It will be interesting to watch the competition between Kellen Clemens and Chad Pennington to see who will start at QB for the Jets in 2008.  Kellen Clemens appears to have a slight edge because of his arm strength but he wasn’t near as efficient running the offense as Pennington was last season.  Clemens played in 10 games (8 starts) for the Jets last season and he completed 130 of 250 passes (52%) for 1,529 yards with only 5 TD passes and 10 interceptions (60.9 QB Rating).  Clemens also carried the ball 27 times for 111 yards (4.1 ypc) with 1 TD run.  Clemens can get the ball deep which is something that Chad Pennington can’t do anymore because of all of the surgeries he has endured in his career.  Clemens has now played in 12 games (8 starts) in his NFL career and he has completed 130 of 251 passes (51.8%) for 1,529 yards with 5 TD passes and 10 interceptions (60.7 QB Rating).  He also has carried the ball 29 times for 121 yards (4.2 ypc) with 1 TD run.

Chad Pennington is the crusty old veteran QB of the Jets.  He is smart and knows where to go with the football but sometimes his arm can’t get the ball there.  That often constricts the Jets’ offense and helps the opposing defense because they get closer to the line thus taking the running game and the short passing game away.  Pennington lost his job because the Jets’ offense was not good last season and everyone blames the QB for that.  He played in 9 games (8 starts) for the Jets last season and he completed 179 of 260 passes (68.8%) for 1,765 yards with 10 TD passes and 9 interceptions (86.1 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 20 times for 32 yards (1.6 ypc) with 1 TD run.  No one will ever question Pennington’s toughness as many QBs would have retired due to all of the cutting he’s endured on his right shoulder.  But, Pennington is still a decent QB and I wouldn’t be surprised if he upsets Clemens and starts this year.  Pennington has now played in 69 games (61 starts) in his NFL career and he has completed 1,259 of 1,919 passes (65.6%) for 13,738 yards with 82 TD passes and 55 interceptions (88.9 QB Rating).  He also has carried the ball 147 times for 396 yards (2.7 ypc) with 6 TD runs.

Rookie Erik Ainge has a lot of the same traits as a young Chad Pennington as he is a game manager.  He doesn’t have the best arm but he’s efficient.  Ainge also has problems staying healthy which is one of Pennington’s worst traits.  He will be holding a clipboard this whole season unless Clemens and Pennington both get hurt.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 2008 SEASON:  C-