?I would wake up screaming out cadences and making audibles at the line. I don?t think my wife was sleeping, obviously, because I was waking her up,? he said. ?Finally, in the later part of the season, I learned I have to get my rest or I?m done, I?m not going to make it.?
I don't know if this is a good read or not. I would rather say this is a red-light signal from him instead. So basically what he is saying is that, he has hard time absorbing the sizable chunk of new information that are critical for any successful QB in this league. Now, let's say new defensive trend pops in. Would he be able to adapt and thrive in time? I know Chad will do that - Ok. Not maybe Brady-Manning like successful, but better than most, if you know what I mean - but I don't know if Clemens will. His sore shoulder - doesn't sound too good either, but I will let it pass at this moment. Let's see if he can adapt by the end of this year. If he can't, we all know we have a bust in him.
I don't know if we need to worry about this. It sounds like Penny went through the same thing based on his advice to Clemens. It also sounds like he got over that issue after learning to sleep more. I wouldn't read too much into this at all unless you hear of medical issues. It was probably a matter of being a rookie and going through the extra weeks of practice.
I can relate to what he's saying, though. When I went back to grad school, it took a little bit of time to re-learn the process of studying. The guys who had jumped from undergrad to grad school had an easier transition. I wouldn't worry about it too much. And he's the quarterback, so he's not just learning the QB position, he has to learn just about every position on the offense, plus he has to learn to read defenses. He's was a rookie last year who we thankfully didn't need in the crunch. He'll be better off this year by operating within the same offense he learned last year. I for one am glad he's taking the approach of trying to learn everything he can vs. Rex Grossman who says he was distracted before the New Year's Eve game vs. the Packers because of all the parties he was planning to attend that night. That'd be more worrisom to me, honestly, than a guy who says he felt overwhelmed at times.
I think clemens will be fine. He's a farm-raised plowboy who's obviously more comfortable mending fences and chewing skoal than hitting the books. He hasn't even been here a whole year yet and it sounds like the whole thing has been a bit overwhelming. But believe me, I saw him in perseon at TC and the kid has what it takes. He's just going to have to suck it up cerebrally. I could easily see Clemens eventually inserted and Pennington stepping aside (but remaining with the team) and taking on the role of permanent B/U and mentor. This is a comnbination that would easily work, IMO.
A red flag is if in a game situation he shits the bed. I'm not going to worry about an article in March. I still feel like he's the QB of the future, whether that's week 9 or 2009.
my shoulder hurts during baseball season. i always throw it out. feels better in a week, no biggie. oh, and i think hell look real good with number 11. fit him well in college, always liked it.
