On the show introduction they tried to sell the Penny segment as Chad will be unhappy because the Dolphins have stated they want Henne to start by 2010. And the announcers gushed over Penny saying he is comeback player of the year and how can the Dolphins want this.....looks like they want to rip us.
I do think it's a little odd that the FO has basically announced Henne will be starting by 2010. Worst case scenrio we have a Semi-Brees/Rivers situation on our hands... hopefully.
I believe the segment is on next. They just talked about it before the break. ESPN2 channel 209 on DirecTV.
Update : In the interview (conducted by Dana Jacobson via phone) 1) Pennington loves being a Miami Dolphin, and is the happiest he has been in his professional career 2) That the team drafted Henne, and expects him to be the starter for 2010, its NOT NEWS TO ME Pennington says (shooting down any controversy) 3) Wildcat is being worked on extensively in the off-season and we should expect it to be back, and not abandoned. 4) He will have to asses his career for 2010 and speak with his wife about whether or not he will accept a backup role on the Dolphins or seek to move on somewhere else. 5) He is playing a charity match this weekend at the Sony Ericksson Open against one of the Lady Pros. He said that every year they have a Miami Dolphin do the charity match and that he was dumb enough to sign up for it and that he hasn't played substantive tennis since he was playing with his buddies in college at Marshall, so he thinks he will get killed. The lady he is playing, both of her parents were Olympic athletes, and she is in the top 20 on the WTA circuit (I can't remember her name other than it was Russian sounding) 6) To get back at those that make fun of his arm strength, he wishes he could serve the ball fast enough to serve it, and bounce it into the stands after he gets an ace. That was about it.
Awesome write up. Penny has to be one of the best (or most boring depending on how you look at it) interviewers ever. He is both a straight shooter and avoids controversey at the same time. He doesn't to the stereotypical "well.... i am just going to play my game etc etc" like on those ESPN mobile commercials. My man crush still hasn't gone away.
Pennington is coming on NFL Live in a few minutes. EDIT: He said he's comfortable with Miami's plan to have Chad Henne start in 2010. He's focused on 2009, and has his goals for this year in his on his mind. That's great to here. Maybe he'll finish 2nd in passer rating, and in MVP voting and actually make the Pro Bowl this time.
they just brought it up on the PTI segment of Sportscenter as well- same arguments really. Honestly, why would we not want Henne to be ready by 2010? We don't know what will happen with Pennington. No sense in not developing a backup to be a starter. And besides, if Penny is great again, we can sign him and trade him, or just let him go and maybe we'll somehow get a 3rd round compensatory pick for him in the 2011 draft. I think it's good the front office addressed this now, because otherwise halfway through the pre-season/season there would be a giant media thing about the 'qb controversy of miami'. so now, that can't really happen.
I hope he retires a Dolphin. We need him. Even if he is not a player, he knows football, he knows hot to teach it, and he knows how to make players better. We will win a championship with Chad on our team if we keep him here for years to come! Mark my word. The guy is one of the smartest football players, and i followed his whole career being a ny dolphin fan and only able to watch jet games. I always liked how he played, and hated him for doing so well against us. Now he is on our side, and we need to keep him there
Getting a compensatory pick for Pennington would be icing on the cake. Thanks Jets! I think Henne is going to be the 6th gear to our offense. We can keep her running in 5th until both Henne, and the team core are ready to dominate.
Here is my dream scenario. Chad takes us back to the playoffs, wins at least one round in the playoffs, if he loses, he loses in a great game. If he wins, then wins the super bowl. After that season, he becomes our backup to Henne. After Henne's first year he retires, then becomes our QB coach.
That would be what I would like.....then OC in 2013, and Sparano retires in 2015 and Penny takes over as HC in 2015 !
Heck, he's basically already the QB coach. When Henne takes over, I'd like to see them groom Penny for Hennings job, who seems to be getting older by the day, and thus maybe add some significance to the idea of sticking around. Seems to me, Chad would make any organization better, in whatever capacity he contributes.
