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Join Date: Sep 2006
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As usual, Chad does whatever it takes
As usual, Chad does whatever it takes -- Newsday.com
Quote:
This is why you have to love what Chad Pennington means to the Jets, and what he means to the game of football: It is a hot, steamy morning at the team's Hofstra training camp, the field is soaked after monsoon-like rains, and there is Pennington, running full speed and doing a belly-flop into a huge pool of water, landing near Eric Mangini's feet.
The coach is not amused.
"I know coach wasn't smiling," Pennington admitted a few minutes after Wednesday's practice. "He looked at me and just said, 'Don't get hurt."'
Here we are, smack in the middle of two-a-days, and Pennington is doing whatever he can to give his team a lift. Before you know it, the winds will be howling at Giants Stadium, the temperature will dip, and Pennington will be doing something else to exhort his teammates.
"I was just trying to give us a spark," said Pennington, his once-white pants a dull gray and his entire uniform soaked from head to toe. "You've got to find ways to lighten things up. You have to watch in training camp, because you can really get negative with your body language and your attitude."
The net result of Pennington's child-like delight in a game of slip 'n slide: "It sure got me dirty, muddy and miserable."
But he did have a good practice, and that is the only thing that matters to the Jets' quarterback.
"It's all about preparation," he said, "and what you do here will go a long way to what you do during the season."
Of course, what Pennington does will have just about everything to do with what happens this season -- whether the Jets build on last year's surprising 10-6 record that gave them a wild-card spot in the playoffs in Mangini's first season, or whether they fail to close the gap with a Patriots team that has Super Bowl run written all over it.
The 31-year-old Pennington will take the next step in tonight's preseason game at home against the Falcons. As Mangini's unquestioned starter long before camp started, Pennington has been the consummate leader and the consummate quarterback. And this time, without the burden of rehabbing from the shoulder problems that once imperiled his career.
"I'm just playing like a normal athlete," he said. "As a veteran, I'm learning how to take care of my body and doing the necessary things off the field to make sure that when I step on the field, I'm healthy and doing the things I need to do."
Pennington has been brilliant for most of the Jets' off-season workouts, although there was an uneven performance in a scrimmage against the first-team defense earlier this week. But you can expect the sharpness to take over once the live action starts and the Jets embark on a torturous schedule that opens against the Patriots. If the Jets are to have any chance this year, then Pennington has to be every bit as good as he's ever been.
"We've got to be careful of what we think we can do," he said. "Potential and prognostication don't mean a lot, and sometimes it can be a trap. I just have to come out here every day and make sure we get better."
Even if it means taking a mud bath for the team.
"Chad's the heart and soul of this offense," receiver Justin McCareins said. "On days like today, when everyone is stiff and tired and takes a while to get moving, he's the guy diving in the mud to get us going. He'll lighten the mood up, or will get us focused on what we have to do and not allow ourselves to be distracted by any outside things."
Pennington is one of the only quarterbacks to ever come back from not one, but two shoulder surgeries. Not many people thought he could do it; honestly, I had my doubts, too. And so did former head coach Herman Edwards, who often wondered privately if Pennington was through when he was re-injured early in the 2005 season. In fact, Pennington and Edwards once wept and embraced over the uncertainty both men shared.
But with an unceasing work ethic, a new coach, and maybe a little bit of luck, Pennington has emerged from the experience and taken back his team. After dominating last year's four-way competition, Pennington is now the unquestioned leader.
"Publicly, it's been known that this year is not a competition," he said. "But you always think inside that it's always a competition. Each year, you keep yourself on the edge and stay focused. You do everything you can not to give them any reason to replace you."
In other words, Pennington knows that one day Kellen Clemens might take his place. Or if not Clemens, then someone else. But unless Pennington suddenly loses the swagger he regained after an unprecedented comeback, that moment will not come any time soon.
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As usual, Chad does whatever it takes
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