By Brian Bohl
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J.-Few members of the original announced crowd of 76,888 remained at Giants Stadium when Kellen Clemens entered in relief of Chad Pennington. Yet the cheers from the sporadically placed die-hards engulfed the Meadowlands despite the Jets trailing by 10 points with just over three minutes remaining.
Clemens didn’t exactly shine in his limited opportunity, throwing two interceptions on his only two drives. But the fans finally got their wish the next day, as the second-year passer was officially named the starter for this week’s matchup against Washington.
Facing a 1-7 record and a five-game losing streak, the quarterback switch from Pennington to the franchise’s 2006 second-round draft pick remained the last card up the coaching staff’s sleeve. Going to Clemens was the popular move and perhaps the only option available that can grab the attention of a team on the brink of forging a full-scale disaster.
Realistic playoff aspirations were dashed in September, though there is no way the record should be this deplorable. The Jets were swept by a Bills team featuring a rookie quarterback, running back and the NFL’s second-worst ranked defense. Buffalo still won after holding Mangini’s team without a touchdown.
In perhaps his last start as a Jet, Pennington threw for just 103 yards. The only emotion seemed to come from the stands after the jeers grew louder with each subsequent incompletion or failed third-down conversion. Coming off a loss against the inept Bengals the week before, no one in the building seemed to be in a forgiving mood.
If Clemens doesn’t provide a spark to a stagnating offense, Mangini could be starring at a dismal record after going 10-6 and guiding the organization to the playoffs in his first year as head coach. The Jets are 30th out of 32 teams in total offense- in desperate need of a vertical passing attack that can utilize talented receivers like Laveranues Coles and Jerricho Cotchery.
“It’s exciting to have the opportunity and I’m looking forward to the chance to play,” Clemens said.” At the same time, there’s a losing streak right now that this entire team needs to work hard to turn around and we’re going to continue to work on it.”
Mangini might be losing more than games if the Clemens move backfires. The locker room possessed the ambience of a wake Sunday night, and his tough-love and grueling practices might cause a revolt with the players if the results don’t change.
“It’s always a difficult decision when you have to make a change,” Mangini said. We’ve made changes, and the reason we do is because someone else creates an opportunity for themselves. I like the things that Kellen has been doing in practice and when he had the opportunity against Baltimore. I think that he’s earned the opportunity and I thought it was important to give it to him.”
Clemens can help quell the brewing turmoil if he builds off his first career start. That came in Week 2 when he was filling-in for an injured Pennington. The Jets lost that game in Baltimore after sticking close to a quality opponent on the road, and Washington is rated a mediocre 17th against the pass.
“Really the biggest thing I think that I took out of it, walking into the locker room afterwards is we gave them a run for their money down the stretch, I just thought we had a chance,” Clemens said about his first profession start.
“It really helped my confidence going against a pretty good defense like Baltimore to know that. Coming right down to the wire, we had a chance to at least put it into overtime and hopefully go on to win.”
Injuries are also starting to become a factor for the first time this season. Jonathan Vilma was placed on season-ending injured reserve, paving the way for rookie David Harris to gain more playing time. The second-round pick out of Michigan logged 17 tackles against the Bills and could be cornerstone linebacker in the 3-4 defense.
Vilma never became the force in that set that he was in the 4-3 base alignment the team ran before Mangini came aboard. The former Pro Bowler could be dealt in the offseason with Davis getting promoted. Vilma could be joining Pennington on the way out the door, representing the end of an era.
Luckily for the coach, Pennington’s professionalism made the transition relatively painless. Mangini’s public statements are swarmed in secrecy to a ridiculous degree, going so far as to suggest last week that Vilma could possibly play in three days before the team announced he was done for the year. That strict approach was tolerated by the press and players alike when things were going well but can be used as arrows against him if the losing continues. Any pouting by Pennington might have divided the locker room considering his close relationship to players like Coles.
“We haven’t had time for him to be in there for awhile and get games under his belt,” said Coles, who consistently gave faint praise to Clemens. “Teams will start studying him and figuring out his tendencies of what he likes to do and what he doesn’t like to do. Until we get to that point, we won’t know anything.
“It is difficult because I’m great friends with Chad. I think Chad is handling it very well. I’m going to pretty much feel the way that he feels. If he is cool with it than I’m cool with it.”
Sitting at 1-7 on the season, coach Eric Mangini made the change fans had been calling for the past few weeks, benching Chad Pennington in favor of Kellen Clemens. (sports.yahoo.com)