Jets 28, Vikings 21

Pennington Shows That His Arm's Just Fine

Ray Stubblebine/Reuters

"It felt like old times again," Chad Pennington said of his performance against the Vikings, which included a 20-yard touchdown pass to Laveranues Coles.

By KAREN CROUSE

Published: August 20, 2005

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J., Aug. 19 - It might have been a preseason game, but Jets fans knew better. They saw quarterback Chad Pennington's start Friday night against the Minnesota Vikings for what it really was: a rehabilitation assignment.

Pennington, owner of the most precarious right arm in New York this side of Yankees pitcher Jaret Wright, had not taken a snap in a game in seven months, since the Jets' American Football Conference divisional playoff loss at Pittsburgh on Jan. 15.

Bill Kostroun/Associated Press

Wayne Chrebet receiving an 18-yard touchdown pass from Jay Fiedler in the second quarter that gave the Jets a 14-7 lead over Minnesota.

What Pennington set out to achieve against the Vikings on a damp, dreary night was essentially what Wright accomplished when he returned to the competitive arena against Gulf Coast League batters last month. His goal was to shake loose the cobwebs, shore up his rhythm and sharpen his confidence.

Done, done and done.

Playing three possessions, Pennington completed 9 of 10 passes for 86 yards. He started slowly, showing his rust, but finished with the flourish of an exuberant orchestra conductor, completing a 20-yard pass to Laveranues Coles in the end zone to cap a nine-play, 80-yard drive.

Pennington left the game with the score tied, 7-7. The Jets won 28-21.

As soon as Coles drew the ball in, Pennington raised his right arm and wagged his index finger. His range of motion never looked better. It represented a vast improvement from the weeks after his surgery on Feb. 8 when he could not raise his arm to brush his teeth.

"It felt like old times again," Pennington said.

"It was nice to spread the ball around," he added, "just get a good drive going."

Pennington's arm strength was scrutinized long before his shoulder joint frayed from use like the denim around the knees of jeans. That's perhaps why none of his completions was as sweetly significant as his incompletion.

It was a 45-yard throw that Pennington launched at the start of the second series that outpaced its streaking target, Justin McCareins, by 5 yards. After the ball bounced on the turf, Jets Coach Herman Edwards shot Pennington an anxious stare. He was looking for any signs of discomfort.

When he saw that Pennington was fine, Edwards stopped worrying.

"It just proves to me I have a good shoulder," said Pennington, adding that he threw the ball with ease.

"When I let it go, I was just trying to put it out there and I even surprised myself how far I threw it," he said. "That is probably the first time I have overthrown a receiver in about three years."

Pennington's injury - a torn rotator cuff - was worse than the strained shoulder that sidelined the Yankees' Wright four and a half months. It had plenty of people wondering, was Pennington really ready for his comeback?

At the Meadowlands before the game, the only thing more leaden than the gray clouds above was the anticipation barely contained beneath all the replica team jerseys in the stands.

No one was more excited than Pennington, who literally could not wait to play. Standing on the Jets' sideline, his left shoe was on the field, well over the white chalk of the sideline, even before the punt of Darren Bennett, which came after the Vikings' opening drive stalled at the Jets' 49-yard line, was airborne.

The last time Pennington had crouched behind center in a game, he completed 21 of 33 passes for 182 yards and threw an interception that set up the Steelers' first touchdown. Never mind the pick, what Jets fans remember is Pennington taking a knee at the Steelers' 25 so Doug Brien could try a 43-yard field goal, which he missed.

The only way Paul Hackett's offense could have been any more conservative was if Pennington and Company had dressed in black three-piece suits. The offense under Hackett's replacement, Mike Heimerdinger, is less predictable, more chromatic.

In the first half, Pennington and his backup Jay Fiedler found five receivers, with Coles leading the way with six receptions. Pennington is a fan of Heimerdinger's philosophy about the downfield pass, which is, basically, "let it rip and let the guys run after it," Pennington said.

He now knows better than to take anything for granted. So it was more than a mere formality when Pennington, standing on the 50-yard line, turned to Edwards after the playing of the national anthem, as he always does, and told him he loved him. Edwards responded, as is his custom, by reminding Pennington to go out and have fun.

Edwards would like to see Pennington play with the same joy as the Pop Warner players who formed two receiving lines to welcome the Jets onto the field before the game.

"He's harder on himself than anybody else is," Edwards said earlier in the week. "After every series he'll say, 'I didn't do this. I didn't do that. I should've done that.' Then I'll have to hit him in the back of the head like I always do and say, 'Just go play.' "

Pennington listened to Edwards on Friday. He went out and played that third series as though he'd never been sidelined. "It was just fun to finally get out there and play the game I love to play," he said.

EXTRA POINTS

The Jets' Rashad Washington, a second-year safety, was knocked out of the game with a concussion. ... The Vikings committed five penalties before the first Jets player was flagged. ... Wayne Chrebet, who sat out the preseason opener with a strained hamstring, caught an 18-yard scoring pass from Jay Fiedler to put the Jets ahead 14-7 in the second quarter. ... The rookie running back Cedric Houston scored on a 10-yard run for the decisive points.