The big criticism about Chad Pennington is that he can't win the big game. While Chad Pennington is not my favorite person right now, I will argue that Pennington can win, and indeed has won, the big game in his time in New York.

This season's big games have been defined as Week 7 against the Patriots, then against the Steelers, and last week again versus the Patriots. In week 7, Pennington was one of the reasons the Jets lost, making a poor throw on the Jets' last possession on a drive that could have won the game. But the Jets had other opportunities to win that game, and some dropped passes and fumbled balls were among the reasons the Jets lost. As for the other two games, we're not seeing the same Chad Pennington. He is hurt, and is playing with a bad shoulder. I'm not making excuses, I'm just saying what's going on...Pennington should not be playing. Anyone who has seen him make throws in the Pittsburgh game or the New England game can see he's clearly not himself. What is tougher to explain is why his shoulder didn't look so bad against Seattle or Houston...actually, Houston wasn't his finest day throwing the football either, in retrospect. And maybe Seattle's suspect defense made Pennington look better than he is.

Anyway, there are the facts for Chad Pennington being unable to win the big game. But in 2002, Chad Pennington won three big games in a row...and the situation was similar to the situation the Jets find themselves in now. After losing to 2-12 Buffalo, the Jets needed to beat New England (in New England, I believe), then Green Bay in order to make the playoffs. Pennington was outstanding, winning both games, (and Green Bay did play its starters for the first half of the latter game, before they started pulling guys out once the Jets started to blow them out - lest you think the Packers rolled over for the Jets) and then Pennington played really well in the playoffs - which is a really big game, beating the Colts. Pennington had a rough outing the following week in Oakland, and that might have made him gun shy for future big games, but I don't think so. I think Pennington has done OK in his career in big games, and I don't buy the fact that he can't win the big game.

I do buy the fact that he's got a bad shoulder, and he's killing the Jets if he's trying to hide it. That's all I'll say on Pennington, for now.

Dave writes in again today:

"Dear JohnnyJets,

On the radio today, my favorite midday sports anchors Dale and Neumy were talking about some of the lines on this weekend's games. The fact that some teams don't have anything to play for makes this either a minefield or a gold mine, for entertainment purposes, of course.

Buffalo minus 3 against the Steelers, Chicago minus 3 against Green Bay, and perhaps most notably, Denver minus 9 against the Colts.

What's your strategy this week to put .500 in the rearview mirror once and for all? Better yet, what's The Wife's strategy?

Dave in Brighton"

I was thinking about this same thing, Dave. It reminds me of when we had this conversation about the Dolphins following the firing of Dave Wannstedt. It's so tough to tell what's going to happen any week, let alone when teams start resting players. You'll see my picks on Friday (brutal week last week, by the way - 5-10-1, back to a game under .500), but Buffalo minus-3 looks awfully good, especially considering what they have riding on this game. Denver minus-9 is tough, because the Colts are too good to be that kind of an underdog this year - they might rest Manning, but remember, their defense has been really good this year too. So my strategy is to just think about which team is better, no matter what, just like I did on Monday night when I picked the Eagles over the Rams. That worked out well. The Wife's strategy is the same as always - don't stress, just pick, then laugh at me when the picks come out better.