Type-O
12-28-2006, 02:16 PM
December 28, 2006
Even When Ill, Pennington Is Still the Jets’ Cure
By KAREN CROUSE
HEMPSTEAD, N.Y., Dec. 27 — During the Jets’ rainy victory in Miami on Monday night, quarterback Chad Pennington was battling the physical elements, a very physical Dolphins defense and a physical ailment.
Pennington had a virus that made him sick to his stomach. He was feeling so ill, he left the field at Dolphin Stadium before the end of warm-ups. The peak of his misery came during the scoreless first half, which was memorable mostly for Pennington throwing some passes, then coming off the field and throwing up.
His first four passes fell incomplete, some of them fluttering like an upset stomach. Pennington, who does not discuss illnesses or injuries, lest they become excuse not to succeed, tried to act as if everything was O.K. He succeeded to the point where some of his teammates did not know he was feeling poorly.
But it was clear that something was wrong. As Pennington labored, so did the Jets. The high-tempo offense, after all, is not for the peaked. As Pennington noted Wednesday, it is at its best “when we play fast, when we play sharp. Even if we’re wrong in a decision or wrong in an assignment, when we play fast, when we play with excitement and energy, normally good things happen.”
In the first half, the Jets had one sustained drive, which covered 67 yards in 12 plays. Pennington filled his body with liquids at halftime, and he came out for the second half feeling better.
He would need two IVs after the game. But in the final 15 minutes, with the game and the season on the line, Pennington was terrific. He played as if he was determined not to let his illness be the thing that derailed the team after it had overcome so much adversity — a 4-12 record last year, a coaching change, a grueling training camp — to compete for a playoff spot.
“Chad knows that the players feed off him on offense,” Coach Eric Mangini said. “You could see as he started to feel better, the whole offense picked up.”
In the fourth quarter, Pennington threw a 32-yard touchdown pass to Jerricho Cotchery as he was taking a hit and set up Mike Nugent’s game-winning 30-yard field goal by managing the two-minute drill with the clearest of heads.
On the first play of that final possession, Pennington read the blitz beautifully and threw a screen pass to the running back Leon Washington, who ran 64 yards. While deftly managing the clock, Pennington maneuvered the Jets into better field-goal position with three handoffs to Kevan Barlow.
He completed 9 of 15 passes, with no turnovers, in the second half of the Jets’ 13-10 victory. Mangini, who was well aware of how poorly Pennington was feeling, was not surprised that Pennington succeeded despite his distress.
“Knowing Chad, I guess I really didn’t expect anything else,” Mangini said. “I think it’s just who he is.”
Nobody has questioned Pennington’s heart. His arm strength, on the other hand, is an ongoing topic for his critics. Joe Theismann and Tony Kornheiser of ESPN’s “Monday Night Football” crew were the latest to pile on.
“That’s fine,” Pennington said Wednesday, referring to the criticism. He added, “I don’t take anything from it.”
It is not as if the Jets’ offense is vertically challenged. The Jets have had 37 pass plays this season that have gained at least 20 yards and 9 that have gained at least 40.
“Chad’s a little bit more well-rounded than sometimes people give him credit for,” receiver Justin McCareins said. “I just think his main strengths are just his ability to read defenses and finding the open man, and coaches do a good job of putting him in the best positions to do that.”
Pennington’s brain power is what sets him apart. He is so cerebral that it is like having an assistant under center. Brian Schottenheimer, the Jets’ first-year offensive coordinator, has tailored the offense to suit him.
Schottenheimer has incorporated the no-huddle and a kaleidoscope of formations and shifts and motions and personnel because he can count on Pennington to make sense of it all. The timing passes that are the bread-and-butter of the offense make the most of Pennington’s accuracy and the running-after-the-catch talents of the team’s two best receivers, Laveranues Coles and Cotchery.
“I have enjoyed this offense,” Pennington said. “I’ve enjoyed working with Brian and learning all the details of this offense and trying to explore all the different avenues.”
Expanding on Schottenheimer’s influence, Pennington said, “We feel like he’s done a great job of putting us in positions to be successful and really exploiting our strengths and making sure that we get the playmakers the ball.”
After working his way back from two career-threatening shoulder surgeries, Pennington is on the verge of posting the first 16-start season of his seven-year career. The last time he appeared in every regular-season game was in 2002.
“No matter how many games I play, my primary focus is always winning and making sure that I’m doing everything I can to put our team in a successful position,” Pennington said.
“But to be able to make it through a season and persevere through a lot of difficult challenges does mean a lot.”
In very difficult conditions Monday, Pennington again proved why there is maybe no one more deserving of the league’s Comeback Player of the Year award.
EXTRA POINTS
In their victory against Miami, the Jets had five pass plays that gained at least 20 yards. That Leon Washington, the rookie running back, was on the receiving end of three of those passes would have been hard to imagine in training camp when he was having trouble holding onto passes. “When he first got here, he probably put the ball on the ground more than anybody else,” Eric Mangini said. After every drop, Washington had to run a punishment lap, and as Mangini dryly noted, “He could have run the New York Marathon after just the rookie minicamp.”
Just to let you know you suck even more than we originaly thought:D
Even When Ill, Pennington Is Still the Jets’ Cure
By KAREN CROUSE
HEMPSTEAD, N.Y., Dec. 27 — During the Jets’ rainy victory in Miami on Monday night, quarterback Chad Pennington was battling the physical elements, a very physical Dolphins defense and a physical ailment.
Pennington had a virus that made him sick to his stomach. He was feeling so ill, he left the field at Dolphin Stadium before the end of warm-ups. The peak of his misery came during the scoreless first half, which was memorable mostly for Pennington throwing some passes, then coming off the field and throwing up.
His first four passes fell incomplete, some of them fluttering like an upset stomach. Pennington, who does not discuss illnesses or injuries, lest they become excuse not to succeed, tried to act as if everything was O.K. He succeeded to the point where some of his teammates did not know he was feeling poorly.
But it was clear that something was wrong. As Pennington labored, so did the Jets. The high-tempo offense, after all, is not for the peaked. As Pennington noted Wednesday, it is at its best “when we play fast, when we play sharp. Even if we’re wrong in a decision or wrong in an assignment, when we play fast, when we play with excitement and energy, normally good things happen.”
In the first half, the Jets had one sustained drive, which covered 67 yards in 12 plays. Pennington filled his body with liquids at halftime, and he came out for the second half feeling better.
He would need two IVs after the game. But in the final 15 minutes, with the game and the season on the line, Pennington was terrific. He played as if he was determined not to let his illness be the thing that derailed the team after it had overcome so much adversity — a 4-12 record last year, a coaching change, a grueling training camp — to compete for a playoff spot.
“Chad knows that the players feed off him on offense,” Coach Eric Mangini said. “You could see as he started to feel better, the whole offense picked up.”
In the fourth quarter, Pennington threw a 32-yard touchdown pass to Jerricho Cotchery as he was taking a hit and set up Mike Nugent’s game-winning 30-yard field goal by managing the two-minute drill with the clearest of heads.
On the first play of that final possession, Pennington read the blitz beautifully and threw a screen pass to the running back Leon Washington, who ran 64 yards. While deftly managing the clock, Pennington maneuvered the Jets into better field-goal position with three handoffs to Kevan Barlow.
He completed 9 of 15 passes, with no turnovers, in the second half of the Jets’ 13-10 victory. Mangini, who was well aware of how poorly Pennington was feeling, was not surprised that Pennington succeeded despite his distress.
“Knowing Chad, I guess I really didn’t expect anything else,” Mangini said. “I think it’s just who he is.”
Nobody has questioned Pennington’s heart. His arm strength, on the other hand, is an ongoing topic for his critics. Joe Theismann and Tony Kornheiser of ESPN’s “Monday Night Football” crew were the latest to pile on.
“That’s fine,” Pennington said Wednesday, referring to the criticism. He added, “I don’t take anything from it.”
It is not as if the Jets’ offense is vertically challenged. The Jets have had 37 pass plays this season that have gained at least 20 yards and 9 that have gained at least 40.
“Chad’s a little bit more well-rounded than sometimes people give him credit for,” receiver Justin McCareins said. “I just think his main strengths are just his ability to read defenses and finding the open man, and coaches do a good job of putting him in the best positions to do that.”
Pennington’s brain power is what sets him apart. He is so cerebral that it is like having an assistant under center. Brian Schottenheimer, the Jets’ first-year offensive coordinator, has tailored the offense to suit him.
Schottenheimer has incorporated the no-huddle and a kaleidoscope of formations and shifts and motions and personnel because he can count on Pennington to make sense of it all. The timing passes that are the bread-and-butter of the offense make the most of Pennington’s accuracy and the running-after-the-catch talents of the team’s two best receivers, Laveranues Coles and Cotchery.
“I have enjoyed this offense,” Pennington said. “I’ve enjoyed working with Brian and learning all the details of this offense and trying to explore all the different avenues.”
Expanding on Schottenheimer’s influence, Pennington said, “We feel like he’s done a great job of putting us in positions to be successful and really exploiting our strengths and making sure that we get the playmakers the ball.”
After working his way back from two career-threatening shoulder surgeries, Pennington is on the verge of posting the first 16-start season of his seven-year career. The last time he appeared in every regular-season game was in 2002.
“No matter how many games I play, my primary focus is always winning and making sure that I’m doing everything I can to put our team in a successful position,” Pennington said.
“But to be able to make it through a season and persevere through a lot of difficult challenges does mean a lot.”
In very difficult conditions Monday, Pennington again proved why there is maybe no one more deserving of the league’s Comeback Player of the Year award.
EXTRA POINTS
In their victory against Miami, the Jets had five pass plays that gained at least 20 yards. That Leon Washington, the rookie running back, was on the receiving end of three of those passes would have been hard to imagine in training camp when he was having trouble holding onto passes. “When he first got here, he probably put the ball on the ground more than anybody else,” Eric Mangini said. After every drop, Washington had to run a punishment lap, and as Mangini dryly noted, “He could have run the New York Marathon after just the rookie minicamp.”
Just to let you know you suck even more than we originaly thought:D