The quarterback competition is the biggest story for the New York Jets and will be through camp and the preseason. There are a lot of aspects to the debate. One nobody seems to address is whether Clemens can actually play. If there's no chance he can produce, there's no reason to even think of him seeing the field. If he might turn into a good player, it could be a good idea to let Mark Sanchez sit and watch for at least part of the season.
Reasons we can conclude Clemens won't ever be a good quarterback:
-52% career completion percentage
-5-10 touchdown to interception ratio
-6.1 yards per attempt
-Couldn't impress the decision-makers enough in 2008 camp to clearly beat out Chad Pennington for the job. Would the front office have really been willing to rent Brett Favre for a year if it looked like the guy of the future, Clemens, was ready to become a productive starter?
Reasons Clemens might become a good quarterback:
-His offensive line was terrible in his eight starts. Two of the five starters from the 2007 line didn't see a snap in the league in 2008. He was always under pressure and had no running game because of that line.
-3-5 record as a starter. It might not look great, but the MVP runner up a year later had a record two games worse with the same supporting cast.
-He was clutch. Clemens put together game-saving 2:00 drives against the Steelers and Redskins. He would have completed a 17 point road comeback against Rex Ryan's elite defense had Justin McCareins been able to make one of two routine touchdown catches.
-We only have 8 starts to judge him.
What I think:
Things don't look very good on paper for Kellen. I can't say he's going to become an above average quarterback. I also can't say he's a lost cause. Are we really supposed to think he stinks based on eight games? That's not enough of a sample size. A lot of great quarterbacks have gone through growing pains in their first half season on the field. He was in an impossible spot and showed signs he could be a keeper. I'm not sold by any stretch of the imagination, but I think he at least deserves a chance.
What do you think?