With Jets QB Chad Pennington likely done for the year, is it time for the Jets to move on in the draft? Is it fair to call an end to the Chad Pennington Era?Just one year ago, Chad Pennington took the New York Jets to within a Doug Brien FG of the AFC Championship. Now Jets fans, the media, and fantasy owners alike are looking to throw him under the bus.
I like Chad Pennington. I think he is a good NFL QB. He is one of the smartest QBs in the game, and when he is healthy, one of the most accurate. He throws a good deep ball (25+ yards), although a horrendous mid-deep ball (15-25 yards). The reason for this? A deep ball is often thrown straight, as in a fly pattern, where Chad doesn’t need to zip the ball in, but rather lay it for a WR to run through. It also enables a QB to under throw it if the DB is playing over the top of the target. Chad, as most any QB not named Boller, can do this. Where Chad’s shortcomings are shown clear as day, are in those moderate deep balls, where he needs to zip a ball in between a CB and a Safety. Deep Outs, Deep Posts, and Quick Slants, where a precise ball is needed to be drilled into the numbers of a WR is where he is bad, and he is bad at that area. All of this happens when his shoulder is healthy, which it hasn’t been in a long time it seems. Today he got hurt again. He is scheduled to undergo an MRI tomorrow. I’m already nervous about the Brooks Bollinger Era. If the Jets have a poor year, and with Curtis Martin off to a terrible start, an injured O-Line, and the potential for Bollinger to start for a couple of weeks, the Jets might have a pick in the top 5 of this draft. As crazy as it sounds, Matt Leinart may drop out of the number one spot.
If this happens, the Jets need to draft him. They may even need to trade up to be sure of getting him. Matt Leinart has the arm, the accuracy, and the resume to merit such a trade, even if it means moving Chad. The odds of the Jets getting Matt is low. He will probably be the number 1 pick, and definetly a top 3 pick. The only reason he won’t go one, is that a number of bad teams have franchise QBs. Minnesota might end up with a horrible record this year, but they would take Reggie Bush this year, since Culpepper isn’t going anywhere. San Francisco wanted Leinart last year, but ended up with Alex Smith when Matt stayed at USC. The Packers might jump at Matt, but drafted potential number 1 QB Aaron Rodgers last year. The following teams would jump at Matt, given the number 1 pick. Arizona, Cleveland, Oakland, Detroit, Miami, and Baltimore. All of those teams will have a legit chance to be the worst in football, and if injuries continue to mount the Jets could be on that list also.
It might change the fortune of two franchises, the Jets, and whoever acquires Chad. On a team like Baltimore, Chad would be an incredible QB. He would have the type of WR that can utilize all his strengths. Clayton and Mason are great possession recievers who can make plays. The Jets top WR, Laverneus Coles, is a precise route runner, with very good speed. Between him and Wayne Cherbet, the Jets number 3 WR, the Jets have 2 good WR at going over the middle and making plays. Unfortuantely, Chad doesn’t have the arm to work it in there, as his “fast” throws tend to sail. That is bad, but worse when two of your top 3 WR are under 6 foot tall, high balls have a tendency to end up into the hands of a defense. Put in the right situation, like Tom Brady was, Chad’s short comings can be minimized. With a couple of taller WR, or a TE that is consitently good, he would be an All-Pro for years. Also, don’t minimize the importance of a change of scenery for Chad. He is a smart guy, who has led his team very well. But at some point, you have to believe that he will get sick of all the people questioning his arm strength. Questioning his ability to stay healthy.
I’m a Jets fan, and I’m not willing to write off a season that I had them going to the Superbowl, but if injuries conspire against them, then maybe something needs to be changed. If the the Jets have the chance to trade Pennington and get Leinart, they need to do it. And I will still root for Chad. I will continue to support him. I’ll hope his team wins, and that he gets a chance to win a Superbowl some day. That is because as a Jets fan, I want to stay loyal to all the players that have put on the Green and White and wanted to be “The Guy.” Through everything Chad has defined the Jets recently. Lots of promise, a little bit more heartache. To continue my support for him, I’ll buy the jersey of whatever team he ends up on. Right after I buy Leinart’s Jersey.
3 replies on “Time to Jet-tison Chad?”
check your spelling to write an in-depth article like this and not even know how to spell the Qb’s name you’re discussing is inexcusable. It’s Leinart, not Leinhart.
You’re right You are absolutely right. That was inexcusable on my part. The odd thing is, I did look up his name, and the first link that came up was NFL.Com, spelling it Leinhart. I didn’t even think of going to the USC Trojans’ homepage. I have made the corrections, and was curious as to what you thought of the rest of the article.
In that case… If you really did look it up then its ok, honest mistake. But it was a really good article, mainly because I hadn’t really thought of the Jets ditching him. I’ve always thought of the two sides as a good match, but you really brought up some good points. But hey, they have Vinny now, so all is saved…