Chad Pennington knows a thing or two about getting the job done for the Jets under center.
Before injuries brought an end to his time in the Big Apple, Pennington led the Jets to three playoff appearances and retired as the NFL’s all-time leader in completion percentage. Now a high school football coach in Kentucky, Pennington has had ample time to watch Sam Darnold play on Sundays and evaluate his game from year one to year two.
“Although we would say it’s been up and down, I would say there’s been considerable improvement,” Pennington told Jets reporter Eric Allen. “Earlier in the year, you’d probably see four to five decisions that you would question. Now, you’re only seeing one to two decisions that we’re questioning.”
Pennington found himself in a similar position to Darnold at the beginning of the century. As a first-round pick out of Marshall in 2000, Pennington entered the league at a young age and had to learn on the fly in a major media market filled with intense scrutiny on a daily basis.
As Pennington navigated the waters and learned how to play in New York, he progressed and turned into a passer the Jets could rely on. He believes Darnold is following a similar path with his second professional season nearly in the books.
“Remember, he’s 22 years old,” Pennington said. “It’s only his second season being an NFL quarterback. I think as fans, we should be happy with his progress.”
Pennington has also been impressed with Darnold’s ability to face adversity head-on. The USC product has been hit with a lot in his sophomore season, as mononucleosis kept him sidelined for a month. That, combined with poor offensive line play, has put Darnold behind the eight ball at times in his first season running Adam Gase’s offense.
“I think what we’re seeing is the maturation of a young quarterback,” Pennington said. “We’re able to see that right in front of our eyes. When I was playing back in the day, you didn’t see these things happen because most of the time quarterbacks were kept on the shelf for a couple of years. Those mistakes were made behind closed doors. Unfortunately for Sam, we’re able to see his mistakes made in front of us. At the same time, we’re able to see his progress.”
Darnold has come on nicely at the end of 2019, leading the Jets to a 5-2 record over their last seven games. Where he goes in his progression in 2020 and beyond remains to be seen, but either way, it looks like he has a fan in Pennington in his corner for the long run.