Kellen Clemens showed on Monday night a sample of what he can still do.
"Every game in the preseason is an audition," said Clemens. "You've got to make the most of every opportunity you get."
The fifth-year veteran quarterback, who has returned along with his teammates to SUNY Cortland for the resumption of two-a-day training camp practices this morning, had an impressive third-quarter performance in the Jets' preseason opener against the Giants. He was 7-for-10 passing for 84 yards in and led the second offense on a pair of 10-play drives to field goal attempts by Nick Folk.
Clemens hit newcomer Santonio Holmes for four receptions in the third quarter, and just missed a touchdown to him later on in the drive.
"I felt good. I felt real comfortable out there," he said. "I would have liked the deep ball to Santonio to have been about two inches shorter. All in all, we moved the ball nicely. We just have to put it in the end zone."
Even though he was the second quarterback in the game for the Jets, he is still third on the depth chart behind Mark Sanchez and Mark Brunell.
"I don't think that was any sort of pecking order or indicator," he said. "I was told [Sunday] night that they were going to give me a shot earlier on in the game, but I haven't been told that has anything to do with where we're ranked as far as 1-2-3. As far as I know, the number one and two spots are pretty locked up."
As the Jets look to bounce back on Saturday night in Carolina, Clemens and the rest of the team have returned to SUNY Cortland for two more days of training camp, starting with this morning's full-squad practice.
"It's a good start to get out there and get someone else, but we'll go back to work," Clemens said. "We have some things to work on to get ready for the Panthers."
