For the 2nd time in 3 years, Chad Pennington has won the NFL's comeback player of the year.
"This time last year, I'm getting ready to watch the ball drop in Times Square. No playoffs, no starting job, no anything," Pennington said Wednesday, reflecting on the end of his 2007 season with the New York Jets. "Now here we are playing in a wild-card playoff game with a team that was 1-15 the year before," he added. "We were able to move the dash over one and be 11-5, so it's pretty special."
Pennington received 19 of 50 votes from a nationwide panel of sports writers and broadcasters who cover the league. That was 13 more than quarterbacks Kerry Collins of Tennessee and Jake Delhomme of Carolina. Another quarterback, Arizona's Kurt Warner, received four votes, as did his teammate, wide receiver Anquan Boldin. So did Tampa Bay wideout Antonio Bryant. Two of Pennington's teammates also received votes: linebacker Joey Porter (three) and running back Ronnie Brown (one). Also with one vote were San Diego quarterback Philip Rivers, Pittsburgh safety Ryan Clark and Baltimore tackle Willie Anderson.