Chad Pennington, who appears to be a virtual lock to start against the Titans on Sunday in Nashville, Tenn., was as defiant as ever yesterday when discussing himself as a starting quarterback.
Pennington never thought he should have been benched in the first place, though he understands why it occurred. And the Tennessee native burns inside to show everyone he can still play and win and is stoked about the prospect of doing that in his home state.
“It’s always exciting to go and play in front of some familiar faces and play in your home state,” Pennington said. “I’m excited about possibly having the opportunity to play.”
If Pennington does, indeed, start, it’ll be where he believes he belongs.
“I certainly feel that I’m a starter, absolutely . . . no question in my mind,” Pennington said. “I can always help someone win. When that time comes, obviously evaluations will be made on both sides.”
Asked if he wanted to remain as the Jets’ starter if they said they wanted him back, Pennington was vague.
“Those are things that I have to sit down and really think about in the offseason and really give that some time and effort,” Penning ton said. “I don’t think that’s a five-minute discussion or a five-minute thought by myself personally. That requires a lot of time and input on both sides and a lot of thought by myself to see what I want to do.”
When pressed about whether he wants to remain a Jet, Pennington said that’s out of his control.
“I can sit here and give a ‘rah-rah’ speech about how I want to be a Jet, but I don’t have the ultimate decision on that,” he said. “I may have influence on it, but I can’t control it.
“When that time comes to think about all those different options then I’ll do like I always do and be very diligent and take it all into account. I’ll say this: I’ve extremely enjoyed my time in New York. I feel really good about how far I’ve come, the obstacles I’ve overcome and how I play the game.”
Kellen Clemens, who started the last seven games, but was knocked out with a rib injury last Sunday against the Patriots, still looks as if he has some physical obstacles to overcome to make it back onto the field.
He did, however, make some throws in the warm-up portion of practice after not making any throws during that period on Wednesday and definitely favoring his left side.
It’s not out of the question that Eric Mangini is toying with the Titans a bit, not naming his starter the way Tennessee coach Jeff Fisher never named his starting quarterback in the days leading up to the teams’ meeting last season.
Even if Pennington does start this week, Mangini made it clear that if Clemens is healthy enough and mentally prepared to play, he would start.
That certainly leaves you to wonder what the Jets’ plans are for Pennington, who’s under contract for 2008.
“I don’t know what the organization’s stance on that (wanting him back) is and I’m not really concerned about it,” Pennington said. “I know whatever happens, something good will happen for me. I’m an optimist and I feel very good about myself as a professional and how I approach my occupation.
“Right now my total focus is on trying to help us win our fourth game and trying to win our last away game. To me, that’s important and it’s important to our team. I haven’t even given (the future) much thought. I’m taking it one day at a time and move on to the next thing. When the offseason comes, we can deal with those matters.”