When injury-prone former New York Jets quarterback Chad Pennington signed up with Tony Sparano's resurrected Miami Dolphins, it was with one aim in mind: give the team some breathing room at this position while it grooms a young franchise quarterback for the coming years. And Pennington was an outstanding success last year, leading the Dolphins to an improbable divisional title after a 1-15 record the previous season. But now Pennington is out for the season with an injured shoulder from last Sunday's third game. And his contract runs out after this year.
Now it's time to bring in the future. Chad Henne, drafted by Miami in 2008, starred at Michigan, leading them in 2006 when they made a serious run at the national championship. The following season he led his team to a bowl victory against the Florida Gators and their Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow. He is poised, strong, and trained in pro-style offenses. He could very well turn out to be another Dan Marino, for all I know. And now, with the Dolphins starting off with an 0-3 record, Henne will be able to step in without the withering pressure that might have befallen him at the beginning of the season to repeat or improve upon last year's sparkling season.
Henne will not have to shoulder the entire burden for the Dolphins' offense; Sparano has perfected the "wildcat" offense that often inserts other players, notably running back Ronnie Brown, into the quarterback position to run special plays. And now-backup quarterback Pat White, another possibility in Miami's future, will be able to contribute in that formation as well.
Miami still could recover from its bad start and have a good season, even making the playoffs. But I wouldn't count on it. Better to regard this as a rebuilding year and enjoy watching a potentially great quarterback develop on the field.
I just hope that the Miami Dolphins' management, led by Bill Parcells, will recognize the situation that they are in this year and will not make rash changes in the team's roster or coaching staff. I believe that they have almost everything in place to be a yearly playoff contender in the upcoming decade.
Chad Pennington deserves a great deal of credit for this because he helped greatly to restore their confidence in their ability to win. Although, after this season he may be no longer with the team, I will always appreciate his efforts and wish him well wherever he goes (except when he's playing against Miami, that is). But then again, with all of his injuries, he may want to pursue his options off the field.
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