By Tom Rock
Just think: If Darrell McClover were a few inches shorter, the Jets would have been shutout by the Giants. A pretty pathetic idea. Which begs the question, Just how bad are the Redskins?
The Jets took a large leap backwards in last night’s 13-7 loss. Not that the Giants looked like they are headed for XLI. Chad Pennington’s shoulder may be physically fine, but if the Jets can’t figure out how to pick up a blitz he could be on the operating table for a third go-round by the bye week.
It’s puzzling why no one will admit that Pennington is the team’s starting QB. He played almost three full quarters in the third preseason game, started the first preseason game, and takes the bulk of the snaps with the first unit during the week. Yet the competition ensues, in name alone. After the game last night, after all of the other players were interviewed at their lockers inside Gi@&*$ Stadium, Pennington gave his interview in the press room, on a stage, at a lectern. That’s not something backup quarterbacks do.
Then again, 10 drives, zero points and three turnovers isn’t something starting quarterbacks should do either.
Just want to look into my crystal ball and tell Jets fans to get those No. 6 jerseys ready. Buy them now before supply and demand work the price up. Kellen Clemens will be almost useless as a rookie this year, and if he does get in he’ll take his lumps with the rest of the team. But depending on how Pennington’s shoulder comes through this season, I wouldn’t be surprised to see Clemens as the starting QB either at the start of the 2007 season or sometime before it ends. Kid’s solid across the board, arm strength, smarts, attitude. And last night, unfortunately, he proved he can take a hit.
Scary moment when Kerry Rhodes went down making a head-first tackle on Brandon Jacobs. I had my game story about two-third done at that point, and when I saw the hit live I instinctively hit Ctrl-A on my keyboard and was ready to hit delete. I thought for sure it was going to be worse than it appeared and the story of the night would change from the follies of NY football to the career-threatening – perhaps life-threatening – injury to Rhodes.
Then a minute later he was on his feet. Stunning. Usually when a player lays on the rug motionless, it’s bad news. Seemed he just had his bell rung. I’m sure he was out cold for a few seconds. If he was a starter, he’d probably sit out next week’s game against Philly. But since no one on the team is a starter, it’s hard to tell what’ll happen.
Just a quick note: You may have read on other blogs about the Writers Cup, the annual golf outting that pits those who cover the Jets against those who cover the Giants. I was proud to represent Gang Greens Fees and secure a point in my head-to-head with Vacchiano for the team's victory. Considering I was an alternate added to the squad about 14 hours before tee time and I was giving up 10 strokes, I thought I did fairly well. Then again, Ralph's back injuries certainly opened doors for me.
Unfortunatley, on just about every hole I seemed to find myself in my personal danger zone, that area of the course where my game crumbles and I cannot function. Usually it's within about a 50-yard radius of the pin. Summing up my golf game: No whiffs, bends or putts.