ThePostGame caught up with former NFL quarterback Chad Pennington at MetLife's "Road To MetLife Stadium" to talk about his past in Professional Bull Riding, the woes of the Jets and what he's up to now.
ThePostGame: The last time I saw you was at a Professional Bull Riding event a few years ago. Do you still own a bull?
CHAD PENNINGTON: No, I got out of the Professional Bull Riding in 2009, I believe. But I still talk to some of the cowboys a little bit and keep up with it.
TPG: How did you get into that in the first place?
PENNINGTON: You know, one day the professional bullriders came out to Nassau Coliseum on [Long Island] and a bunch of the Jets' players, including myself, went out and I just got the fever and bought a bull.
TPG: How did your bull end up doing?
PENNINGTON: He was top 50 in the world. The problem is I thought the next one I would buy would be the same [level] and he wasn’t.
TPG: So what are you up to now?
PENNINGTON: I'm a professional part-timer now: part-time coach, part-time consultant, full-time dad
TPG: Would you ever think about coaching full-time in college or the pros?
PENNINGTON: It's certainly a passion of mine, but it's so much time and with three boys I just I don't know if I can do it. But we'll see. Right now I'm coaching middle schoolers, so I'm getting a little bit of it but not too much.
TPG: Do you have any concerns about your kids playing football with the news of head injuries, etc?
PENNINGTON: I don't because I think as long as you teach the correct fundamentals, statistics say there are more concussions on the playground and riding a bike than there are in youth football. So it's all about teaching them fundamentals, so I feel good about it. Although I am waiting a little bit later [for tackle football], I like the flag game when they're younger. Then once they're in sixth grade, then they start tackling.
TPG: We've all seen the Yankee-Red Sox highlights from Sunday night by now. As an athlete, though not a baseball player, is there a code that you're supposed to follow when your teammate gets attacked like that?
PENNINGTON: The code is to stick up for your teammate. Now whatever that means, there's different ways to stick up for your teammate. But regardless, whether you agree or disagree with how someone handled the situation you don't take it into your own hands.
TPG: Do you think CC Sabathia should have beaned someone?
PENNINGTON: No, I mean two wrongs don't make a right. I always think class beats lack of class any day of the week, so I don't think retaliation serves its purpose and really what you're showing is you're showing the youngsters it's OK to retaliate and that’s wrong.
TPG: Have you ever been on a team where you're in that situation?
PENNINGTON: I've certainly been around and had teammates that were outspoken maybe seen as controversial but when they're your teammate its different you play together you develop a different type of relationship.
TPG: What do you think about the Jets this year?
PENNINGTON: I think they're going to do better than what people think. For some reason the Jets have always been a team when the odds are stacked against them, they always do better than people think.
TPG: If you could pinpoint one thing that's wrong with Mark Sanchez, what is it?
PENNINGTON: I just think you're just seeing a young quarterback who came into the league at a young age mature in front of your eyes so he’s having to make all of his mistakes on and off the field with all eyes on him. So where a lot of us we made those mistakes with nobody knowing, there's a huge difference.
TPG: Any truth to the random Internet rumor we read that you're coming out of retirement to help them out?
PENNINGTON: I would love to but this shoulder will not allow me to. Mentally I'm ready, but physically I’m not.
