Despite nearly being trampled during the Jets’ preseason game against the Giants on Saturday, Chad Pennington again stood up for Jacob Bender, the beleaguered left guard who is trying to replace Pete Kendall – and so did his coach, who placed blame throughout the offensive line.
“There were definitely things he could have done better, and he’s not alone,” Eric Mangini said of Bender. The Jets would appear to be in the market for an established player to fill the void, but none was on the practice field yesterday. “And there are a lot of different age groups across that line and issues that weren’t unique to him.”
Mangini pointed to D’Brickashaw Ferguson, who – like Bender – surrendered a sack.
“There are plays across the board, whether it was a rookie or whether it was an established vet, that each guy had that needed to be improved upon,” Mangini said.
Or else Pennington might not survive.
“I don’t have a concern [about Bender],” Pennington said. “I know what type of guys we have in that unit and our offense. I know what type player he is. I know how physical he is. You can’t teach a guy to get off the football and this guy knows how to get off the football. He knows how to strike his opponent. We can fix those [other mistakes]. We’ve had a really good camp and just because the preseason games haven’t gone as well as we would have liked, we don’t need to push the panic button.”
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The Jets got down to 75 players after yesterday’s cuts. Among the eight players let go was veteran WR Tim Dwight, who has battled injuries throughout his tenure with the team. . . . Mangini said he was unsure how much the starters will play in Thursday’s preseason finale in Philadelphia. Pennington said he didn’t have a preference whether he played, despite the offense’s struggles against the Giants.