James Chadwick "Chad" Pennington (born June 26, 1976
in Knoxville, Tennessee) is an American football
quarterback, who is currently the backup quarterback
for the NFL's New York Jets. Pennington was a Rhodes
Scholar finalist as he held a GPA of 3.75 majoring
in broadcast journalism at Marshall University.
Pennington is known for not having great arm
strength, but making up for it with accuracy and his
awareness and knowledge of the game. Among NFL
quarterbacks with at least 1,500 pass attempts, Chad
Pennington's 65.6 career completion percentage ranks
best all-time.
After making only three appearances during his first
two seasons, Chad emerged as the Jets' starting
quarterback after filling in for a very productive,
yet scapegoated Vinny Testaverde during the fifth
game of the 2002 season. Pennington helped reverse
the Jets' fortunes by leading the 1-4 team to an
eventual 9-7 record and an AFC East division
championship. Despite playing less than a full
season, Pennington managed to throw for 3,120 yards
with 22 touchdowns and 6 interceptions. His 104.2
quarterback rating during the 2002 season is a team
record. Pennington led the Jets to a first round
41-0 blowout of the Indianapolis Colts in that
season's playoffs. While this was his first season
as a starter, it remains Pennington's best season of
his career.
After a breakthrough performance a season earlier,
Pennington and the Jets were given lofty
expectations entering the 2003 pre-season. However,
in the fourth pre-season game against the New York
Giants, Pennington endured a fracture-dislocation on
his non-throwing hand after suffering a hit from
linebacker Brandon Short. The injury forced him to
miss the first six games of the season. Without
Pennington the Jets began the season 1-4. Despite
his return, the Jets were only able to win five more
games to finish 6-10.
Pennington married his college girlfriend, Robin
Hampton, on March 1, 2001. He famously brought his
Jets playbook on his honeymoon. The couple have two
sons, Cole (born 2005) and Luke (born 2006).
