Pennington and Losman to Start

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Pennington named Jets' starting QB
NFL.com wire reports
HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. (Aug. 29, 2006) -- The odds were stacked against Chad Pennington from the moment he felt the pain in his right shoulder more than 11 months ago.

Could he possibly come back from a second major shoulder surgery? And if so, would he be anything close to the quarterback he once was?

With each painless and precise throw during this preseason, Pennington proved the doubters wrong.

And he stood in front of his locker smiling, moments after it was announced by coach Eric Mangini that Pennington will be the New York Jets' starting quarterback.

"I wasn't surprised at how everything went, but at the same time, I was more or less relieved because I didn't know what to expect," said Pennington, 10 months removed from his last rotator cuff surgery. "There were a lot of variables going on and a lot of different things that could happen."

Pennington will be without one of his most reliable weapons, though.

Running back Curtis Martin will start the season on the physically-unable-to-perform list with a lingering knee injury after missing all of training camp. Despite speculation he could retire, Martin said he's going to continue his rehabilitation in hopes he'll be able to return after Week 6 -- when he's next eligible to play.

"Regardless of what's wrong, I'm pushing the envelope until I just can't -- until circumstances tell me totally otherwise," Martin said. "That was one of the situations with this. It was, 'All right, Curtis. Well, this is a decision we have to make.' This is the right thing to do."

Both of the announcements were considered foregone conclusions, but the tightlipped Mangini chose to wait until the final week of the preseason to make the decisions official.

"I'm just focused like I've always been," Pennington said. "Nothing's changed as far my focus or preparation. I'm just excited to help this team win, really, and that's what it's all about."

Pennington originally hurt the shoulder in 2004, when he missed three games, then returned for the end of the regular season and the playoffs. He had rotator cuff surgery, and was able to come back last season, but was injured in the third game when sacked on back-to-back plays by Jacksonville on Sept. 25. Pennington again had surgery and missed the rest of the season, putting his playing future in doubt.

"He deserves all the credit, and more, because of all he's gone through to get back to this point," wide receiver Laveranues Coles said.

With Pennington's status unclear heading into the season, the Jets acquired Patrick Ramsey from Washington and drafted Kellen Clemens in the second round out of Oregon. The three, along with Brooks Bollinger, were competing for the starting job.

Pennington proved he was healthy early in camp and showed he could run the offense. Still, Mangini refused to commit to him until today.

"I've thought quite a bit about this," Mangini said. "It's become really clear to me he's distinguished himself in the way I was looking for. He's made great progress throughout the preseason, especially over the last couple weeks. That consistency I've been looking for has been there: his presence, his ability to move the team, his leadership. He's done an outstanding job, and it's clear to me he should be the starter -- and he will be."

Mangini said Pennington will not play in the preseason finale Sept. 1 against Philadelphia. That leaves Ramsey, Clemens and Bollinger fighting for the two backup spots.

"Chad's done such a great job in his comeback; I think he deserves this," Ramsey said.

Pennington started both preseason games he played in, but missed one to be with his ailing father. He's confident he'll be able to make up for the lost time before the season opener at Tennessee on Sept. 10.

"We'll definitely make an emphasis on getting some more timing and chemistry down with my receivers," he said. "We're not where we want to be, but at the same time, I think we're making progress and we'll continue doing that."

Martin, 33, injured his knee in Week 2 last season, but kept playing before finally shutting it down after Week 12. He had surgery in December, but hasn't recovered as quickly as hoped. The fourth-leading rusher in NFL history was placed on the PUP list before training camp so he could continue to rehab.

"Some things are out of your control, some things you control," Martin said. "I've just been trying to do everything that's within my control to get out there as soon as possible."

The Jets are looking to Kevan Barlow, acquired last week from San Francisco, Derrick Blaylock and Cedric Houston to fill the void.

"You never can replace a Hall of Fame-type running back," Pennington said, "but at the same time, these guys can all come in and be effective for us."


AP NEWS
The Associated Press News Service

Losman named Bills' starting quarterback
NFL.com wire reports
ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (Aug. 29, 2006) -- J.P. Losman was named the Buffalo Bills' starting quarterback, coming out on top following a preseason competition to reclaim the job he lost last year to Kelly Holcomb.

Coach **** Jauron made the announcement after practice, saying Losman had clearly performed best during training camp to earn the No. 1 job in a three-way competition that included Holcomb and free-agent addition Craig Nall.

"I told him he should feel good about it, he earned it," said Jauron, shortly after he informed the quarterbacks of his decision.

Jauron, who as recently as Aug. 28 declined to name his starter, said there was no point delaying the decision any longer with Buffalo preparing for its preseason finale at Detroit on Aug. 31 and with the regular-season opener on Sept. 10 at New England.

"We just wondered why there was any reason not to say it if we all thought it," Jauron said. "It gets him used to hearing it and getting the team used to hearing it. There it is."

The news did not come as a big surprise after Jauron named Losman the front-runner two weeks ago in training camp. Ever since, Losman has taken the majority of snaps in practice and started the past two preseason games.

"It's good for him to actually say it, but I've been getting kind of comfortable here the last couple of weeks," Losman said. "It's exciting times but it's time to really go to work now."

Losman was inconsistent in his first preseason start in a 44-31 loss to Cincinnati on Aug. 18. He went 7 of 11 for 134 yards passing and a touchdown, but committed three turnovers, including an interception returned for a touchdown.

Losman was more efficient in last weekend's 20-17 loss to Cleveland, going 15 of 22 for 184 yards passing with a touchdown and an interception. Overall this preseason, he's gone 37 of 57 for 462 yards passing with two TDs and two interceptions for a respectable 87.0 quarterback rating.

Losman began last season as the starter but was benched for Holcomb after starting the season 1-3.

Holcomb went 2-2 in four starts before he was hurt in the second quarter against Kansas City, a game Losman rallied the Bills to a 14-3 win.

Losman, however, started and lost Buffalo's next four games and was replaced again by Holcomb, who went 1-2 to finish the season.

Holcomb had the better numbers, finishing with a higher completion percentage (67 percent to Losman's 50) and quarterback rating (85.6 to 64.9), and had 10 touchdowns to Losman's eight. Both threw eight interceptions.
 

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