Righetti
Footballguy
Pennington's funk leads to doubts
BY TOM ROCK
Newsday Staff Writer
November 20, 2006, 10:20 PM EST
After a weekend in which dancing penguins ruled the box office, Eric "The Penguin" Mangini might have done some tap-dancing himself around the hottest topic in Jets-land.
"Chad's the quarterback right now," the coach said, referring to the struggling Chad Pennington, who threw a pair of game-busting interceptions in Sunday's 10-0 loss to the Bears and has 11 this season, one shy of his career high.
Mangini may have been emphasizing the first three words of that statement, but for a coach who tries to control every syllable of message that emerges from the franchise, it's the last two words that open some speculation about Pennington's future with the Jets -- both this season and beyond.
Mangini, who has shown a penchant for shuffling his starters and distributing playing time based on how well they practice, said the quarterback position is no different from that of cornerback or safety, to name two that have been adjusted during this season.
"If someone earned the opportunity and somebody clearly distinguished themselves, then just like any other position, it would be evaluated," Mangini said of what it would take for him to pull Pennington in favor of backup Patrick Ramsey or rookie third-stringer Kellen Clemens. "There's not a special set [of rules] for one position or another."
Although the coach may have hedged on a full-blown vote of confidence, he did say he is happy with a lot of what Pennington does and gave him dispensation on the Brian Urlacher interception as a "great play" by the defender. Especially pleasing, he said, are Pennington's decisions at the line of scrimmage when choosing between the run and pass plays at his disposal.
"There are a lot of things that Chad does that I appreciate as a coach, that I really respect," he said. "I think he does a nice job."
Lately, "nice" hasn't been cutting it. Pennington has totaled zero touchdown passes and seven interceptions in the last three Jets losses. Even in recent wins, he hasn't been sharp. He's thrown at least one interception in each of the last four games, the longest streak of his career. It's gotten to the point that the eternally optimistic Pennington is unsure how to handle the slump.
"Physically, I feel good, but mentally, experiencing this is something I haven't experienced in my career, the inconsistency part," Pennington said Sunday. "That's something that I'm dealing with, and looking forward to as a challenge, to really bounce back and make something good happen."
He'll have a decent chance at bouncing back Sunday against the Texans, who allowed J.P. Losman to pass for 340 yards and three touchdowns in a Bills victory two days ago. Houston is ranked 25th in pass defense and the following opponent, Green Bay, is ranked 31st. If Pennington is incapable of putting up strong numbers against those defenses, Mangini could begin to waver on his already teetering support.
The statistics are damning, but the eye also can see that the on-field relationship between Pennington and his receivers is off. They call it chemistry, a tough-to-define concept that has more to do with feeling routes than running them.
The chemistry was there early in the season when Pennington opened with back-to-back 300-yard games, but it has been in decline since the Cleveland game. Even Pennington's once-special bond with playmaker Laveranues Coles seems askew, especially after the receiver ran up to the passer after Urlacher's end-zone interception to emphatically draw attention to the fact he was open on the opposite side of the field.
"Chemistry is a thing that just doesn't come," receiver Jerricho Cotchery said. "Once you have it, you have to continue to work at it so you can keep it. Somewhere along the line, it just got lost."
Brad Smith, who has been on both sides of the equation as a college quarterback and now a receiver for the Jets, said chemistry has a flow. "At times it's probably not as strong as at others," he said. "It happens. A great team has the ability to still win during that time."
Whether Mangini planted a seed of doubt about Pennington's future or merely dropped an innocent colloquialism into an otherwise definitive statement, few Jets players were willing to do anything other than support Pennington.
"It's not a surprise," guard Pete Kendall said of the questioning of Pennington's performance by media and fans. "That's the nature of the beast. That's the way it goes around here. I didn't seem to hear too many complaints last week [after a win over the Patriots]."
newsday
BY TOM ROCK
Newsday Staff Writer
November 20, 2006, 10:20 PM EST
After a weekend in which dancing penguins ruled the box office, Eric "The Penguin" Mangini might have done some tap-dancing himself around the hottest topic in Jets-land.
"Chad's the quarterback right now," the coach said, referring to the struggling Chad Pennington, who threw a pair of game-busting interceptions in Sunday's 10-0 loss to the Bears and has 11 this season, one shy of his career high.
Mangini may have been emphasizing the first three words of that statement, but for a coach who tries to control every syllable of message that emerges from the franchise, it's the last two words that open some speculation about Pennington's future with the Jets -- both this season and beyond.
Mangini, who has shown a penchant for shuffling his starters and distributing playing time based on how well they practice, said the quarterback position is no different from that of cornerback or safety, to name two that have been adjusted during this season.
"If someone earned the opportunity and somebody clearly distinguished themselves, then just like any other position, it would be evaluated," Mangini said of what it would take for him to pull Pennington in favor of backup Patrick Ramsey or rookie third-stringer Kellen Clemens. "There's not a special set [of rules] for one position or another."
Although the coach may have hedged on a full-blown vote of confidence, he did say he is happy with a lot of what Pennington does and gave him dispensation on the Brian Urlacher interception as a "great play" by the defender. Especially pleasing, he said, are Pennington's decisions at the line of scrimmage when choosing between the run and pass plays at his disposal.
"There are a lot of things that Chad does that I appreciate as a coach, that I really respect," he said. "I think he does a nice job."
Lately, "nice" hasn't been cutting it. Pennington has totaled zero touchdown passes and seven interceptions in the last three Jets losses. Even in recent wins, he hasn't been sharp. He's thrown at least one interception in each of the last four games, the longest streak of his career. It's gotten to the point that the eternally optimistic Pennington is unsure how to handle the slump.
"Physically, I feel good, but mentally, experiencing this is something I haven't experienced in my career, the inconsistency part," Pennington said Sunday. "That's something that I'm dealing with, and looking forward to as a challenge, to really bounce back and make something good happen."
He'll have a decent chance at bouncing back Sunday against the Texans, who allowed J.P. Losman to pass for 340 yards and three touchdowns in a Bills victory two days ago. Houston is ranked 25th in pass defense and the following opponent, Green Bay, is ranked 31st. If Pennington is incapable of putting up strong numbers against those defenses, Mangini could begin to waver on his already teetering support.
The statistics are damning, but the eye also can see that the on-field relationship between Pennington and his receivers is off. They call it chemistry, a tough-to-define concept that has more to do with feeling routes than running them.
The chemistry was there early in the season when Pennington opened with back-to-back 300-yard games, but it has been in decline since the Cleveland game. Even Pennington's once-special bond with playmaker Laveranues Coles seems askew, especially after the receiver ran up to the passer after Urlacher's end-zone interception to emphatically draw attention to the fact he was open on the opposite side of the field.
"Chemistry is a thing that just doesn't come," receiver Jerricho Cotchery said. "Once you have it, you have to continue to work at it so you can keep it. Somewhere along the line, it just got lost."
Brad Smith, who has been on both sides of the equation as a college quarterback and now a receiver for the Jets, said chemistry has a flow. "At times it's probably not as strong as at others," he said. "It happens. A great team has the ability to still win during that time."
Whether Mangini planted a seed of doubt about Pennington's future or merely dropped an innocent colloquialism into an otherwise definitive statement, few Jets players were willing to do anything other than support Pennington.
"It's not a surprise," guard Pete Kendall said of the questioning of Pennington's performance by media and fans. "That's the nature of the beast. That's the way it goes around here. I didn't seem to hear too many complaints last week [after a win over the Patriots]."
newsday
With today's pass-first offenses that rely upon shorter passes that can more consistently be completed, high QB ratings mean less than they ever have. We ought to multiply the QB ratings by yards per completion to get a better idea of how QB's are getting the number they're getting. Chad's only throwing for a mediocre 10.67 yards per completion BTW.
If you think about it, though, there are only 11 playoff wins in each post-season available for QB's to accumulate, and 3-4 of them are going to a single guy every year.
