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Clemens replaces Pennington as Jets starting QB

Nov 4, 2007 - 11:53 AM Washington (4-3) at NY Jets (1-7) Sunday 1:00 pm EDT

EAST RUTHERFORD, New Jersey (Ticker) -- New York Jets coach Eric Mangini has passed the torch to Kellen Clemens.

The second-year quarterback will take over for Chad Pennington on Sunday, when the Jets look to break a five-game losing streak against the Washington Redskins.

For several weeks, Jets' fans have been asking for a quarterback change and Mangini finally bowed to their wishes.

The move could be the end of a era and puts Pennington's future with the Jets in question. He had been the Jets' starter since Week Two of the 2002 season.

While battling injuries throughout his career, Pennington has been an inspirational leader for the Jets. Last season, he returned from rotator cuff surgery that caused him to miss most of the 2005 and led New York to the playoffs with a 10-6 record. Pennington was named the NFL's Comeback Player of the Year

But with the Jets just 1-7, a change probably was needed. It will be the second career start for Clemens, a second-year player out of Oregon.

"This is the bad part of losing," Pennington said. "It's a team game. When you lose, changes have to be made, and sometimes drastic changes have to be made, whether it's that person's fault or not."

The 24-year-old Clemens, who has a stronger arm than Pennington started in a 20-13 Week Two loss to the Baltimore Ravens. Pennington was sidelined with an ankle injury.

"Chad is a captain, he's been the leader of this team for a long time," Clemens said. "I respect him and look up to him. At the same time, whatever quarterback is in there needs to have a certain sense of command of the huddle and of what's going on, and I'll do my best to do that."

The Jets could be a good opponent for the Redskins, who are licking their wounds following last week's embarrassing 52-7 loss to the New England Patriots.

"How we deal with this?," Redskins coach Joe Gibbs said. "I don't know. I think it's something we have to play out and see how we all react."

The defeat dropped Washington two games behind first-place Dallas (6-1) and 1 1/2 games in back of the New York Giants (6-2) in the competitive NFC East.

Facing a 3-4 defense for the first time this season, Redskins' quarterback Jason Campbell struggled to get untracked against the Patriots, fumbling three times. The fumbles led to 17 points.

Washington's running game also had its problems as Clinton Portis rushed for just 27 yards on 11 carries. Overall, the Redskins managed just 47 yards on the ground.