Aug. 20, 2008

When the Jets traded for Brett Favre, one of the mild concerns they had was whether Kellen Clemens would be given enough opportunities to prove he could be the quarterback of the future whenever Favre retired. Pre-Favre, the theory was that if Clemens showed little progress this season, the team would likely take a quarterback high in the 2009 draft to groom for the future. Although it’s still incredibly early to declare anything definitively, there are some around the organization whispering that the future under center is already in place — and his name is Brett Ratliff. That’s how impressive the second-year undrafted player has been in camp and in the preseason. At 6-4 and 235 pounds, he clearly has the size, and the fact that he spent last year as a practice-squad receiver is testament to his athleticism. And lest people think that the Jets wouldn’t eventually give the reins of the offense to a player with such an undistinguished pedigree, remember that coach Eric Mangini is a leaf on the Bill Belichick branch of the Bill Parcells coaching tree. And who are the last two players those two, as head coaches, have anointed as franchise quarterbacks? For Parcells, an undrafted player named Tony Romo. For Belichick, a one-time sixth-round choice named Tom Brady.