October 4
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
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The first goal, as always, is to win your division. So as the Chad Pennington-less Dolphins prepare to open AFC East play this afternoon at home against the Buffalo Bills, it's not surprising that the notion of a fresh start has taken hold within Miami's 0-3 locker room. "It is a clean slate in the division," Dolphins linebacker Jason Taylor says. "One of our goals was always to win this division and do what they did here last year. It starts this week with Buffalo. It's a very important game for a lot of reasons." Just four NFL teams have yet to play within their division. The Eagles, Saints and Buccaneers are the others, meaning the Dolphins are the only AFC team still looking to get ..."
September 29
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
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The Miami Dolphins have added to their thin stable of quarterbacks by trading for Tyler Thigpen of the Kansas City Chiefs, a day after learning that Chad Pennington suffered a season-ending shoulder injury. The Dolphins have sent a 2010 undisclosed draft pick to Kansas City to land the third-string quarterback, who started most of last season and ran a spread offense for the Chiefs. To make room on the roster for Thigpen, the Dolphins placed Pennington on injured reserve, meaning he will be unable to return this season. In last season's 38-31 loss to the Dolphins, Thigpen completed 20-of-41 passes for 320 yards and two touchdowns. But he also threw three interceptions, and gained 57 yards ..."
September 29
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
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In just one hit, Chad Pennington's season, possibly his tenure with the Dolphins and maybe even his career as a starting NFL quarterback have come to an end. According to numerous sources, the hit San Diego linebacker Kevin Burnett put on Pennington in the third quarter of Sunday's 23-13 loss to the Chargers, plus his awkward landing, tore the capsule in his throwing shoulder. An MRI taken Monday revealed the damage, which likely will be surgically repaired in the coming days. While Pennington is expected to seek a second opinion from Dr. James Andrews, the noted Birmingham, Ala.-based orthopedic specialist who operated on the quarterback's shoulder in 2004 and 2005, it's likely he'll be ..."
September 29
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
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Miami Dolphins starting quarterback Chad Pennington is out for the season. Pennington, 33, has been diagnosed with a torn capsule in his right shoulder, two sources confirmed. Pennington underwent an MRI on Monday. A source close to Pennington, who dislocated the shoulder in Sunday's 23-13 loss to the Chargers when he was hit by linebacker Kevin Burnett, could request to be examined later this week by Andrews, the noted Birmingham, Ala.-based orthopedic specialist who performed surgery on the quarterback's shoulder in 2005. The shoulder has been operated on twice. According to the source, sometimes shoulder injuries are misdiagnosed. The Dolphins have remained silent about the extent of ..."
September 28
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
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Here was the sight that had to be Dolphins' biggest nightmare. This was early in the third quarter of what would become a 23-13 loss to the San Diego Chargers on Sunday. Face down Sunday near the Dolphins' 35-yard-line at Qualcomm Stadium were their starting quarterback, Chad Pennington, and their franchise left tackle, Jake Long. While Long was able to limp off and return to action, Pennington was done for the day and perhaps much longer with an unspecified injury to his throwing shoulder."
September 14
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
columnist Ethan J. Stolnick
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John Abraham knew a little about Jake Long, the behemoth across the line on Sunday. The Falcons defensive end knew a lot, however, about Chad Pennington, his Jets teammate for six seasons. He knew that Pennington would usually retreat only about three steps after taking a snap. He knew it was pointless to sprint around Long to get to Pennington, who would just step up and out of harm's way. Abraham knew a better way, and it's a method that many other elite pass-rushers may try to mimic after Abraham's two-sack day. "It's going to be a bull rush and inside move," Abraham said of his strategy, while brushing lint off a black "Death or Glory" shirt with a skull and crossbones across its back. ..."
September 11
Miami Herald
columnist Israel Guitierrez
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Forget, for a moment, the painful schedule that tells us this Dolphins team can be far better than last year and still have a worse record. Let's start this season recognizing not the strenuous, but the refreshing. For the first time since Dan Marino, a Dolphins season can begin without any legitimate concerns about the quarterback position. Not that there won't be concerns voiced. This is, after all, a skeptical football town that has to see consistency before it's convinced to back off. But there shouldn't be any worries. And it's an awfully comforting feeling, one for which we can thank Chad Pennington. There still are, of course, those who can't wait for Chad Henne and his rifle of an ..."
September 10
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
columnist Ethan J. Stolnick
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Forget the NFL-best 67.4 completion percentage, the seven interceptions that ranked second among full-time starters and the 7.7 yards per attempt that ranked ahead of Peyton Manning, Jay Cutler, Donovan McNabb and Ben Roethlisberger. Forget the second place finish in passer rating and the MVP voting. The doubters will tell you that Chad Pennington did all of that last year … and in the season that starts Sunday, Pennington is primed for a fall. To counter that assumption, you need a different sort of statistic. How much of the offense did Pennington know, entering the 2008 season opener? "I would say 75 to 80 percent going into the Jet game," coach Tony Sparano said this week. "And then it ..."
August 31
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
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Some Miami Dolphins starters will get more playing time than normal Thursday at New Orleans. Don't look for Chad Pennington to be among them. Dolphins coach Tony Sparano pronounced his starting quarterback "regular-season ready" on Sunday and raved about the improved arm strength the veteran has shown this preseason. "The throw he made the other night, I bet you none of you guys would have bet on that," Sparano joked to the media in reference to a 54-yard completion to rookie Brian Hartline early in the second half. "Pretty good throw he made in the game the other night. Probably a lot of oohs and aahs." Pennington will probably play at least one series against the Saints, but entering his ..."
June 7
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
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Dolphins quarterback Chad Pennington, who hosted a barbecue for the entire team Thursday, said he's not worried about competition from Chad Henne or having one more year remaining on his contract. "It's a good situation to be in,'' Pennington said Saturday afternoon at the Miami Beach Marina behind Monty's restaurant. "I'm not really concerned about it. To me, it's never really a true competition until it happens on Sunday. "[Practice is] preparation and evaluation. We have to be prepared to play and be ready as players. Coaches have to evaluate and see who they want to play. Competition happens on Sunday.'' Pennington, 32, who won the Don Shula Leadership Award Friday, realizes that last ..."
March 26
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
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Chad Pennington was holding court during the first day of the Sony Ericsson Open and after an informal hit with Nadia Petrova, the ninth-ranked player in the world, he shrugged off any talks of the Dolphins grooming Chad Henne to take his place. "I have no reaction to it,'' said Pennington, who flashed a decent forehand but ugly backhand. "It's not news. Coach [Tony] Sparano, Bill Parcells and Jeff Ireland have been up front since day one about my future. My future is now.'' On Tuesday at the owner's meeting in Dana Point, Calif., Sparano told reporters, "You could see the ball jump off his hand,'' referring to the former Michigan quarterback's arm strength. He said that Henne, a ..."
January 29
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
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Dolphins quarterback Chad Pennington made his first appearance at any Super Bowl site Wednesday, but unfortunately it was limited to guest spots on radio row, NFL Network and as an endorser of a Gatorade 'G' on-line promotion. "This is my first time at a Super Bowl,'' Pennington told the Sun-Sentinel outside a ballroom of the media center in the Tampa Convention Center. "Next time I want to be playing.'' Pennington, whose contract expires following next season, said he has no plans to re-negotiate an extension. "I've been in this league long enough to know to feel good about where I am right now and let that take care of itself,'' he said. Pennington, who was the NFL Comeback Player of the ..."
January 5
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
columnist Ethan J. Skolnick
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Head down, eyes glazed, Chad Pennington kept folding slips of paper with his fingers, then tossing them on the floor. One by one, players placed a hand on his shoulder to console and thank him. "I can't say enough about these guys," Pennington said 20 minutes later, in the wake of his worst game as a Dolphin. "They've been unbelievable." Pennington was an unbelievable performer in 2008, which is why teammates, most not knowing him before August, could never say enough good things about him. Joey Porter was right; Pennington should have been the MVP. His reward? He enters next season as the unquestioned starter and leader, even with Chad Henne waiting. Yet while Pennington will likely play ..."
January 4
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
columnist David Hyde
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Near the end of any concert there's the hopeful moment after the band has left the stage when the crowd keeps cheering, the lighters start flickering and the chant goes up, "One more song …" We're officially at that moment in the Dolphins' season. Do they have another song in them? Does Chad Pennington, specifically, have an encore performance? Inside the Dolphins' locker room last week, where some cameras focused, linebacker Channing Crowder was saying, "My first three years I played with guys who got up under center and handed off the ball." He looked at Pennington sitting at his locker with a notebook. "That guy's made all the difference," Crowder said. "He's the big reason we're here." ..."
December 22
Miami Herald
columnist Israel Gutierrez
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If you ever needed proof of a higher power occasionally dabbling in sports, this whole Pennington-Favre thing provides some pretty convincing evidence. ''This is the only way fate would have it, right?'' said Chad Pennington, the quarterback currently benefiting from the apparent divine intervention. How else would you explain this scenario? The Jets so desperately craved Brett Favre that, upon trading for him, they immediately waived Pennington and shipped him home from a preseason game in Cleveland. Favre is welcomed to New York like a king, or even a god, bringing Super Bowl aspirations out of retirement with him. The exiled Pennington, meanwhile, goes to Miami, where two wins would've ..."
December 22
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
columnist Dave Hyde
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Chad Pennington sidestepped the question the first time as easily as he did Kansas City Chiefs linemen all Sunday. Who could blame him? Everyone knows the story line is straight out of Disney: He was tossed like used coffee grinds by the New York Jets when Brett Favre became available, cut before a preseason game in Cleveland and sent away on a plane, alone. He left eight years in New York to cheers for Favre. His career was a question mark. Only now Pennington stood under a frozen Arrowhead Stadium after the latest Dolphins victory, their eighth in nine games. He had thrown three more touchdowns. He set a career high for passing yards in a season. He delivered like he always does in ways ..."
December 9
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
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Chad Pennington's favorite phrase is "quarterback-friendly." Players who fit that description usually turn into the Dolphin quarterback's favorite target, which might explain why rookie receiver Davone Bess has caught 15 passes the past two weeks since being called on to replace injured starter Greg Camarillo. Bess caught a season-high nine passes for 74 yards in Sunday's 16-3 win over the Bills, following up on last weekend's six-catch performance in the win over St. Louis. "I'm always prepared," Bess said. "Coach stresses every receiver has to be ready on every play, run the route like you're the main receiver, so I'm expecting the ball." And Pennington is usually giving it to this ..."
November 16
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
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Starting quarterback Chad Pennington was added to the Dolphins' injury list on Saturday because of a foot injury he suffered during the weekend. Pennington, who has started all nine games for the Dolphins (5-4), is listed as "probably" for Sunday's 1 p.m. home game against the Raiders (2-7). If Pennington, who has completing 66 percent of his passes for 2,200 yards and eight touchdowns, isn't able to play because the foot injury worsens expect rookie quarterback Chad Henne to serve as his fill-in. Henne, a four-year starter at Michigan who was selected in the second round of the 2008 draft, has only played in the Dolphins' 31-10 loss to Arizona back in September. During that lopsided game ..."
October 27
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
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There's nothing sexy about Chad Pennington's game. His arm isn't the strongest and he doesn't have the most nimble feet. But the Dolphins' starting quarterback continues to find ways to move this offense. In Sunday's 25-16 win over Buffalo, Pennington led the offense to scores on five of 10 drives (the 11th possession ended with a kneel-down as the clock hit zero). "It's not about touchdowns and stats. It's about getting your team in the end zone and winning the football game," said Pennington, who completed 22 of 30 passes for a season-high 314 yards and one touchdown. He was sacked just once despite facing plenty of pressure, and he didn't commit a turnover for the fourth game this ..."