updated 6:20 p.m. ET May 18, 2008

HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. - The New York Jets are calling the quarterback battle between Chad Pennington and Kellen Clemens an "open competition." In other words, they don't know who their starter is.

Of course, they have plenty of time to figure that out. There are 16 weeks between now and the start of the 2008 season.

Conventional wisdom says Clemens will emerge as the starter. He was drafted by the Jets in the second round in 2006, which was Mike Tannenbaum's first year as general manger and Eric Mangini's first year as head coach. And you know they want to prove they made the right choice.

Clemens, who will turn 25 on June 7, is seven years younger than Pennington. He is more athletic and has a stronger arm. This will be his third season, generally when a quarterback shows signs that he is developing into a top-tier player -- or that he's going to be a bust.

Pennington has experience and success on his side. He has started 61 games since 2002, his third NFL season. He led the Jets to the playoffs in each of the three seasons he started at least 12 games (2002, 2004 and 2006).

But he hasn't been the same passer since tearing his right rotator cuff in October 2004. Basically, he has lacked the arm strength to throw the long ball or the deep out. And last season, when he was benched and started only eight games (Clemens started the other eight), he threw several costly interceptions.

During the offseason, the Jets invested more than $140 million in veteran additions, including guard Alan Faneca, offensive tackle Damien Woody, fullback Tony Richardson and tight end Bubba Franks. (By the way, Franks made a nifty catch cutting across the back of the end zone during Thursday morning's practice). That leads to the conclusion that the Jets, who went 4-12 last season and finished a whopping 12 games behind the New England Patriots in the AFC East, are taking a win-now approach.

"Pennington gives them the best chance to win," a personnel man from a rival AFC East team told me. "You don't have to have the strongest arm. You just have to manage the game, which he does for the most part."

Pennington or Clemens can't be blamed if they feel a bit miffed by this open competition. If I'm Pennington, I'm wondering if the organization has lost faith in me after eight years. If I'm Clemens, I'm wondering if it is second-guessing selecting me in the 2006 draft.

But both players took the high road while speaking to the media in separate group interviews after Thursday's practice.

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"It's easy to fall into that trap, but I think that trap is counter-productive and can really lead you in the wrong direction," Pennington said. "I look at it from an opportunity standpoint. It's another opportunity for me to be out on the field, produce and help us win."

Asked if there's some doubt that the Jets think he's their quarterback of the future, much less their quarterback of the present, Clemens replied, "That is out of my control and never enters my mind. When you go 4-12, there are a lot of positions open for competition."

The start of this competition was decided by chance. Offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer flipped a coin, Pennington called heads -- as the veteran, he was given the right to call it -- and it came up in his favor. So Pennington decided he would work with the first offensive unit in the opening OTA (offseason team activity) last Monday. Since they are rotating, Clemens will work with the No. 1 group every other OTA.

There are 15 OTAs, meaning Pennington will have one more opportunity than Clemens to direct the starting offense.

Pennington was asked that if the competition were a boxing match, would he feel like he had to score a knockout or could he win on points? He sidestepped the analogy.

"I think it's up to Coach. You'd have to ask him how he feels about it," Pennington said. "The way I look at it is I've got to come out here every day, continue to improve and really focus on the things that are going to take me to the next level as a quarterback to help this team win. I feel good about my track record over the last eight years."

But it's what Pennington does over the next 16 weeks that will matter most. He needs to score a TKO. Otherwise, the Jets will open the 2008 season with Kellen Clemens as their starting quarterback.

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