Chad Pennington Press Conference

Courtesy NY Jets PR Department 

On whether he’ll be starting …
It’s just a day-to-day process. I’m working extremely hard around the clock to do everything I can to prepare myself to play, just taking it day by day and seeing how much progress we make each day.

On what his progress has been since Sunday …
With the extensive rehab and all the hard work our medical staff is doing, along with the hard work that I’m doing, our goal is to make improvement each day and to make progress. Luckily for me, I think we’re seeing progress every day. 

On whether he was encouraged by his condition Monday morning …
I’m always encouraged because I believe just with the right attitude and the right work ethic you can make something positive happen. But to be honest with you, I didn’t know what to expect. I didn’t know what type of feelings or soreness I would have. I don’t have anything to gauge it off of because I’ve never had this injury. I just put my head down and keep my elbows up and work hard and don’t ask a lot of questions and don’t expect to get a lot of answers. I just continue to work hard and do everything I can to get well. 

On whether he’ll practice today …
I’ll be out there. As far as reps and things like that, I have no idea what the coaches have in mind. I’ll be ready to do whatever they ask me to do.

On what his current treatment is like …
We’re doing everything we can. With my experience with injuries, I’ve seen just about every type of treatment protocol there is, so nothing really surprises me. Everything that [head athletic trainer] John Mellody believes will help and will work — we’re definitely using and doing everything we can on his side and my side.

On whether he’ll play if he feels closer to being 100 percent …
The way I judge playing the game, I don’t judge it on percentages. I judge it on how can I help us win. For instance, in the game Sunday I felt like with it being 28-7 in the third quarter, I could help us win. With there being six minutes left in the fourth quarter and no reason for us to run the ball because we’re down 17 points, I felt like I couldn’t help us win. So that’s how I make my decision and that’s how the decision will be based. 

On whether he could play with limited reps …
I’ve done it before with my shoulder injury in 2004 and I’ve also seen numerous players do it. I’ve seen Curtis Martin do it so many times that it doesn’t even make sense how many times he’s been able to do it in his career. I think the whole key is the mental preparation, especially when you face a defense like this that gives you multiple looks and fronts and so many things to really take in and study. The mental preparation is just as important, if not more important, than the physical. 

On if it’s frustrating to be back in rehab …
Football is a game of injuries and you always have to be able to adjust. Curtis is my best example that I’ve always had and he was a mentor of mine where I watched him deal with injuries, work through things and just do an excellent job of handling that type of physical adversity. I’m not frustrated, I’m disappointed. I want to be out there every snap, every rep, practice, games — whatever it is, I want to be there. So I’m disappointed that I’m not. I’m not frustrated because I understand the nature of the situation. My whole goal and I believe a big part of healing and getting back is having the right attitude and not looking at it with a bad attitude.

On how he felt about the Patriots videotaping story …
To be honest, I just laughed. I don’t really think much about it. That’s a league issue and I don’t have any control or any real thoughts on it. I’m just ready to move on. I’m so focused on myself as well as Baltimore that I haven’t even given it much thought. I’m just going about my business.

On the progress of Kellen Clemens …
He’s done a good job preparing himself, and the most difficult part about being a backup quarterback is you never know when your opportunity will arise and you have to be able to take advantage of it. He’ll be fine. Whatever happens, I’ll be right there supporting my teammates and making sure I can do everything I can if I’m not available. From last year to this year he’s learned how to prepare and learned how to make sure he’s doing all the right things both on and off the field to get ready to play.

On if anything Martin has said can be applied to his situation …
Attitude. He always talked about maintaining a positive attitude and never believing you’re not going to play, always expecting to play, and always expecting to be ready by Sunday. That was always his mindset.

On whether he feels he can take reps today …
I’m just going to go out there. I’ve been living in this training room the last two days and been in here pretty much non-stop except to lay my head down. Just doing everything I can to be ready. The goal is to be ready by Sunday. The goal is not to be ready today or yesterday or tomorrow. That’s always the ultimate goal because that’s when the whistle blows and the kickoff happens.

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