2 Chads Better Than 1

Chad Pennington’s first day of practice with the Miami Dolphins left some good impressions on his teammates. Practice as a whole turned into Chad-a-palooza as Chad Pennington took half the offensive snaps and Chad Henne was given the majority of the rest. In fact the two Chads so dominated practice, that Josh McCown received only 3 snaps and John Beck 2.

Pennington’s presence seemed to impress both offensive and defensive players for the Dolphins. Offensive players noted that Pennington brought a calm and collected presence to the huddle and was very accurate and in tune with his receivers. Defensive players commented that Pennington’s presence on the field brought a bit of a swagger to all the offensive players, something that has no doubt been lacking in Miami in the past few seasons.

Henne in the meantime continued to impress with his ability and growing confidence in the offense and the playbook. The rookie took the majority of the snaps after Pennington and completed 9 of 15 passes. While Henne has, barring injury or a dramatic downturn in Pennington’s performance, lost the chance to be the #1 quarterback, it is good that he continues to impress. Pennington or no Pennington, Henne can and should be the future of this team on offense. He is a gifted quarterback with a strong arm and a mind for the game.

Even though I personally have backed Henne for the starting job, it can’t possibly hurt him to learn from Pennington. Though Pennington does have health issues and some question marks around his throwing ability, he can nonetheless pass on valuable tools and tricks of the trade to Henne to help him prosper in the future. Let’s hope Chad can bridge the future to Chad and the two can help Miami restore its football legacy.