Another Bears QB Rumor

by WCG on Aug 7, 2008 7:06 AM CDT Comment 30 comments

So it took almost 10 minutes and to the surprise to no one, that the Chad Pennington to the Bears rumors have started it up.

Pennington will be released or traded as a result of the Brett Favre trade.

Pennington, 32, is older and more expensive than fellow quarterback Kellen Clemens. He is scheduled to make $6 million in 2008, and it's hard to imagine how the Jets could fit his salary and Favre's $12 million salary under the cap.

If Pennington is released as expected, he will be free to sign with any team and the Bears need to at least give him something to consider. He's a veteran known more for his accuracy than his arm strength, but the combination of his intangibles and experience would make it necessary for the Bears to consider him as a third quarterback. As long as the position is unsettled and the starting job is unclaimed, it makes sense to check into the availability of a former first-round pick from the 2000 NFL draft.

I am not sure that Pennington is an upgrade over what we have. He has health issues and cannot throw the long ball, but he can be very accurate. The Bears are also rumored to be interested in Chris Simms of the Bucs. Perhaps the Bears make a move after tonight's game against KC, though with the line banged up like it is, I don't know if they can get a real sense of anything.

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Can we get off the "let's pick up a reject" track?

I’m personally growing weary of all the speculation over something that’s not going to happen. One of the conditions for both Rex and Kyle to resign was that they would be competing against one another for the starting job. The Bears will not be acquiring another veteran QB unless it’s for insurance against injury. Even if the Bears were in the market, neither Pennington nor Simms is an upgrade to what they have now, at a higher hit against the cap. They might be able to fit Simms in under the cap, but If they were to sign Pennington they’d need to free up some cap space. If they do pick up another QB, and it’s unlikely, it will be someone waived by another team..

by BigGeorgeTX on Aug 7, 2008 8:23 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs

word.....

are you kidding?..........how many times has his shoulder been hurt? if he cant stay healthy he cant play, so what the sence…. If I were going to pick a FA /QB, id have to go with Culpeper, he’s a vet as well and went 15-1 before. Altough he had knee surgery, it was 2 or 3 years ago and hasent injured it again so it might be strong enough for a full 16 weeks. When has Pennington went 16? When hasent he lost his job to a stonecold rookie? Pennington…..get real

by SuperBowlXX on Aug 7, 2008 9:17 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

the only castoff

that i was hoping for passed with fagre not going to tampa. the pipe dream of getting jeff garcia on the bears has sadly probably died. but that is alright, this is going to be like 2005 all over again (i hope)

by reefermadness3 on Aug 7, 2008 8:57 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs

Pipe dream?

Are you friggin kidding me? What the hell? Is Jeff Garcia the savior all of the sudden. Get real.

We need to develop a real long-term solution at QB. Garcia will have a concussion in week 4 and be done.

I'm not going to even bother trying to update this sig everyday anymore... that's what the standings column on ESPN is for.
Updated on May 25, 2008

by SackMan on Aug 7, 2008 9:39 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

we have no long-term solution

now.

at least Garcia would have been an immediate, if temporary upgrade. with our defense and special teams, that would give us a chance to seriously compete for a title now.

by gman2849 on Aug 7, 2008 1:06 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Temporary upgrade?

It would be like Dave Kreig part II. Big whoop.

Ask yourself this: Take Garcia vs Orton/Grossman in this horrible Bears offense. What’s the win differential? Is there any differential?

I'm not going to even bother trying to update this sig everyday anymore... that's what the standings column on ESPN is for.
Updated on May 25, 2008

by SackMan on Aug 7, 2008 1:11 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Not unopposed...

...I don’t think Rex is starter material. We don’t truly know what we have in Orton. Let’s get this straight as well: although lacking in some tools, Pennington is both a gamer and winner. He plays smart and reminds me of Favre in that he always looks like he needs to be killed and dragged off the field if they’re losing. Having that attitude would help this team, although I suspect the bottleneck and politics of putting him in the mix wouldn’t be worth it.

He’s 32 and I’d take him over Rex, especially if he stays after this year, which Rex won’t unless he wins the job and excels at it. Still, this won’t happen.

Besides the obvious - Go Irish.

Z. He doesn't need an exclamation point. He is one.

by PopeFlick on Aug 7, 2008 9:06 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs

if hes such

a “gamer”, why didnt the jets pick him over clemens?

You’d take him over rex and the bears would start off 1-7 like the jets did last year.

this guy cant throw the ball out of his own shadow…. he couldnt be a worse fit for a team that relies on the qb to throw over the top of defenses and and work the mid and long range throws.

by rahulsriram on Aug 7, 2008 9:36 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

I agree with the attitude and the gamer part

But by winner do you mean his 32-29 record as a starter? Because that isn’t much of an upgrade over our guys.

Bold Prediction: Orton will be the starter in week 1.

by GallopingGhost on Aug 7, 2008 1:31 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Hey, he's gotten the Jets...

...to the playoffs a few times. Along with the #9 passer rating in NFL History, the guy has shown he CAN play.

Besides the obvious - Go Irish.

Z. He doesn't need an exclamation point. He is one.

by PopeFlick on Aug 7, 2008 5:49 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

I would like to have a real option for a #3

Given the Bears track record of having to start 3 QBs in a season.

But, I’ll pass on Pennington… for a few of reasons.
1. We already know what kind of player he is. WYSIWYG
2. Money
3. He’d automatically become the fan’s choice ala Griese… until he got into the game and showed he’s not much different that Rex or Kyle.

I’d rather have Simms as a #3. At least he’s still a bit of an unknown commodity with potential… who can sit back as the 3rd QB, hold the clipboard, and not add to any controversy. And, if we HAD to start our #3, he has experience.

I'm not going to even bother trying to update this sig everyday anymore... that's what the standings column on ESPN is for.
Updated on May 25, 2008

by SackMan on Aug 7, 2008 9:37 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs

knowing chi fans

they are going to call for another qb no matter what kyle and rex do(going off 2005 and 2006)

i know its just training camp, but hanie has had his moments, at least from the highlights ive seen early.

its a bit concerning as to why simms fell so fast down the depth chart…even behind griese.

by rahulsriram on Aug 7, 2008 9:48 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

they weren't calling ofr anyone else

when they played consitently well, which is rex for 5 games of 06. not kyle in 05 or rex for all of 06.

by mike b on Aug 7, 2008 10:26 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

right

both qbs are going to be one pass away at all times from being booed.

chi fans never look at the big picture when offensive plays dont work. they look to the qb and boo…

by rahulsriram on Aug 7, 2008 10:36 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

guess they better come out hot then

by mike b on Aug 7, 2008 10:46 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Not true

I look at the big picture and see Rex throw to a defender that’s not even within 10 yards of a receiver. I’m sorry bud, when I see that, I’m gonna boo Rex all day. Unless it’s a 3-step drop and fire it away (which it never was), Rex needs to use those things called eyes and take a looksie.

I'M A MAN! I'M 22!

by ChiFan13 on Aug 7, 2008 10:48 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

yeah well, to some

it can never be the qb’s fault.

by mike b on Aug 7, 2008 10:53 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

and to some

it can only be the qbs fault

by rahulsriram on Aug 7, 2008 12:30 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

to others...

...it could be the QB’s and the OC’s fault. Both need to be replaced. Are Chicago fans so single-track-minded?

by tyger1147 on Aug 7, 2008 1:55 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

apparenlty

i have not met people allegedly this stupid outside the internet, but when you boo, you can’t boo a team , you can only boo a player. apparenlty. oh and only certain people know who those other people are booing. i guess.

by mike b on Aug 7, 2008 2:32 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Well... he had a horrible injury: internal bleeding

And as his recovery was difficult, he fell out of favor with Gruden, who questioned Simms’ toughness. Gruden, of course, goes through QBs like dirty socks.

I'm not going to even bother trying to update this sig everyday anymore... that's what the standings column on ESPN is for.
Updated on May 25, 2008

by SackMan on Aug 7, 2008 1:09 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

"Knowing chi fans"

You mean, other than the people here (mostly)? Like, those in the know? I want to meet these Bears fans.

by tyger1147 on Aug 7, 2008 1:54 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

yep

The potential upside is much smaller than the potential downside. I say stick with what we’ve got instead of paying $6m for a potential liability. We’ve already got enough of those.

by CoolHand on Aug 7, 2008 10:47 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

fuck no

by mike b on Aug 7, 2008 9:39 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs

So

would Orton be a poor man’s Pennington or would Pennington be a poor man’s Orton. Either way, you know where I’m going with this.

I am like your Dan Aykroyd and biglow would be Jane, the ignorant slut. -Chad

by thecoolest on Aug 7, 2008 1:08 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

The Issue is Is It An Upgrade

And the short answer seems to be no. Maybe he is more accurate and with our tight end situation being our best/deepest position maybe we look and say well he could work well with this but we’ll have to be prepared for a lot of Hester overrunning on long routes because Pennington can’t throw it that far.

Simms I’m ok with. Unknown a bit and yeah he just happens to be on the team that collects QBs like a college kid collects quarters for laundry. As it sits right now, I’ll take our (terrible) choices.

As for Hanie, though, I don’t care how much promise he shows in the preseason we should NOT start him. There is no WAY a rookie who went to Colorado State or wherever is ready for NFL speed on the fly learning.

Bold Prediction: Orton will be the starter in week 1.

by GallopingGhost on Aug 7, 2008 1:37 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

Plus we might lose to the Dolphins

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=3523819 – Who by this article seem really desperate for a QB, to the point of working out Quincy Carter.

Bold Prediction: Orton will be the starter in week 1.

by GallopingGhost on Aug 7, 2008 1:59 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

pennington released

not sure why anyone think he is better than orton. (assuming orton has no arm)

by mike b on Aug 7, 2008 4:34 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

I think some combination of Pennington and Grossman

could equal out to something like having a league-average QB, optimistically. But they have such different skill sets, it would be hard to adjust between the two. And we would need both of them because they both are injury risks.

I’d still prefer this to Orton. I can’t think of a single thing Orton does particularly well. Pennington and Grossman are both deeply flawed, but at least they both have some unique skills.

Also, Pennington would be relatively cheap, I’m guessing.

by uofcdood on Aug 7, 2008 5:52 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs