With word coming down that Chad Pennington's shoulder is shredded, we may have seen his last tosses as a Miami Dolphin. I only re-embraced my following of this team a few years ago, in the midst of the 1-15 debacle season, and was treated to the quarterback (lack of) stylings of John Beck and Cleo Lemon. If you're asking yourself, "Who?", I don't blame you and in no way count it against your cred as a fan of the Dolphins. If I could, I would block out the images of Beck and Lemon's fumblings and errant passes. Alas, I can't and this is why I took such a liking to Chad Pennington.
When the man was signed shortly before the start of the '08 season, I knew him mostly by reputation, having not followed football for several years before about '05. The words I heard were encouraging: "smart". "efficient". "accurate." Of course, these all came with that dreaded caveat, "When healthy...", but after '07, that was a warning tag that I was willing to deal with.
Well, Chad stayed healthy, and he was as big a part of the Dolphins' success last year as anything or anyone else. Anyone who's watched the team knows that Pennington was not the prototypical, cannon-armed passer. What he was was the perfect field general for a team that needed stability as much as anything. Once again, he racked up the second best passer rating and the best completion percentage in the entire league, and he led the team to the greatest single-season turnaround in league history. And how did the NFL reward him? By snubbing him in the Pro-Bowl, not once but TWICE. I guess his glamour stats (19 touchdowns; 7 interceptions) just weren't gaudy enough. Story of his life, apparently.
Of course, Pennington took it with dignity and went into this year with some new teammates and far more expectations that last year, when there was nowhere to go but up. It's been a rough start, and it got as rough as possible for Pennington when, after an awkward fall, he had to get cut out of his jersey for sideline treatment. Now that I realize that Pennington will probably never start another game for Miami, I have to take complete stock of his legacy. I don't know that there's been a better quarterback on the team since number 13. This may not be saying a lot, considering the merry-go-round of mediocrity that has been the QB position for Miami, but it was worth number ten's weight in gold to have an unflappable guy with a great head for the game behind center. Seeing what is likely the end of his short career with the Dolphins on the sidelines last week saddened me a bit. In a weird, disquieting way, it's almost like a capsule of Pennington's career - just enough talent and more than enough brains to be great, but none of the breaks.
As a final, brighter thought, the man who is now going to be taking the snaps gives me pride and inspiration for the future. The fifth paragraph says it all:
"Chad is a man of detail, preparation, leadership. There is no better person to learn from at the quarterback position I feel, so far in my career," said Henne, who has led three scoring drives on six chances in his brief career. "He has been there through thick and thin. We have been there together. He is a great person and great quarterback to role model off of. That is all I am asking for, to try to role model after him and be the same for our guys."
I find Henne's comments on the situation warming and they give me hope that Pennington's game acumen and work ethic are not going to be lost on our new young QB. Here's hoping.
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