Who's No. 1? - Merged

Jets faced with 4-man QB controversy

By RICH CIMINI
DAILY NEWS SPORTS WRITER

After missing nearly all of last season with a shoulder injury, Chad Pennington enters camp as just one of four QBs battling for the starting job.
It has been 16 years since the Jets opened training camp with a genuine, mano a mano quarterback competition. Ken O'Brien versus Tony Eason in the summer of 1990 didn't polarize the locker room or the sports populace of New York, but it did begin with a fair amount of suspense.

Just like the one that is about to commence at Hofstra - except this time, you're going to need a couple more "manos" to complete the fight card.

It's incumbent Chad Pennington versus Patrick Ramsey versus Brooks Bollinger versus rookie Kellen Clemens, a four-way battle that may be unprecedented in recent NFL history.

"It's an interesting dynamic," says first-year general manager Mike Tannenbaum, insisting, "All four guys have a legitimate chance to start."

That seems like a stretch - does anybody believe Bollinger has a shot? - but the Jets continue to sell it as a wide-open race, a wholesome competition that will bring out the best in each player.

But some outsiders are calling it a mess, an overcrowded situation that will stunt the growth of the entire offense. Indeed, if two's company and three's a crowd, what do you call four? It could feel like Penn Station at rush hour.

Clearly, this is no ordinary quarterback battle. Even though rookie coach Eric Mangini has said he will line them up, let them play and pick the best guy, it's not that simple.

Not with the uncertainty surrounding Pennington, whose daily stock could fluctuate more than the Dow Jones because of a twice-repaired throwing shoulder.

Not with the tantalizing option of Clemens, who is trying to convince the organization that the future is now.

The fun starts Friday, Day 1 of Mangini's inaugural training camp. When he names a starter is anybody's guess.

"We're not going to rush this decision," says offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer. "However long it takes to get a clear-cut guy is what we're going to do."

The Daily News questioned five impartial observers on the Jets' quarterback conundrum - two opposing coaches, two scouts and one TV analyst - and the consensus was that Pennington will emerge as the starter, edging Ramsey. But the endorsement wasn't overwhelming, with most believing it's only a matter of time before Clemens, a second-round pick, surpasses both veterans.

"I think it's going to be a pretty tight competition," says one scout, speaking on the condition of anonymity. "Pennington has the reputation, Ramsey doesn't, but I don't think their skills and abilities are dramatically different. It's going to be closer than people think."

One coach, suspecting that Clemens could be in the not-too-distant plans, said: "When you draft a kid that high, it usually means you want to play him pretty soon."

Logic says Mangini must pare the field to two or three, the sooner the better, to give each quarterback a chance to get acclimated to the new system and develop chemistry with the starters. If Mangini lets it drag out for the entire preseason, it will deprive the eventual starter of valuable practice reps, according to an opposing coach.

No matter what happens, it's "not going to be pretty," quarterback-turned-analyst Boomer Esiason says.

"The Jets are completely in a rebuilding mode, and whoever the quarterback is will be a sacrificial lamb," adds Esiason, who predicts a Pennington victory.

Clearly, Pennington is the most accomplished quarterback of the four, having won 22 of 37 career starts. Scouts say Pennington is more accurate than Ramsey, a better decision-maker and a better field general.

In fact, Pennington's career touchdown/drive ratio is 21%, ahead of Ramsey's (17%) and Bollinger's (11%). But Pennington has two huge factors working against him: He can't stay healthy (22 games missed in the last three seasons) and his arm strength can't compare to that of Ramsey's.

Though they never will admit it publicly, the Jets aren't sure if Pennington's arm will ever be the same, a concern born from two shoulder operations in an eight-month span. The only reason they kept Bollinger, a person close to the situation says, is because they want veteran insurance in case Pennington breaks down again.

Former Packers quarterback Don Majkowski can relate. He made the Pro Bowl in 1989, then tore his rotator cuff and was never the same.

"I lost my quick-twitch muscle fiber, my ability to throw the ball quickly," he says. "I used to have a quick, compact release. After the surgery, I looked like a javelin thrower, with an elongated release.

"I wish Chad a lot of luck," adds Majkowski. "I loved him as a quarterback, his intangibles. But, from my experience, it was difficult and frustrating to come back. You know what you once were, and you can't get back to that."

Soon after Pennington's season-ending injury last September, the Jets began to research Ramsey, a former first-round pick whom they felt never got a fair shake in Washington. He went 10-14 as a starter, getting benched by two coaches, Steve Spurrier and Joe Gibbs. In March, the Jets got him for a sixth-round pick.

Ramsey has the arm strength to succeed in any system, but he tends to hold the ball too long and gets happy feet in the pocket, scouts say. He disappointed in last month's minicamp, but still sees this as a chance to resurrect his once-promising career.

The wild card is Clemens, who has endeared himself to the new staff with his gym-rat approach and intriguing skill set. The former Oregon standout has a better-than-advertised arm and a quick release, but his chances of winning the job appear remote.

"Kellen Clemens isn't ready to be the man just yet," Esiason says. "He's a rookie. Nobody wants to play with a rookie. You don't win."

Chances are, Pennington will prevail. If so, he shouldn't get too comfortable in the job. Mangini knows his weaknesses - his New England defense dominated Pennington in recent years - and he probably won't hesitate to pull him. Mangini's mentor, Bill Belichick, did it that way in 2001 with the Tom Brady-for-Drew Bledsoe change.

If nothing else, the Jets and their fans should prepare for a hectic summer.

5 Questions:

Here are five questions the Daily News' Rich Cimini has for the Jets in 2006:

1. Boot camp or leisure time?

Eric Mangini's itinerary includes only seven days of double sessions, five fewer than Herm Edwards' total from last summer.

2. Is Curtis Martin being phased out?

That's the plan. But, even at 33, Martin still is the best back on the team. Let us be the first to start the Adrian Peterson draft rumors.

3. Will the defense make a smooth transition to the 3-4 scheme?

Not likely. There's no experienced nose tackle and others, including LB Jonathan Vilma, are better suited to the 4-3.

4. How long will it take the revamped offensive line to jell?

LT D'Brickashaw Ferguson and C Nick Mangold, both rookies, are expected to start. Hello, growing pains. No matter what happens, the line "can't be as bad as last year," one competing coach cracked.

5. Which departed player will be the toughest to replace?

John Abraham, hands down. The division breathed a sigh of relief when he was traded to the Falcons. Mangini will have to cook up some clever schemes to manufacture a pass rush.

Originally published on July 23, 2006

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