BY JAY GREENBERG

I guess I should never be surprised. When the team loses, the quarterback gets blamed. But the best defense in the NFL, probably its best defense in many years, shuts down a Jet team without a true game-breaker, and now the Jets can’t win with Chad Pennington?

This, a week after he outplayed Tom Brady?

By JAY GREENBERG

I guess I should never be surprised. When the team loses, the quarterback gets blamed. But the best defense in the NFL, probably its best defense in many years, shuts down a Jet team without a true game-breaker, and now the Jets can’t win with Chad Pennington?

This, a week after he outplayed Tom Brady?

The second interception in the Chicago game was a bad one, even if Pennington didn’t see Nathan Vasher and believed he was safely throwing the ball away. The first was an outstanding play by a Pro Bowler, Brian Urlacher.

If Pennnington’s passing ratings have slipped from an outstanding start it is largely because teams have adjusted to not letting Coles, a good-but-not great receiver, beat them. The running game is improved only to a degree, not enough to take the pressure off Pennington to pass for most of the Jets’ yards agasint defenses that know this.

This is not a high-powered offense, more one that needs a smart manager. Pennington is that. He didn’t play well in Cleveland, the game before the bye, still almost pulled the game out, but for a bad officials call. Had that happened, is he an issue?

Had Foxboro not happened, maybe I would think the Jets should be concerned about the decline in his numbers. If there was a potentially better immediate alternative on the bench, I would think he might be an issue.

I don’t think it will be anymore after Pennington bounces back strongly Sunday against Houston.