but O'Brien was no slouch, He was AFC player of the year one year and made either 2 or 3 Probowls (and unlike the today the ProBowl back then was a much more serious event taken more seriously by players). Interesting note, for those who believe QB wins is a truly important stat, O'Brien actually had a winning record against the man he's most linked to in history. Against Marino in his career he was 8-7, and the Dolphins through that era were an AFC powerhouse, at least in the regular season. (for people who rank playoff wins as to what makes a good QB, Marino was sub .500 as a playoff QB, 8-10, I guess he sucked as a QB.). But I digress....O'Brien is easily the 2nd best QB in Jets history, Chad is the 3rd best QB in Jets history, in terms of careers, 4th best would probably be Testeverde, then you get the lower tier players like Todd, and Sanchez.
Nope. Put Pennington, on Obriens team. Chad never plays a full season. Put OBrien, in Pennys place. You get a VLT. OBrien, never had an offensive line.
If OBrien ever had an OLine, hed have a ring. They wnet 10-1, OBrien hurt his finger, nad Nosepicker continued to pay him, when Ryan was a viable backup. They finish 10-6.... Then Joe decides to give the guy a break. They pcik up a game or two, with Ryan...they get HFA. I was a big Kenny O fan, but vividly remeber beong pissed whn despite the injury Walton kept p,ayi g him. Had Walton sat OB! And gotten 2 games, the Jets would have had HFA, and probably beat the Vagiants in 86.
