Interesting Article On Pennington's Throwing Motion

http://www.nj.com/sports/ledger/index.ssf?/base/sports-0/1158817546299610.xml&coll=1

His Body Language Is Right On

Thursday, September 21, 2006
BY DAVE HUTCHINSON
Star-Ledger Staff

HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. -- Chad Pennington's second rotator cuff surgery in two years was supposed to put his career in jeopardy.

Instead, it could put him in the Pro Bowl.

But this recovery story has nothing to do with the health of his right shoulder -- which even in the best of times wasn't exactly a rocket. It was during the months of recovery, when he couldn't throw, that Pennington studied how he throws the football. And it was then he discovered a flaw.

"I was more of an arm thrower than what I thought I was," Pennington said yesterday as the Jets began preparation for Sunday's game at Buffalo, where Pennington's first rotator cuff injury occurred.

"For me to have the velocity that I need to make the throws that Coach wants me to make, I needed to become more of a body thrower and understand how to use my body to an advantage to make those throws."

So far it's working.

Pennington has thrown for more than 300 yards in each of the first two games -- he entered the season with just two career 300-yard games -- and his passes suddenly have some juice on them.

Pennington's feel-good start is one of the big surprises so far this year in the NFL, and a big reason why the Jets are 1-1 -- and just a touchdown and 2-point conversion away from being undefeated.

"I think he's throwing the ball as well as he ever has," Jets tight end Chris Baker said. "He has a lot of zip on the ball. He's making a lot of tough throws and getting the ball in places I hadn't seen him get it in before.

"I'm surprised he has come back so strong. It seems like his arm is stronger. He's getting the ball to where it needs to be better than in the past."

During his grueling rehab this off-season, Pennington said he did more than just work on his shoulder. He underwent a total makeover, one that included karate lessons that exposed him to techniques to strengthen his entire body.

"The extra four months of work not only allowed me to get healthy with my shoulder, but also get my total body strength back," said Pennington, who has repeatedly said he rushed back (in just six months) following his first rotator cuff surgery.

"You lose a lot there, too. You lose a lot in your legs, in your hips, in your core. That's just as important, if not more important, to be able to throw the ball effectively and throw it with velocity.

"You watch John Elway throw, watch the great throwers throw, you watch their hips and their torque when they use their midsections. It's pretty amazing. The ball comes out really fast."

This season, Pennington has completed 46 of 70 passes (65.7 percent) for 625 yards, four touchdowns and one interception. His passer rating is 107.2, fourth in the NFL. He leads the league in third-down passing, hitting 17 of 23 attempts (73.9 percent) for 286 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions.

Pennington has six completions of 25 yards or more, including a career-best 71-yard touchdown to wide receiver Jerricho Cotchery.

"He (Pennington) is throwing the ball great right now," Cotchery said. "He has been working hard this whole off-season. I think it's showing on the field."

Pennington credited the receivers with making some "outstanding plays, outstanding runs after the catch."

Somehow, Pennington, who has bounced back up after taking some vicious hits this season, has done it all with virtually no running game.

"Chad is a tough guy, and Chad is a really smart guy, and he makes a lot of really good decisions," Jets coach Eric Mangini said.

Against the Bills, Pennington will need a running game to slow down a pass rush that notched seven sacks in a 16-6 victory at Miami last Sunday. The Bills play an aggressive, hard-hitting style that rattled Dolphins quarterback Daunte Culpepper. The Jets have lost three straight in Buffalo and seven of the past 10 games.

In 2004, Pennington suffered his first rotator cuff injury in Buffalo when he didn't slide at the end of a 12-yard scramble and was sandwiched between linebacker London Fletcher and cornerback Nate Clements.

"You know what: I really haven't thought about it that much," said Pennington, who is playing his first game in Buffalo since that first shoulder injury.

Pennington, however, is giving plenty of thought to the Bills defense, which also knocked around Patriots quarterback Tom Brady in a season-opening 19-17 loss in New England. On the first play from scrimmage, Bills linebacker Takeo Spikes sacked Brady and forced a fumble that was returned for a touchdown by Fletcher.

"I think with Buffalo's defense, they're such high-energy guys," Pennington said. "They play so hard. It's going to be a big challenge for us to match their energy, match their tempo, match how fast they're playing. It seems like they're always a step ahead of their opponent."

 

You're welcome, Jerald.

 

I noticed that also. I guess you could say last year we were 14 touchdowns and 23 field goals away from being undefeated too.

Good interview with Chad, though. You would think a QB would have worked through all that in college. It's almost unnatural for a guy to NOT develope the recoiling, twisting, non arm-throwing motion. Then again, there are plenty of good tennis players, for example, with totally unorthodox and inefficient serving motions who still somehow put together a decent serve.

But maybe there's something to this, because there've been some passes that Chad's made so far this season where I've said to myself, "Is that Chad that just threw that ball?"

 

I hear you Cman50. Hopefully Houston can get some touches this week and we'll see what he can do to break our dismal 2.2-yard average. My opinion of our running game is, I think we sorely miss Pete Kendall on the line.

Last summer, I talked a lot about Chad's throwing motion. He had a strange, exagerated, overhead motion in camp ('05). I don't know whether it was Heimerdinger's idea or medical advice or just that it might have been the least painful of motions while he was still recovering. But it was almost a hand grenade throwing motion, that's how weird it looked. It also resulted in some short, ridiculous-looking bloopers. He clearly was not ready to play in a real game and for Edwards to have inserted him under center at Arrowhead last September was unconcionable.

It clearly looks much different this year, with the extra four months to rehab, so that's encouraging. Let's all hope Chad can stay on the field and get even stronger.

 

Last year, we all talked about the possibility that Chad's shoulder might turn out to be "as good new" if the operation was successful and his rehab went well enough.

I'm no medical expert, but others opined that other athletes have come back from this type of surgery with at least as much strength (if not more, from the rehab) than they had before the injury. Does anyone with medical knowledge know if this is really possible?

It certainly seems as though Chad has willed it so.