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David Moulton: Pennington gets his shot against team that gave up on him
David Moulton
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All the attention today will be on Brett Favre.
Since Super Bowl XLII, hasn’t all the attention in the NFL been on Brett Favre? His legacy is secure no matter how these final chapters with the New York Jets play out. Today is nervous and exciting but not the end of the world for No. 4.
Today means everything for Chad Pennington.
Pennington was the quarterback the Jets discarded on a moment’s notice once they traded for Favre. Pennington was the QB that made Herm Edwards a successful head coach while taking the Jets to the playoffs twice.
Pennington was the NFL equivalent of Tommy John. The smart, skinny kid from Tennessee who twice came back from rotator cuff surgery on his throwing shoulder. No other QB had ever done that before.
At 30, small in stature but big on guts and guile, he led the Jets to 10 wins and a playoff spot. He made his rookie coach so famous, Eric Mangini got a cameo in the finale of “The Sopranos.”
He renegotiated his contract, taking a huge pay cut after he got hurt. When he won the NFL Comeback Player of the Year Award, he was rewarded with the Jets drafting his replacement in the second round.
Despite being a captain, team leader and the franchise’s most successful QB since Joe Namath, they couldn’t dump him fast enough.
Pennington couldn’t sign with the Miami Dolphins soon enough.
Two chances every year to stick it to ’em. Today is the first shot.
He is the most accurate passer in NFL history.
He will be the most motivated player on the field today.
He’s a gutsy winner with a huge chip on his bad shoulder.
Favre has had many moments and likely will have a few more. The Dolphins have a QB of the future in Chad Henne. It’s Pennington’s job to groom him to take over the reins to this franchise sooner rather than later.
But not today.
Today is personal.
* * *
There’s a current NFL team whose stature defies the facts. They are the oldest team in the league with more players and starters 30-plus than anyone else.
Defensively they are pretty slow in a league getting faster every day. They are also trying to overcome the “hangover.”
The Super Bowl hangover.
Teams that lose the Super Bowl have missed the playoffs seven of the last nine years. Only two of those nine teams won more than seven games the following season.
The 1991 Washington Redskins went 18-1 behind a veteran team, with a Hall of Fame coach and the league MVP at QB. Ditto, the 2007 New England Patriots. The 1992 Redskins went 9-7.
I know New England has Bill Belichick, Tom Brady and Randy Moss. I know they play in a weak division.
But something tells me they are closer to 9-7 than they are 18-1.
* * *
Every season this decade at least five of the teams that made the postseason the year before (and usually six), miss the playoffs the following year.
When you consider that most everyone considers Dallas, Seattle, New England, Indianapolis and San Diego locks for the postseason, that means virtually every other team on this list will miss the playoffs: the New York Giants, Washington, Green Bay, Tampa Bay, Pittsburgh, Jacksonville and Tennessee.
Doesn’t seem possible, but it happens every year. In fact, there is so much parity in the NFL that only four teams have made the playoffs three consecutive seasons: the Patriots (five), Colts (six), Seahawks (five) and ... the New York Giants (three).
* * *
For the record, the Bucs will go 10-6 but lose early in the playoffs again. The Dolphins will go 6-10, but there is finally some light at the end of the long, dark tunnel.
As for Super Bowl XLIII, Chargers 24, Cowboys 20.
* * *
You made it 30 consecutive Sundays without the NFL. Didn’t think you had it in ya, but you did. Now go put on that favorite team’s shirt, hat or dare to break out the jersey.
It’s a special day.
Hope is everywhere — except Kansas City, Atlanta, Baltimore and Oakland.
Not even Hurricane Ike can get in the way.
Now the fantasy geek watching the games with a laptop to keep track of how his players are doing, he’s a threat to society of epic proportions.
David Moulton co-hosts “Miller and Moulton in the Afternoon” on AM 770 ESPN Radio. The show airs weekdays 3-6:30 p.m. His column appears every Sunday. You can e-mail David directly at: sportsgoober@hotmail.com
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