Odds and Sods

Early in the third quarter of today’s Pats-Jets game, Chad Pennington limped off the field with an ankle injury.  After Pennington left the field, second-year QB of the future Kellen Clemens came onto the field.  Having made only 2 pass attempts the previous season, Jets fans acknowledged his first meaningful series by cheering for him when he came onto the field, and showered him with another cheer following his first NFL completion.

Rather than praising this or simply letting it pass, Jim Nantz and Phil Simms proceed to comment about how awful it was that fans cheered when Pennington went off injured.  Despite the fact that fans waited until Clemens came onto the field to cheer rather than immediately when Pennington went off hurt, these two still concluded that the cheer was meant as an insult to Pennington.  Even when Jets fans replicated the cheer after the completion, Nantz and Simms still stuck to their guns.  Simms even resorted to the Tim McCarver philosophy of “I don’t care what anyone says.  I am right,” with no justification.

Chad Pennington isn’t the best quarterback in the NFL, but, when he is healthy, he is competent and effective.  He has his weaknesses (arm strength), but has prominently displayed his ability to lead a team to the playoffs.  Furthermore, he was having an excellent game (16-21 for 167 yds and 2 TD).  Why on earth would the fans cheer Pennington getting injured?  There is no rational explanation for it.  Even Philly fans aren’t that sadistic.

For fans to cheer when the starting quarterback was injured, it would have to be a Joey Harrington in Detroit type situation, which Pennington’s time in New York surely is not.  It’s one thing to be wrong.  It’s another to be wrong and stubbornly cling to your position despite clear evidence to the contrary.  File this is as incident #578,642 that proves all football announcers are complete and utter buffoons.