Chad Pennington- A Look Back
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by Alanschech
As reported earlier by our good friend and fellow user DNL, and as we all expected, Coach Eric Mangini named Kellen Clemens the starter for the upcoming game against the Redskins, and barring an injury, going forward into the future, relegating Chad Pennington to the role of backup. A lot of people think it's Chad's time to go and time for the Kellen Clemens era to begin. We can discuss at length whether he will be a Jet next year, playing in the league at all..etc. Let's however, take a look back at the highlights of Chad's run as the Jets starting quarterback:
2002
- In week 4, Chad Pennington see his first significant action against the Jacksonville Jaguars, coming into the game to relieve Vinny Testaverde, going 21-34 for 281 yards and 1 INT. The following week, Herman Edwards names Chad Pennington the team starter, starting the following week against the Kansas City Chiefs, going 22-29 for 237 yards and 2 TD. Although the Jets lost the game, Chad was well on his way. He led the team to an improbable AFC East title, secured by a huge 42-17 win over the Green Bay Packers during which Chad went 17-24 for 196 yards and 4 TDs.
- The following week in the wild card game, the Jets stunned the Colts 41-0 at home, where Chad went 19-25 for 222 yards and 3 TDs.
2004
- After injuring his shoulder week 9 in Buffalo, Chad returned to the lineup 3 weeks later, we learned with a torn rotator cuff, to play a near perfect game at home versus the Texans, leading the team to a 29-7 win going 20-27 for 155 yards and 2 TDs. He led the team to a second playoff appearance in 3 years, going 23-33 for 279 yards and 2 TDS in the 20-17 wild card win over the San Diego Chargers. The following week, Chad would have led the team into the AFC championship game if Doug Brien hadn't missed 2 game winning FGs. He went 21-33 for 182 yards but that would have been good enough if not for Doug Brien. The Jets lost the game 20-17.
2006
- Coming off another shoulder injury from 2005 and a new coach arriving in Eric Mangini, Chad Pennington wins his starting job back after a furious competition during training camp. He then led the team to an improbable 10-6 finish and a playoff berth, throwing for 3,352 yards and 17 TDs, earning him the NFL comeback player of the year award.
It may be time for the Kellen Clemens era to begin, but don't forget all the good that Chad Pennington did for the New York Jets.
