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Kellen Clemens dealt lowest blow in Brett Favre injury conspiracy
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(AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
Someone said there's a dead horse around here that still needs to learn who's boss.
Kellen Clemens never stood a chance against rookie Mark Sanchez in their quarterback competition this summer, but fans have to wonder deep the rabbit hole goes for the former second-round draft pick.
The tale of Clemens received a final exclamation point on Thursday when New York Jets general manager Mike Tannenbaum confirmed Brett Favre's claims of a smudged injury report.
The Vikings QB discussed his torn biceps with the Minnesota media, forcing the NFL to investigate the Jets for not disclosing Favre's condition. As per league rules, the torn tendon should have been included on a weekly injury report.
Tannenbaum says the team did not disclose the 39-year-old's status because he did not seek treatment for the tear. Instead, Favre opted for cortisone shots to relieve the discomfort.
And that's where things get particuliarly ugly for Clemens.
While Favre claims he was "receptive to sitting," Tannenbaum maintains that the decision to stay with Favre was reached collectively.
With Favre's support, former coach Eric Mangini, former QB coach Brian Daboll, offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer, and Tannenbaum all believed that an older, injured QB gave the Jets "the best chance to win."
There goes that phrase for Clemens again. First-year coach Rex Ryan echoed that statement when he named Sanchez the starter last month.
Tannenbaum's inadvertent confession could be the most telling detail in a Kellen Clemens era that never was.
For Clemens, it has to sound like the equivalent to "it's not you, it's me" in an uncomfortable divorce.
Being dumped hurts. But being a healthy veteran who hopes to play, only to be told you don't give your team the best chance to win says everything and nothing at the same time.
Using a gentle let down stings worse than the truth—mainly because there's no honesty in the scapegoat. The truth is that it is "you." It always is.
But how could Clemens ever understand where things went wrong if the Jets would tell anyone willing to listen that he's a capable quarterback?
The decision to play an injured Favre over his healthy backup bears a striking resemblance to the 2005 season when two quarterbacks were lost in one game. Former Jets' QBs Chad Pennington and Jay Fiedler suffered season-ending shoulder injuries in Week 4 against the Jacksonville Jaguars.
After Fiedler's injury, ex-coach Herm Edwards asked an injured Pennington to finish the game over a fresh third-string QB in Brooks Bollinger. Edwards' hesitation to support Bollinger continued when he called 43-year-old Vinny Testaverde off his couch to start the very next week.
Would that make Kellen Clemens the new Brooks Bollinger?
No one should have expected the Jets to confess their lack of faith in Clemens, but fans have to wonder about the length of the string used to pull him along all these years.
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