About Chad
It might be stupid to bench Chad Pennington right now. I have been a Chad supporter for a long time now, and although I am also excited by what Kellen Clemens might be capable of, I will make the case for Chad right here.
1- Chad is a winner. Even on the star-crossed New York Jets, Chad has been well over .500 in games he started, counting his 1-6 record this miserable season. He has even won playoff games, putting him in rare company amongst Jet QB’s. I appreceiate that more than other people seem to.
2- The Intangibles. Chad is very likely the smartest QB in the NFL. I guarantee you he will be a coach one day. His professionalism and leadership are the textbook example. No one involved in football would disagree with that.
3- He can actually throw the ball. He has the second highest completion pecentage IN LEAGUE HISTORY. It’s been fun sport for a lot of old, fat, sportswriters and armchair QB’s to poke fun at Chad’s arm strength. Here’s a clue for you: Chad is a pretty strong dude. He’s 6′3″ and 225 lbs. He can throw a football 60 yards downfield in the air. I have seen him do this many, many times. But, somehow, weak, unathletic newspaper reporters get to describe him as having an arm “like a spaghetti noodle.” This is no small injustice. I’d like to see your fat asses do better (this means you NY sports writers).
4- HE HAS CONSISTENTLY PLAYED EXCELLENT FOOTBALL. His career passer rating is 89.1. That is flat-out phenomenal. For comparison, hall-of-famer Troy Aikman’s career rating is 81.6, not even close. Brett Favre, a first-ballot hall-of-famer has posted a career 85.3 rating (so far).
What I am trying to say is that Chad is demonstrably one of the better quarterbacks playing in the NFL today. Most teams would love to have him as a starter right this minute. Cleveland, Jacksonville, Arizona, Kansas City, Miami, Minnesota, Chicago, Carolina, Atlanta and others come to mind. I think we probably haven’t seen the last of Chad starting games in the NFL.
I hope he goes on to do well. He has been a very good QB and very likable and easy to root for. He has consistently come back from injuries that would’ve ended less tough players’ careers. He’s one of the few 1st round draft picks that ever worked out for the Jets. I rather think he is not the problem with the Jets this season, but I do understand why he’s on the bench. That just the business reality of the NFL these days. We need to see what the 2nd round pick can do during this horrible lost season. Thanks Chad. It’s been a good ride.
