Chad Pennington sure talked a lot when he unleashed his anger at the media for criticizing his and his team's performance, but when the time came to actually back up his words on the field, Chad Pennington once again folded against tough opposition. While being harassed all game long by the Patriots' defense, the 64-million quarterback threw two interceptions in addition to a 4th quarter fumble that ended any Jets' hopes for an improbable comeback. Without the ground game support Chad Pennington looked like a totally different quarterback, finishing the game with a poor 68.3 passing rating, quite a difference from last week's 148.1 when the Jets racked up over 200 yards on the ground.
The Jets moved inside the Patriots' territory on their first drive and were close to field goal range when Pennington made his first big mistake of this game. His pass once again hung up in the air for too long and was easily intercepted by LB Tedy Bruschi who returned it to the Jets' 38-yard line. This time, however, the Jets' defense held up, forcing New England to go three and out and punt. The Jets' offense continued moving the ball well on the second possession. First, Pennington's precise pass to WR Wayne Chrebet moved the Jets to the midfield. Then, two short passes to FB Jerald Sowell and WR Justin McCareins advanced the Gang Green to field goal range. And then.... how many times have we seen this before? Yet another Paul Hackett's draw play on a third down that gets stuffed! RB Curtis Martin ran for a loss of four yards and instead of taking at least a 3-0 lead the Jets were forced to punt.
The Patriots, on the other hand, just weren't going to let their chances slip away. Two possessions later New England was finally able to sustain a decent drive, taking a 3-0 lead. While New England's offense only seemed to be improving throughout the course of the game, the Jets offense was rapidly deteriorating. Six minutes later, following yet another Jets' empty possession, the Patriots generated an 86-yard drive, increasing the lead to 10-0. Jets response? Another three and out, of course! The Patriots got the ball back and seven plays later the lead was extended to 13-0...
If the Jets fans expected to see any halftime adjustments, they were up for a big disappointment. The Gang Green once again punted on their first second half possession, while the Patriots simply started milking the clock, putting this game out of reach. New England took over seven minutes off the game clock on their second possession in the third quarter, increasing the lead to 16-0. If any Jets fans were still hoping for a miracle comeback, their hopes quickly evaporated when Chad Pennington threw his second interception. Pennington's pass was picked off on a 3rd and 24 and returned to the Jets' 15-yard line. Four plays later Brady connected with Deion Branch for his second touchdown of the game. Trailing by 23 points, the Jets finally decided to open it up against a much softer New England defense that at times was simply playing prevent. Three minutes later the Jets finally scored when Pennington connected with WR Santana Moss for a 15-yard touchdown, 23-7. Too little, too late...
Once again the Jets failed to perform against top opposition and once again Chad Pennington failed to beat a top notch defense. Some fans are going to blame Paul Hackett, but it's the same Paul Hackett's system that allowed Pennington to look like an elite quarterback and made Woody Johnson open his wallet to sign him for another seven years. Some fans are going to say that Pennington's shoulder must be bothering him, but if he's not healthy, he should not be on the field to begin with. The truth is Pennington's arm is just not strong enough to perform well in most NFL offensive schemes. Hackett's offense of short passes and dump offs has made Pennington look what many Jets fans wanted him to be - an elite NFL quarterback, which he is not. Seven years, 64 million dollars.... we, Jets fans, should start preparing ourselves for quite a few more years of what we saw today.....