Jets Strategy, Confuse Chad Pennington

Shapecity · Sep 6, 2008

FLORHAM PARK — When his offensive teammates on the Jets voted Chad Pennington to be one of their captains a year ago, one of the reasons certainly was his unflappable demeanor in the face of adversity.

His former defensive teammates know that as well. And on Sunday, they’ll see it from the other side of the line of scrimmage when the Jets visit Miami, now led by Pennington at quarterback.

“You just have to get in his head,” defensive end Shaun Ellis said today, “try to confuse him a little bit, get him off rhythm [and] basically control him.”

But Ellis, who came to the Jets in the first round of the 2000 draft, just as Pennington did, knows that is easier said than done.

“It’s going to be really tough,” Ellis said. “You really can’t just say, ‘we’ll do this and he’s not going to check to this.’ He knows his offense. He’s been around the league enough. He’s played enough games at quarterback, so he’s seen basically every defense imaginable and he’s been in different offensive systems.”

Pennington was released by the Jets last month, less than 24 hours after they acquired Brett Favre. One day later, Pennington was employed again as he signed with the Dolphins. Similar to Favre, he had to learn a new system on the fly, and in three games, he went 18-for-25 for 176 yards and one touchdown with no interceptions.

“It’s a learning process,” Pennington said of adapting to a new playbook, “and it will continue on throughout the year.”

But the system isn’t totally foreign to him, considering Miami’s new offensive coordinator is Dan Henning, who was the Jets’ offensive coordinator when Pennington was a rookie in 2000. Henning’s offenses always have emphasized the screen pass, something that fits well with Pennington’s accuracy and ability to control the ball with a short passing game.

“There’s not too much you can throw at the guy that he hasn’t seen,” Ellis said, “so he will make the proper checks and get them into good situations. He won’t force the ball. He’ll throw to the open guy, so it’s going to be tough.”

Another of Pennington’s strengths is his ability to execute play-action fakes, so it’s imperative that the Jets slow down running backs Ricky Williams and Ronnie Brown. Williams, who only played only one game in the last two seasons because of an NFL-mandated suspension for violating its drug policy and because of a torn chest muscle after he was reinstated, led the Dolphins in rushing during the preseason. Brown rushed for 112 yards against the Jets in the first meeting between the teams last season.

“If you stop the run, the play-action pass is kind of ineffective,” Pace said. “The thing about Chad is he’s going to know what all his options are, so it’s basically going to come down to tight coverage, whether it be [by the] corners or safeties.”

And although many people have maligned Pennington’s arm strength throughout his career, his ex-teammates do not.

“If he’s on the money and he’s on time and he has the read,” strong safety Kerry Rhodes said, “he can make every throw in this league.”

Said Ellis: “It’s just got to be an issue of who does it the best. Can he read [the defense] better than we can show it? That’s what it comes down to.”
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Source: North Jersey

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Jets Strategy, Confuse Chad Pennington

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Jets Strategy, Confuse Chad Pennington

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