What now for Favre and Pennington?

The trade late last night moving Brett Favre from retirement/Green Bay to the New York Jets was quite monumental. We won’t get in to the details of the trade, as too many people are doing that today. However, let’s take a look at the team Favre will be joining, and what this means for QB Chad Pennington, who wil be cut at 4:00pm EST today.

For Favre: The Jets certainly do not have the overall talent of the Green Bay Packers, but this is a pretty good football team. Favre will line up behind D’Brickashaw Ferguson, Alan Faneca, Nick Mangold, Brandon Moore and Damian Woody. This isn’t quite a Pro Bowl line-up, but there is a lot of talent. Faneca will immediately improve the play of Ferguson and Mangold, with Woody a savvy vet on the right side.

Favre will be handing off to Thomas Jones, a proven running back who can carry the load and bail Favre out in passing situations. Leon Washington is a dynamic return man, but has yet to show much as a ‘back. He is a threat as a receiver, though. Musa Smith also will contribute, and he’s good in blitz protection and short-yardage situations.

The Jets receivers will not lead the league in yards after catch like the ‘07 Packers did, but there is speed here with Laveranues Coles and Jerricho Cotchery. Brad Smith hasn’t found his niche yet, but with Favre at quarterback, Smith could get more looks out of the slot. We also like rookies Marcus Henry and Paul Hubbard.

Favre will be reunited with tight end Bubba Franks, although Franks is no longer a top option in the passing game. Brett’s tight end will be Chris Baker, a camp hold-out, or rookie Dustin Keller. Keller is a hell of an athlete and the type of tight end who could change a game.

For Pennington: If we were advising Chad Pennington, we would be on the phone with the Minnesota Vikings at 4:00:01 today. The Vikings are a Super Bowl team if they can get consistent play from the quarterback position. Pennington doesn’t possess amazing arm strength, but that is not needed in coach Brad Childress’ offense. Donovan McNabb didn’t air it out much in Philly under Childress, nor does Tavaras Jackson. The smart pick for Penninton is Minnesota. They have a plethora of talent along the offensive line, at wide receiver and in the backfield.

If the VIkings are not interested (and they should be), Tom Condon should call Chicago. The Bears are another talented team, and one that has shown they can win with a defense-first mentality. Putting the stable and mistake-free Pennington at quarterback would spark the offense, but Pennington has also had health issues. The Chicago offensive line is not very good, which is an understatement. While Pennington would benefit Chicago, and with him the Bears are a threat to win, it may not be the best overall situation for him.

What about the Miami Dolphins? The offensive line is underrated, there are playmakers at running back and youth at wide receiver. Plus, Pennington was drafted by Bill Parcells. It makes sense, but again is not the ideal situation for Pennington. If he’s looking for a chance to start, Miami may not be a cake-walk. They have two young quarterbacks and one solid veteran in Josh McCown.

Other possibilites that we won’t rule out are Kansas City and San Francisco.