I’ve contemplated this trade all day. I have gone from thinking that my poor, hapless team had gone and taken on Green Bay’s problem at the expense of their dignity to believing this is a great move. I must admit that it is pretty sad to see Chad Pennington go out this way. He left a part of himself on the field for the Jets and anybody that says different or disparages the guy’s heart is a cynical fool. Chad came back too soon, he hadn’t properly healed and it cost him dearly. He deserved better than this and I can only hope that he comes out of this happy wherever it is that he lands. Just as I have no delusions where it concerns Brett always being a Packer at heart… whoever gets Chad, gets a lifelong Jet at heart.
As for Brett, what’s to say? Even old and washed up as he may or may not be… we’ll all see soon enough if he can get himself back into playing shape… he puts a lot of threats onto the table that weren’t there under Chad or Clemens. He still has a strong gun and as such receivers won’t know off the bat that they are running decoy routes. Brett Favre can get the ball down the field to anybody that’s open. For years the Jets had to rely on Pennington’s ability to be crafty in spite of a weak arm. With Favre defenses will have to respect the fact that the guy has the potential to connect with any of his receivers and the Jets have a pretty respectable lot of them for Brett to toss it off to. The Jets can move away from the smoke and mirrors and get down to beating their opponents rather than out thinking them.
The added bonus in all of this is that Brett has a heck of a work ethic and he can be a real inspiration to a young quarterback coming up in the system. Where Chad had to worry about whether or not somebody was going to take his job, Brett doesn’t. He’s done it all and nobody can ever take that away from him. He can impart wisdom and help to cultivate the talent without fear. That could be a great thing for the Jets in the long term.
So what do I think about the trade? I’m digging it. The Jets by virtue of this trade have managed to get some press in a city that is coming off a Giants Superbowl victory. Even with all the Eli hype (and believe me I love that the kid beat the Pats), Brett brings some credibility to the woefully disrespected Jets. I’d be happy with the playoffs under Brett, but that likely won’t be good enough for crazed fans that are seeing this as “the shot”. I think this is a place to build from, which is funny considering the Jets just acquired a guy in the twilight of his career.
J-E-T-S! Jets! Jets! Jets!
