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http://www.miamiherald.com/sports/football/miami-dolphins/story/656406.html

Miami Dolphins are Chad Pennington's team now

BY ARMANDO SALGUERO
Miami Herald

Tony Sparano should name Chad Pennington the Dolphins' regular-season starting quarterback Monday, but even if the coach doesn't do what everyone expects, the decision has pretty much been made in the team's locker room.

In that room, among his teammates and peers, Pennington is this team's starting quarterback and leader -- a whole two weeks into his Dolphins career.

That's because this quarterback, unlike any the Dolphins have had lately, already is leaving his mark on the team's receivers and offensive linemen -- and even on defenders. This quarterback, unlike others the Dolphins recently had, has given other players reason to think they can succeed.

'You hear the offensive guys saying, `This is the best quarterback I've ever played with.' Well, that's true,'' defensive end Vonnie Holliday said. ``We've got a guy now that is a bona fide veteran quarterback that can lead our offense and lead our team. It's huge.''

Pennington has brought to the Dolphins something they've lacked since Jay Fiedler had his best days in 2002:

a solid if not spectacular player who has earned the respect of his teammates by doing more things to win games than to lose them.

A SMOOTH MOVE

Remember the notion of winning games?

It seemed distant just two weeks ago because even as Bill Parcells rebuilt the Dolphins, making them bigger and stronger and younger, he had not made them better at the most important position on the field.

Josh McCown and John Beck were struggling early in training camp, to the point that rookie Chad Henne was beating them out for the starting job. So Pennington lands in Miami by a stroke of circumstance, and suddenly the young, vibrant Dolphins have a heady, veteran quarterback.

It is a recipe for success.

Perhaps Pennington's arrival and ascension to the starter's role doesn't answer the team's long-term questions at quarterback. Maybe it doesn't even mean the 2008 Dolphins can make us forget 2007's disaster.

But Pennington has changed these Dolphins. No question about it.

His arrival has signaled a dramatic rise in team confidence and swagger that is palpable throughout the roster.

''He has motivated the receiving corps a whole lot because we now know we've got veteran leadership that has taken over the huddle,'' receiver Derek Hagan said. ``He wants us to get in and watch film with him, and that's something we've been missing from the quarterback position.

``That's not to say the other quarterbacks haven't been doing a great job, but this guy came in, and the whole offense's demeanor just changed.''

It's not just the offense. On defense, where the Dolphins seemed likely to be competitive this season even before Pennington's arrival, the new quarterback has quickened hope.

`WE HAVE A CHANCE'

''As soon as Chad got here, a lot of the guys started feeling like the odds were more in our favor,'' cornerback Andre' Goodman said. ``That's on both sides of the ball because Chad is a respected guy. We know his history. . . . He makes us all feel like we have a chance.''

Early in training camp, when the defense was dominant in practices, some defenders wondered among themselves if their unit was really that good or if the offense was plain horrible.

The consensus was it was a little of both.

Now some of those same players see an offense that is representative in practices and moves the ball with some consistency. They see an offense that actually scores points. And they see a shining contrast to the quarterback troubles the Dolphins have endured.

`SUCH GOOD DECISIONS'

''The confidence he brings to our offensive huddle and those guys, you saw it immediately,'' Holliday said. ``But even for the defense, [Pennington] makes us feel better with him out there because he makes such good decisions. It's what we've been lacking the past few years.''

None of this is to suggest the Dolphins have found a latter-day Dan Marino now that Pennington is on the scene. He is likely to struggle some in Miami, just as he occasionally did with the New York Jets.

But the quarterback lows we have known might not reach the same depressing depths anymore. The weekly uncertainty surrounding that position might be passing into memory. The Dolphins have found this regular-season's starting quarterback.

Now all Sparano has to do is announce it to the world.

ARMANDO SALGUERO = CAPTIAN OBVIOUS

You know why I hate articles like this? Because I swear I've read the exact same thing the past few offseasons about Trent Green/ Daunte Culpepper/ Gus Frerotte taking charge of the team, and making it theirs. About guys on defense saying "we finally have a leader on offense". About WR's saying "we finally have a guy that can get us the ball".

A receiver is never going to go out and say that the quarterback sucks. At least not unless the receiver is the ABSOLUTE star on the team. As a receiver, you depend 100% on the QB throwing you the ball. You don't bite the hand that feeds you (the ball).

I realize this. My point was that it seems like the WR's say it every year, so I take it with a grain of salt.

NAw the WR's did not say things like this about Trent GanGreen and Cleo Lemonhead ;D

This is not particularly comforting...

philly fan I dont recall the writers ever being so hyped about any of the qbs we had before.

Lets look at our offensive players though....

The only guy who could argue against this on our team is Fasano who played (kind of) with Tony Romo-Simpson...Everyone else played with a piss poor QB or someone who hasn't done a thing on the NFL level.  Most of our guys are too young to have played with a QB who has done anything.  I guess that could be seen as not particularly comforting, but Chad has something here he hasn't had in years...A good run game.