The Gospel of Saint Chad

PREFACE​

In the beginning was a mystery, of which nothing was known but the shape of the frame the puzzle would go in.

CHAPTER ONE​

Last year was a freak-show anomaly death-scene mass-suicide. For the Jet-world it was a violent process of unlearning what we previously thought we knew. The data we possessed was outdated, and irrelevant. It was pure and unadulterated, simple, utter negation in one fell-swoop, from the moment the season began, from the very first play, coupled with a slow, drawn out atrophy for the remainder of the season, as each wheel was loosened and careened away into the crevice of a burning canyon winding down into the parched nothingness of death, some thousands of miles below where Brooks Bollinger was found throwing darts, and where Curtis Martin chased after wind. Eventually, the angry scorched earth consumed the entire team, its boob for a GM, the evil shepherds that led this flock and called the plays, even the Manhattan stadium; all dropped into nothingness, and everything was thick, black and dark.

Then, there was the sound of sirens, of feet and scribbling hands, of rain and thunder. A posse of cops measured out a form and then drew a figure in white chalk on the damp, dank, grainy sidewalk. Yet soon they also left the scene, disinterested and puzzled....

This is true, perhaps, as a generalized statement and it is most true in a highly specific way - but a healthy and full-go Chad Pennington is still the ideal starter for the NY Jets in 2006.

CHAPTER TWO​

The natural assumption that the vast majority of the world is now making is that the Jets must suck in 2006. No ifs ands or buts. Pennington or no Pennington. Jets must suck. They are not earmarked for success in any regard. They do not have license to be successful. They are "predetermined" to be a terrible, despicable, wretched team. Any deviation from this dispensation would surely be a "Cinderella story". That is the corporate response to the mystery. And it makes sense.

But -- and this essay doesn't posit a cinderalla story -- it's no stretch of the imagination to say that there are usually teams that surprise, and players that surprise, each year, year in, year out; teams or players that no one has previously earmarked for success (or failure) that flourish.

Teams or players can come out of nowhere, their ascents not telegraphed, their successes and dominions nothing short of surprising. Drew Brees, Kurt Warner, Tom Brady and the Pats franchise, Rich Gannon, Phil Simms, Lofa Tatupu, the Bears last year.

Likewise, the media tries, year in, year out to telegraph certain player's breakouts, or a team's rise to dominance. They've been telegraphing the Cardinals wrap-up of the NFC West for several years in a row, but it never pans out (but this year...). The Bills are supposed to breakout every year and topple New England and make the playoffs. The Cowboys are always inflated with hot air. JP Losman is the next John Elway; Mike Williams is the new paradigm, Ki-Jana Carter is a beast....

CHAPTER THREE​

Back to the Jets, summer of 2006. All is well. After the storm; calm, quiet, a slight drizzle. The Kool-Aid is long gone. Pitter-patter of youth and rebuilding, of Mangini's fat new face, of the first infantile steps of a new order. But, yet, this is still a team defaced, deranged and scarred from the sound and sober team that defeated the Chargers in SD in the playoffs, and pressed oh so close to the AFC championship game two years ago, and had such high hopes entering last season. Not even the deafening silence Mangini wields can mask this un-eluding fact. And Chad Pennington was the QB of that team; he led that team into SD and into Pittsburgh. He was also playing those games with a torn rotator cuff that required surgery. He accomplished what he accomplished with the aforementioned as an asterik attached, like this: Led team in Playoffs to the cusp (an inch, see Doug :barf: Brien) of the AFC Championship Game*.

If you've been able to bear me out thus far, we'll get to the essence of the matter now. All the talk lately has been will Ramsey beat out Bollinger. Will Ramsey secure a roster spot. Bollinger is as good as Eli Manning. Clemens has looked impressive. Can Pennington start a whole season.

Now, while TC is just the tip of the icberg, the tip of the iceberg alludes to the rest of the hulking form. It informs the body of evidence, and discloses the initial shading and character of the mystery. We are no longer left completely in the dark about the QB situation. We have several facts and perhaps even tendencies, clarified:

The first of which is that Chad is capable of holding a football, moving his arm behind his head, and chucking the ball. And still pretty good at that. Very important that this has been established as a fact. I cannot emphasize how important this fact is.

The second fact is that Kellen Clemens is the real deal. He is the future of the franchise, who probably could, while not ideal, start this year. This fact is of similar, though not equal import, as the fact of Chad's arm.

The third fact helps to clarify the QB situation greatly, and add form. The fact is that Patrick Ramsey has not been transfigured into an inspirational leader, nor into an accurate passer, and that in all likelihood, he is much closer to Brooks Bollinger than he is to Chad Pennington or Kellen Clemens. Patrick Ramsey, a) because Chad has proven that he still has an arm and b) because of Kellen Clemens' performance thus far, and c) because of his initial difficulties in TC has become irrelevent. As has Brooks Bollinger, by default:

The fourth fact is that Brooks Bollinger is still the whipping boy of the staff, regardless of the change-over, yet he still won't go away. This latter fact, combined with the variables that are causing Ramsey's irrelevance, mean that Brooks will probably battle Patrick Ramsey for the third QB job.

Now that I've separated the four Qb's into two separate strata, we can begin to glimpse the picture I am seeing:

 

CHAPTER FOUR​

If Pennington is even 85% of his old self, he will be the starting QB for the 2006 Jets. And that will be the best thing for the team. For now and for the future. For himself and for Kellen Clemens.

Why Chad, and why not Kellen?

1. Symbolically. Chad Pennington is the symbol of this team. By that I don't mean he's the logo or the icon. Well, I really do. But I mean it in the sense of him representing and crystallizing the essence of the Jets Franchise. He is the team, personified. He is given no shot to succeed. He is toughened, burned and scarred from defeat and humiliation, all on the cusp of grandeur. He is the miracle turned into curses. He is the war-veteran with two tours of duty in hell. The pretty boy with a black eye. He is the player with a force of conviction, with the gravity of unfinished business, with a zeal and demeanor of passion. He took the pay cut. He accepted the challenge. He is the connection to the success of the past, and he is determined to reclaim what is his. The team will follow him, unquestionably, he will command their allegiance, and they will crystallize behind him. They will see what this guy has accomplished, and they will assume his gravity, his intent, and his mission. They will play for such a symbol. The QB on roster best suited to take this team to the next level, to the level at least where it was two years ago, the QB best suited to symbolize the entire team and franchise, to inspire his peers and galvanize his younger teammates is Pennington. Chad is the only QB on the roster capable of leading the Jets to the playoffs, and winning there. Moreover, he's playing for his career at this point. He's got Clemens and Ramsey breathing down his back, he's making less money than a golden boy is supposed to. This is his moment, or he's got nothing, nicht, nada. This is it for him. Under said pressure, I like his chances. Kellen is the symbol of newness, and youth. But also of vast inexperience. His lack of experience coupled with the general inexperience of the "New Order" could prove disasterous for the rest of the team, and painful for the fans...

2. Organizational inexperienceas alluded to above. Pennington, at this point in my construction of the concept of him, would be an invaluable resource for Mangini and for Schottenheimer. A first year HC, and a pubescent OC (a man of some faith, apparently). Pennington would command from the huddle, echoing and reflecting "the new order" to all of the players on the field. Leaders like this are not found everywhere. His experience and savvy will surely ease the transition of the coaches into their new roles, as they are adjusting. He will take pressure and responsibility off of their shoulders, shouldering the burden, and serving as the middle man between them and the rest of the offense. Remember, and this cannot be emphasized more: Mangini and Company are wet behind the ears, and having a successful, experienced, capable QB to manage games, and to synthesize the offense is IMMEASUREABLE.

3. Pennington, as mentor to Kellen Clemens. I am enamored with Clemens. But he should not be starting as a rookie. For his own development, and for the ease of transition of the new regime into their roles, he should be holding a clipboard and watching the Chad Pennington Film Noir Hour, hanging on his very line, studying his every scene. Matt Leinhart has Kurt Warner, Pennington had Vinny, etc. Throwing Clemens into the fire to burn may not be a wise idea. His team is expected to suck, and the line, so heavily invested in, while surely galvanized, could use some time to gel. Pennington, I have always fashioned, would be a great coach. He may be, some day, and it should start this year.

4. Brees and Rivers. Simms and Hostetler. Bledsoe and Brady. Montana and Young. Vinny and Chad. Chad and Kellen. You get the point. Two good Qbs are better than one. All the more so after the season, if Pennington proves capable, and we have two starting, franchise caliber QBs on the roster. This is a point of value. If Pennington is relegated to back-up duty, he will be worth next to nothing. He could be traded after this year, and value could be gained, as opposed to being lost.

CONCLUSION​

What Pennington is attempting to do has never even been attempted before. This will be history. It may seem illogical and unreasonable, but the tendency of things, if they follow the paths disclosed recently to their logical ends, Chad Pennington will be the starting QB for the Jets in 2006.

No one sees it coming, but this is like the story of The Phoenix. It will hit them like a train screaming out of blackest midnight, like that movie, The Natural.

This will be the solution to the mystery that began as a golden boy came from nowhere to play like Joe Montana.

The chalk-outline that we all see, the chalk we can even taste, the secret to the Jets franchise, is Chad Pennington. The player everyone was forced to forget about.

​