The Future of New York’s Quarterbacks
Both the New York Giants and the New York Jets suffered losses this week, and for both teams much of the criticism is being directed at their quarterbacks, Eli Manning and Chad Pennington.
With the recent success of Tony Romo (Drew Bledsoe’s replacement in Dallas) and David Garrard (Byron Leftwich’s replacement in Jacksonville) many New York football fans may be wondering if their team needs a replacement as well.
Giants and Jets faithful didn’t have to ponder that for long; at their press conferences yesterday Tom Coughlin, head coach for the Giants, and Eric Mangini, head coach for the Jets told reporters that their starters would continue to start.
One issue for both teams is that neither one of them has a particularly inviting replacement. They each have a veteran—Tim Hasselback (Giants) and Patrick Ramsey (Jets)—and they each have a youngster who is not ready to start; Jared Lorenzen (Giants) and Kellen Clemens (Jets). A looming question regarding Pennington arises in an interesting post on Benmaller.com which reports that he is “due a $2 million roster bonus on March 2 and the Jets must make a decision by then if he will remain the quarterback [next season].”
Neither team’s season is over but both face important games this week. Should the Jets (5-5) lose to the Houston Texans they will dip below .500 and give New England the chance to extend their lead to three games in the AFC East. The Giants (6-4) play the Cowboys in two weeks, and the two teams are currently tied atop the NFC East, so they need to gain momentum this week by beating Tennessee. Both quarterbacks have played well in some games this season and both of their opponents this week are beatable. Their futures seem to depend on which versions of Manning and Pennington show up.
With the recent success of Tony Romo (Drew Bledsoe’s replacement in Dallas) and David Garrard (Byron Leftwich’s replacement in Jacksonville) many New York football fans may be wondering if their team needs a replacement as well.
Giants and Jets faithful didn’t have to ponder that for long; at their press conferences yesterday Tom Coughlin, head coach for the Giants, and Eric Mangini, head coach for the Jets told reporters that their starters would continue to start.
One issue for both teams is that neither one of them has a particularly inviting replacement. They each have a veteran—Tim Hasselback (Giants) and Patrick Ramsey (Jets)—and they each have a youngster who is not ready to start; Jared Lorenzen (Giants) and Kellen Clemens (Jets). A looming question regarding Pennington arises in an interesting post on Benmaller.com which reports that he is “due a $2 million roster bonus on March 2 and the Jets must make a decision by then if he will remain the quarterback [next season].”
Neither team’s season is over but both face important games this week. Should the Jets (5-5) lose to the Houston Texans they will dip below .500 and give New England the chance to extend their lead to three games in the AFC East. The Giants (6-4) play the Cowboys in two weeks, and the two teams are currently tied atop the NFC East, so they need to gain momentum this week by beating Tennessee. Both quarterbacks have played well in some games this season and both of their opponents this week are beatable. Their futures seem to depend on which versions of Manning and Pennington show up.
