Post by Lithfan on Sept 25, 2015 5:35:56 GMT -5
September 25, 2005
As I am sure most of us remember, the 2004 season came to an end after two Doug Brien field goal attempts sailed wide on a January evening at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh. In spite of the disappointing end to that season, the 2005 campaign brought optimism to even the most negative of Jet fans.
We finally had our franchise QB, Chad Pennington, coming off of a solid 2004 season. The running game was led by Curtis Martin and a solid stable of receivers supported Chad, including Laveranues Coles and Wayne Chrebet. In addition, they were returning a defensive unit that ranked 3rd in the league in scoring defense. The Jets were considered one of the pre-season favorites to come out of the AFC in 2005. All of the optimism would come crashing down in a span of 6 offensive plays in the 3rd quarter of game 3 on 9/25/05.
The Jets opened up in Kansas City two weeks earlier, and their performance that afternoon foreshadowed what would be a long, difficult season for the Jets and their fans. Pennington fumbled 6 times in that game (only losing 2) as the Jets were beaten 27-7. They bounced back the following week, defeating the Miami Dolphins and were ready to keep their season on track in a week 3 showdown at home against the Jacksonville Jaguars.
It was a sloppy game for both teams, and the Jets struggled to get anything going offensively against the Jags. The Jets offense managed just 1 first down in the first quarter as they fell behind 3-0. The Jaguars extended the lead in the 2nd when Byron Leftwich found Ernest Wilford for a 21 yard TD to give Jacksonville the 10-0 lead. The Jets answered after a 35-yard defensive pass interference call on a Pennington deep ball to Justin McCareins gave the Jets a first and goal at the 4 yard line. 3 plays later, Jerald Sowell carried it in from 1 yard out to cut the deficit to 10-7.
The Jets opened up the 3rd quarter with a 3 and out on offense. Pennington would be sacked on consecutive plays on that drive. On the second sack, he re-injured his shoulder. The same shoulder that was surgically repaired in the offseason. A 2nd rotator cuff tear and Chad was never the same again for the Jets, and 10 years later, we are still searching for his replacement.
After apparently losing their leader, the defense came up big on the next series. A John Abraham strip-sack was scooped up by DT James Reed who went 33 yards for the score and a 14-10 lead. After a Josh Scobee FG cut into the Jets lead, Jay Fiedler took the field for the Jets, replacing the injured Pennington. 6 offensive snaps later, Fiedler landed awkwardly on his right arm after completing a pass and was hit by Jags DE Reggie Hayward, injuring his shoulder.
The Jags got a Fred Taylor TD early in the 4th quarter and an injured Chad Pennington returned to finish the game for the Jets. Chad managed to lead two 4th quarter scoring drives that both ended in Mike Nugent FGs to tie the game and force overtime. The Jags put the game away about 6 minutes into OT when Leftwich took advantage of aggressive Jets defense and hit Jimmy Smith who beat David Barrett on a double move to win the game 26-20.
From the NY Daily News:
Speaking from his gut, Pennington surmised that "(the shoulder) probably got stretched out a little bit, and I'm working through some scar tissue maybe. Maybe I'll wake up and feel better about it. Edwards said he was ready to insert Bollinger, but Pennington convinced the coach to send him back. "Chad said, 'I can do it. I want to do it,'" Edwards said. "He was defiant about it.
Pennington said after the game that it was “frustrating and demoralizing” to deal with another shoulder injury so soon. Frustrating and demoralizing -- as Jet fans, Chad, we know how it feels.
Source: NY Daily News and ESPN.com
As I am sure most of us remember, the 2004 season came to an end after two Doug Brien field goal attempts sailed wide on a January evening at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh. In spite of the disappointing end to that season, the 2005 campaign brought optimism to even the most negative of Jet fans.
We finally had our franchise QB, Chad Pennington, coming off of a solid 2004 season. The running game was led by Curtis Martin and a solid stable of receivers supported Chad, including Laveranues Coles and Wayne Chrebet. In addition, they were returning a defensive unit that ranked 3rd in the league in scoring defense. The Jets were considered one of the pre-season favorites to come out of the AFC in 2005. All of the optimism would come crashing down in a span of 6 offensive plays in the 3rd quarter of game 3 on 9/25/05.
The Jets opened up in Kansas City two weeks earlier, and their performance that afternoon foreshadowed what would be a long, difficult season for the Jets and their fans. Pennington fumbled 6 times in that game (only losing 2) as the Jets were beaten 27-7. They bounced back the following week, defeating the Miami Dolphins and were ready to keep their season on track in a week 3 showdown at home against the Jacksonville Jaguars.
It was a sloppy game for both teams, and the Jets struggled to get anything going offensively against the Jags. The Jets offense managed just 1 first down in the first quarter as they fell behind 3-0. The Jaguars extended the lead in the 2nd when Byron Leftwich found Ernest Wilford for a 21 yard TD to give Jacksonville the 10-0 lead. The Jets answered after a 35-yard defensive pass interference call on a Pennington deep ball to Justin McCareins gave the Jets a first and goal at the 4 yard line. 3 plays later, Jerald Sowell carried it in from 1 yard out to cut the deficit to 10-7.
The Jets opened up the 3rd quarter with a 3 and out on offense. Pennington would be sacked on consecutive plays on that drive. On the second sack, he re-injured his shoulder. The same shoulder that was surgically repaired in the offseason. A 2nd rotator cuff tear and Chad was never the same again for the Jets, and 10 years later, we are still searching for his replacement.
After apparently losing their leader, the defense came up big on the next series. A John Abraham strip-sack was scooped up by DT James Reed who went 33 yards for the score and a 14-10 lead. After a Josh Scobee FG cut into the Jets lead, Jay Fiedler took the field for the Jets, replacing the injured Pennington. 6 offensive snaps later, Fiedler landed awkwardly on his right arm after completing a pass and was hit by Jags DE Reggie Hayward, injuring his shoulder.
The Jags got a Fred Taylor TD early in the 4th quarter and an injured Chad Pennington returned to finish the game for the Jets. Chad managed to lead two 4th quarter scoring drives that both ended in Mike Nugent FGs to tie the game and force overtime. The Jags put the game away about 6 minutes into OT when Leftwich took advantage of aggressive Jets defense and hit Jimmy Smith who beat David Barrett on a double move to win the game 26-20.
From the NY Daily News:
Speaking from his gut, Pennington surmised that "(the shoulder) probably got stretched out a little bit, and I'm working through some scar tissue maybe. Maybe I'll wake up and feel better about it. Edwards said he was ready to insert Bollinger, but Pennington convinced the coach to send him back. "Chad said, 'I can do it. I want to do it,'" Edwards said. "He was defiant about it.
Pennington said after the game that it was “frustrating and demoralizing” to deal with another shoulder injury so soon. Frustrating and demoralizing -- as Jet fans, Chad, we know how it feels.
Source: NY Daily News and ESPN.com
