Aug 12th 2008 2:02PM by Ryan Wilson (author feed)
Filed under: Jets, AFC East, NFL RumorsLost amid all the hoopla of Brett Favre arriving in New York to save the Jets, and the sad faces of Chad Pennington supporters as he was unceremoniously ushered out of town, is the plight of Kellen Clemens, the 2006 second-round pick some people expected to win the starting gig before all hell broke loose last week.

Now, after one preseason game in which Clemens was an uneventful 4 of 6 for 31 yards, it looks like he might not even be the team’s No. 2 quarterback. You see, Brett Ratliff looked solid against the Browns (14 for 20, 252 yards, 2 TDs) and he could end up winning the right to back up Favre.

According to the ‘ Rich Cimini, Ratliff was an afterthought heading into camp, but after one preseason game, he’s opening some eyeballs. That would be a crushing blow to Clemens, who opened camp in an open competition with Chad Pennington for the starting job. Clemens’ uneven play, coupled with Ratliff’s dramatic improvement, has created some uncertainty. Monday, Ratliff shared some of the second-team snaps with Clemens.

“You can’t read too much into it,” Clemens said. “If something happens, Coach will say something.” There is good news for Clemens, however; rookie fifth-rounder Erik Ainge is skrugglin’, so there’s no chance he falls to fourth on the depth chart. “He’s funny,” Eric Mangini said of Ainge. “Some of his throws have been funny, too.”

I’m pretty sure Mangini wasn’t being laudatory there.