Former Friend, Fallen Foe

The rash of shoulder injuries to pro and college quarterbacks this season is nothing sort of maddening. The biggest luminaries to go down have been the Pats' Tom Brady and Oklahoma's Sam Bradford, who both hurt their right (throwing) shoulder on post-pass hits by the defense. Both hits were legal, yet both were executed in a manner seemingly designed to injure the quarterback. Let me rephrase: When you pile drive a QB into the ground with all your weight behind you two seconds after he throws the ball, you're trying to hurt the guy.

The latest victim of this disturbing trend is the quarterback who was in turn snubbed, cast aside, and forgotten by the Jets: Chad Pennington.

The Dolphins' signal-caller suffered a torn capsule in his right shoulder when he was pulled down from behind by Chargers' linebacker Kevin Burnett after a throw in Sunday's 23-13 loss. Barring a second opinion by sports guru sage James Andrews, Pennington's season is over, and some experts say his career is done as well.

If that's the case, it marks an ignominious end for a quarterback who was actually one of the Jets' all-time best. Sure, you could argue that points more to the sad state of Jets' quarterbacks through the years, but the bottom line is Pennington ranks fifth all-time in team history with 13,738 passing yards.

Since 1963, the Jets have drafted just five quarterbacks in the first round: Joe Namath, Richard Todd, Ken O'Brien, Pennington, and current rookie phenom Mark Sanchez. Each of the first four were drafted to turn middling franchises around, and each is in the pantheon of Jets' quarterbacks. Pennington is a worthy member of that fraternity, however rocky the ride seemed at times.

Then the Jets saw a better opportunity in Brett Favre 3.0 (I think -- I can't keep track of all his retirements) and basically kicked Pennington to the curb. All Chad did was sign with the Dolphins, turn 0-16 into 11-5 and finish second in the MVP voting. Pretty good.

And now his career is probably over.

After the Jets failed with Favre, they were once again left without a No. 1 quarterback. Enter Sanchez, the first rookie quarterback in NFL history to lead his team to a 3-0 start and the new savior signal-caller for Gang Green. Perhaps Sanchez will be the great quarterback the Jets have sought since Joe Willie hung up his cleats. But people should take a moment to think on the career of Chad Pennington, a man who deserved better on and off the field.