Player Spotlight: Chad Pennington (1 Viewer)

2007 Player Spotlight Series

Over the course of the offseason, we will be evaluating a multitude of players at every fantasy position. One such way we go about that is through the Player Spotlight series. Think of the Spotlights as a permanent record on some of the more intriguing players for the upcoming season. Each Spotlight will be featured in an article on the main website.

Thread Topic: Chad Pennington, QB, New York Jets

Player Page Link: Chad Pennington Player Page

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Focus commentary on the player in question, and your expectations for said player
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For QBs: Passing Yards, Passing TDs, Ints, Rush Yards, Rush TDs
For RBs: Rushes, Rushing Yards, Rush TDs, Receptions, Receiving Yards, Receiving TDs
For WRs & TEs: Receptions, Receiving Yards, Receiving TDsBest of Luck and ENJOY!

Chad Pennington is preparing for his eighth NFL season. A former first round pick (18th overall) has always had a reputation as a cerebral play-action passer. In 07, almost all categories related to play-action passing should improve for the Jets. Their offensive line featured two rookies last year who both played respectably, but now have an entire NFL season of experience behind them. Their running backs in 06 had a total of 426 rushes for only 1449 cumulative yards (3.40 ypc). Thomas Jones should improve that average and force the defense to consider the running game more.

Pennington has only had four seasons where he played ten games or more out of his seven. But consider his stats in each of those four seasons:

02 - 15 gms 276 comps 399 attempts (69.1%) 3120 yards (7.8 ypa) 22 TDs 6 ints QB #14

03 - 10 gms 189 comps 297 attempts (63.6%) 2139 yards (7.2 ypa) 13 TDs 12 ints QB #25

04 - 13 gms 242 comps 370 attempts (65.4%) 2673 yards (7.2 ypa) 16 TDs 9 ints QB #22

06 - 16 gms 313 comps 485 attempts (64.5%) 3352 yards (6.9 ypa) 17 TDs 16 ints QB #16

I think that he can improve some on his previous campaign. The FBG blogger reports that he has worked hard in the off-season on body strength, flexibility, and familiarity with the system. Add to that he has a better offensive line, a better RB, and two awesome WRs. There are a lot of positives in Chad's favor. Now consider the fact that he is being drafted as the 22nd QB and 123rd overall, I see some potential value here. In fact, I see a lot of patience with QBs paying off this year,

Pennington 16 gms 320 comps 480 att (66.7%) 3456 yards (7.2 ypa) 21 TDs 12 ints

Well I got Coles & Cotchery combining for 2300 yds and 13 TDs. May be a bit high which may skew my Pennington numbers too high since I dont think hes anything more than an average QB2. But then I think about it and its not like he has many other options to throw to. Leon Washington should get a ton of his receptions and Chris Baker might get a few TDs but after them there's nobody else. Plus they should get some more rushing TDs out of their running game with the addition of Thomas Jones. So that puts Pennington at:

3400 yds, 17 tds, 13 ints

With a competent RB this year (one who catches the ball very well as well), I can only see improvement for Pennington. Of course he has to stay healthy, which has been difficult for him over his career. Assuming he does:

470 attempts, 302 completions, 3425 yds, 19 Tds, 13 Ints