Mangini felt neither Pennington nor Clemens fit his vision for the team’s starting QB. Pennington was a tremendous leader and extremely smart but he simply did not have the necessary arm strength to be a starter.
With Clemens, we just don’t know enough about him yet. The word out of Hofstra is that he is struggling with reading defenses. This is not terrible. Most young QB’s need time to understand defensive formations and to audible out of plays that won’t work.
Mangini knew Clemens wasn’t ready and Pennington, despite his tremendous heart, just didn’t have the tools to get it done and would limit the offense’s play calls, which would make them too predictable.
Favre already has shown he can come in and run the offense. In his first practice he ran the huddle fine, made the play calls and was precise with his passes. He has a lot to learn but Schottenheimer will bring him along slowly, incorporating plays that play to his strengths.
He has the arm that immediately commands respect. From day one defenses will not be able to crowd the line with extra defenders because they know 70-yard pass plays will be in the arsenal.
This will help the running game immensely, eliminating at least one guy from the box that would have been there regularly if Chad were under center.
Favre’s sheer presence will make the Jet’s better.
Like many Jets fans, I resisted the Favre trade. I didn’t want a quick fix at the most important position and certainly didn’t want to live through what the Packers have lived through the last three years: Brett Favre’s indecision about his future.
No player is bigger than the team and that is what the situation became in Green Bay. The team was held ransom by its star QB.
It was not fair to the Packers organization and I don’t want Favre to do the same thing to the Jets. But now that I understand the team’s need for Favre, I can understand why the Jets are willing to tolerate the drama.
Favre brings a ton of upside and makes everyone around him better. You could see it last week in Cleveland – Favre throwing balls on the sideline in his street clothes, chatting up some of the veterans.
Everyone was pumped up because Favre brings a passion for the game that is unparalleled. He loves the game so much that his enthusiasm is infectious. Other players want to get a piece of it and will work harder when they are around it.
The Jets also need Favre to take them to another level offensively. They need to put points on the board and Favre will do just that.
Even if the Jets do not win their division, make the playoffs or have a winning record, the Favre trade will bring excitement and attention to the team. Hopefully he will also bridge the Jets to their next QB who might lead the them to a Championship.
If Favre can get us there in the next year or two, I’ll take that too.