"Chad Pennington spends his game days camped in front of the family flat screen, watching his Dolphins teammates do battle in a roaring stadium while he plays referee to his two young sons.

"They've got their Dolphin helmets on and they're throwing the football and it gets pretty rowdy and loud in there, that's for sure," Pennington said Tuesday in his first public comments since undergoing season-ending shoulder surgery on Oct. 2.

And just how big is that TV screen?

"It's pretty big," Pennington said after an appearance at the Miami Dolphins Touchdown Club.

The same may be said of the veteran quarterback's impact on successor Chad Henne and the Dolphins' weekly offensive game plan.

Pennington, who is always one week ahead in breaking down game film of upcoming opponents, huddles with Henne every Monday to rehash the previous day's outcome. Pennington, whose two-year contract expires at season's end, also meets with the team's three healthy quarterbacks each Tuesday to share his notes and ideas for the next game.

When game day rolls around, however, Pennington is limited to exchanging serial text messages with Dolphins coach Tony Sparano and Henne, before and after the game."