The bench was a blessing. Nobody thinks this way now, of course, because ours is a culture conditioned to prematurely push for the stage and lights, insisting a No. 1 draft pick has a divine right to start in the National Football League. Only, Chad Pennington wasn't raised to think this way. There had never been a quarterback chosen so high waiting so long for his first professional start and understand: The Southern gentleman responsible for molding the young savior of the New York Jets season believes the bench was a blessing for his boy.

	Chad Pennington has thrown 10 touchdowns and only five interceptions in six games as a starter.

"There's nothing like a good apprenticeship and we've lost that in America," James Pennington said from his Knoxville, Tenn., home. "We want production and performance without mentoring, without understudying. This isn't just sports, but corporate America, too. There is nothing like sitting in someone else's chair before you have to do the job yourself."

These young quarterbacks get thrown into the games so soon, so fast, it's frightening. There's too much money, too much hype and nobody has time to sit and study. Nobody has time to wait. Owners want the sizzles of that high pick and GMs want the validation of their vision and the toughest job in team sports -- the NFL quarterback -- is passed out like cotton candy. So, Pennington waited over two seasons, watched the professionalism of Vinny Testaverde and when Jets coach Herm Edwards gave him the ball, Pennington was prepared and poised to lift a lost cause season out of the rubble.

Pennington has delivered the Jets to contention, turning a 1-4 start to 5-5 with the Buffalo Bills arriving Sunday at Giants Stadium. He is the No. 1 rated quarterback in the AFC with a 99.8 rating, above Oakland's Rich Gannon's 99.3 the Bills' Drew Bledsoe 94.7. As a pro quarterback, Pennington isn't a late bloomer. He's right on time.

Laveranues Coles marvels over the quarterback that comes to work earliest, stays late and leaves nothing to chance. He was too small to win the job in high school, his talent was too modest to win him a major college scholarship. "He's always been the underdog," his father said. All his life, they've underestimated him. With the Jets, Edwards watched him in mini-camps and warned he was too thoughtful of a thrower. He had to react. He had to trust his instincts.

He doesn't have the best arm, the best mobility, but he's accurate. He sees everything. And beyond that, there's a earnestness, a sincerity, that makes him a most natural leader.

"Chad is the same guy, whether he makes or misses the throws," Coles said. "I think he's going to carry us a long way."

	“	Chad is the same guy, whether he makes or misses the throws. I think he's going to carry us a long way. ”
		— Laveranues Coles, Jets wide receiver

Watching Testaverde taught Pennington this, too: For a bubbly, emotional kid, he had to understand an evenness that the position demands. Between the San Diego and Detroit victories, where Pennington had thrown for eight touchdown passes, he had a struggle against the Dolphins. What happened when everything wasn't so easy, when the Jets couldn't move the ball? Everyone waited to see.

Before his fourth-quarter drive for redemption two and a half weeks ago, Edwards told him, "You're going to get your shot and you're going to have to make a play." Pennington nodded. He fired a 42-yard pass to Coles, beginning an 82-yard drive that turned into the winning field goal. This was Pennington's acid test on the job, the victory that delivered the Jets back to AFC East contention.

"He showed he could come out and win a ball game," Coles said. "That gives us confidence in him."

The old high school football coach in Knoxville, James Pennington, is thrilled to see his son make his move for the Jets now, but the success doesn't necessarily make him proudest. He taught his children the value of his patience and he admires the way Chad stayed silent, learned his lessons and waited his turn. This is a nation of football fathers throwing tantrums and declaring injustice when a celebrated son is slow to get his chance in the starting lineup, all the way from Pop Warner to the pros. "As parents, we tried to foster the idea of preparation meeting opportunity," James said.

Finally, it happened for Chad Pennington. As soon as the Jets gave him the ball, he gave them a football season. He had done his time as the understudy, the apprentice, and when they let him loose, the results are unmistakable: He belongs in the big chair.

Adrian Wojnarowski is a columnist for The Record (N.J.) and a regular contributor to ESPN.com.