NEW YORK -- Kellen Clemens stepped to the podium and asked
if he was standing in the right spot.
The New York Jets' backup quarterback isn't used to postgame
news conferences, but his performance against the Atlanta Falcons
had everybody talking.
"When you know the offense, you can play fast and that's what
we like to do," tight end Sean Ryan said. "You can see he has
confidence and he's getting the ball out there."
Clemens, in his second season with the Jets, staked a major
claim to the backup job to Chad Pennington with the best game of
his young NFL career. He went 16-of-22 for 174 yards and three
touchdowns, including two to Ryan in a 31-16 victory Friday night.
"This is the best feeling that I have had personally since I've
been here," said Clemens, who completed nine straight passes
during one stretch.
While Pennington didn't attempt a pass in his two series as the
Jets worked on their running game, coach Eric Mangini let Clemens
throw often after he took over the offense late in the opening
quarter.
"We wanted to get him a significant amount of work, in terms of
reps and with combinations of people," Mangini said. "With the
situation of the game, it was something I wanted to continue with a
little bit later into the game."
Clemens led five scoring drives and had all but one of the Jets'
passing attempts -- Brad Smith had one incompletion.
Rookie receiver Chansi Stuckey caught one of Clemens' touchdown
passes and was thoroughly impressed.
"Kellen is doing a great job throwing the ball, making reads
and I just really want to commend him on doing a great job," he
said.
While most of his work was against the Falcons' second- and
third-team defenses, Clemens was still impressive. He joined Rick
Mirer (1999) and Ray Lucas (2000) as the only Jets players to throw
for three touchdowns in a preseason game since 1992.
"The more reps I get, the more I progress," he said. "It's
the same for any young quarterback. I'm getting a lot of reps now
in practice, and hopefully making the most out of them."
As a rookie last year, Clemens got into just two games for the
Jets and threw an incomplete pass, rushed twice for 10 yards and
was sacked four times. For a second-round pick, it was hardly a
sparkling NFL debut.
There was also growing sentiment that Clemens was struggling to
pick up the system and wasn't developing the way the Jets had
hoped. Not so, said Mangini.
"Kellen did some good things for us last year," the coach
said. "It just wasn't apparent because he wasn't getting into
games, but he has been consistently working at this. We have a long
way to go here in preseason, so he will get more opportunities to
be in game situations and we hope he can continue to grow."
When the Jets drafted Clemens out of Oregon last year with the
49th pick, they didn't know if Pennington would be the same
following two rotator cuff operations. So, the team signed veteran
Patrick Ramsey, kept holdover Brooks Bollinger and selected
Clemens, with the idea he could be the quarterback of the near
future.
Instead, Pennington bounced back with a terrific season and
Clemens spent most of the year on the sideline with a clipboard in
his hands, charting plays and soaking in the system. Pennington was
in a similar situation during his first two NFL seasons, learning
under Vinny Testaverde.
"I think he understands what it's going to take to be a good
quarterback in this league," Pennington said. "I know how he
feels right now. It's a tough job being a backup quarterback
because you never know when your opportunity is going to present
itself. But when the opportunity does, you have to be ready. So
it's a tough situation to be in, but he's handling it really
well."
While Smith remains a work-in-progress, Clemens and Marques
Tuiasosopo appear to be the front-runners for the backup spot. Both
played well in the team's intrasquad scrimmage at Fordham last
Sunday, but Clemens' extended time Friday night sent a clear
message as to who's ahead on the depth chart.
"Things," Clemens said, "are going in a good direction."