800 Pound Gorilla Breaks Free at Hofstra! Reeks Havoc on Jets Training Camp, Roars with Southern Drawl

So we've all been thinking about it. We've talked about anything and everything else that we could come up with. We've done our best to ignore it? maybe we poked it with a stick to see if it's still there and indeed it was. It hasn't gone anywhere. The Jets quarterback situation is exactly how we left it at the end of last season. Lets see if I can sum this up in a few sentences. Last season Chad Pennington came in as the Jets starter and proceeded to win one game out of the eight that he started. Kellen Clemens came in when Pennington went down to injury and lost, then seven weeks later replaced Chad as the starter. He led the Jets to three wins and five losses. Mangini stuck with Chad much longer than many think he should have before he reluctantly handed the keys to Clemens. "I made this decision not based on singling out Chad for where we are, but based on the fact that I think Kellen's earned this opportunity," Mangini said. "It's in no way an indication that Chad is solely responsible. We all are.It's always a difficult decision when you have to make a change. I really like so many things about Chad." (October of last year) There weren't many wins last season. Rarely do I understate things as much as I just did. The Jets stunk. They scared absolutely no one. Through free agency and the draft, the Jets took care of many problems. The offensive line finally appears ready to offend. They just signed their monstrous #1 draft pick and he should help the defense stop the run. The Jets grabbed a few tight ends. They grabbed right tackles. They grabbed nose guards and fullbacks. They even grabbed Calvin Pace for God's sake. This offseason was extremely active by any team's standards but for the Jets it was epic. The one problem they couldn't fix though was the one at quarterback and the problem remains. No matter how good the defense plays, the Jets aren't winning games without scoring points. That appeared to be their strategy last season and as I've said already, it did not work so well. Mangini stuck it out with Chad as long as he could last season. Kellen didn't shine as Pennington's replacement? and here we are again. The only way Brett Favre fits in with the Jets is if Kellen Clemens really is the quarterback of the future. Last season he showed us a cannon of an arm. That cannon often had trouble hitting its mark though. If Kellen is to be The Man, then he must have not been ready. The fact that Mangini hasn't named him the starter indicates that he's still not ready. Since the Kellen-Pennington honeymoon is officially over (two years of straight up head to head competition will ruin any marriage), there needs to be a change made. We don't want the quarterback looking over his shoulder worrying about a knife in his back. It is important the #2 QB helps the starter throughout the season, not hurts him. It's a delicate relationship between those two, one built upon respect with the betterment of the team in mind. Chad has always been a team player whether he was backing up Testeverde or starting with a messed up shoulder. These days he's too worried about looking out for himself and the starting job. "All of us want the organization to believe in us, and us, period. Nobody else - Kellen, Brett, nobody. I want you to believe in me." (Chad Pennington) The productive relationship the two quarterbacks shared is over. The Jets want Clemens to be their guy but he just wasn't last season. Chad will outplay Kellen at training camp and we'll be exactly where we were when last season started. Chad will be the starter. Kellen will be waiting in the wings? without anyone's vote of confidence this time. This is exactly what Mangini doesn't want but what he's doomed to embrace if things continue the way they're going. The captain needs a new tack. Especially since it is now so obvious that nothing's changed, something's gotta change. Go get Favre. Kellen will be happy to sit out awhile longer behind him. Sitting on the bench behind Pennington won't sit well with Clemens or the rest of the team. It's like a broken record repeating the same scratchy tune over and over again.