Encouraging signs in Dolphins' loss to Bucs

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http://www.miamiherald.com/614/story/635722.html

Encouraging signs in Dolphins' loss to Bucs

BY JEFF DARLINGTON
Miami Herald

As Dolphins rookie quarterback Chad Henne hustled from the field after his first series of his first preseason game Saturday night, a new guy in a new jersey met him near the team's bench for a lengthy discussion.

And with that, it began.

Meet your new mentor, Henne. His name is Chad Pennington.

Nearly two hours after Pennington's plane landed in South Florida, the Dolphins' freshly acquired quarterback seemed far from foreign as he mingled with his offensive linemen and met dozens of other teammates during a 17-6 loss to the Buccaneers.

But it was Pennington's attention to the young quarterbacks -- Henne and John Beck -- that could not go unnoticed. After every offensive series, the veteran was huddled with one quarterback or the other, going over printed snapshots of the most recent plays.

PLAYING THE MENTOR

''By nature, I enjoy playing the mentor role,'' Pennington said during a late-night introductory news conference. ``I think that's part of your responsibility as a veteran in this league. I'm also coming in here to compete and play.''

Although coach Tony Sparano attempted to make it clear that Pennington is just another competitor in the four-man race for the starting job (the coach suggested he could keep all four quarterbacks on the roster), it is nonetheless clear that Pennington didn't come to Miami to be a backup.

And he also didn't come to Miami as just to serve as some type of veteran teacher beyond his prime. Pennington is here to start, and that's what the Dolphins expect from him.

Those expectations, however, won't keep him from also showing the way to his new younger teammates.

''Sometimes I had some questions for him because of the experience he's had in this league,'' Beck said. ``I used him a lot as a resource during the game.''

So what did Pennington see Saturday? For starters, he didn't get to see much of the offense at all, given that Miami's defense allowed Tampa Bay's offense to remain on the field for nearly two-thirds of the game.

HENNE IMPRESSES

Still, what Pennington saw from Henne should have shown why the team has long-term faith in the rookie quarterback. Despite completing only half of his passes (5 of 10 with 67 yards), Henne showed an impressive level of poise and comfort.

During his first series, Henne stepped up into the pocket and threaded a hard pass to wide receiver David Kircus across the middle for a 20-yard gain. In the third quarter, he took another chance with a deep pass to Anthony Armstrong for a 21-yard completion.

Beck, who started the game, also looked considerably comfortable, which was a hopeful sign given a rocky start to training. Beck completed 5 of 9 passes for 45 yards. During his second series, he completed four of his first five passes but then lost his momentum with two drive-ending incomplete passes.

But neither Henne nor Beck did anything discouraging. The same went for veteran Josh McCown, who unexpectedly played Saturday in a last-minute change of plans that resulted from Pennington's signing.

In fairness to McCown, he didn't have a chance to showcase his ability because of the situations in the game as well as the personnel on the field for both teams. McCown finished 5 for 8 with 35 yards.

Sparano said he wanted to give Henne and Beck the bulk of the time on offense for varying reasons. For Beck, he wanted to see how he handled starting the game. And, for Henne, he simply wanted to gauge his progress to this point.

McCown's lack of playing time shouldn't be viewed as an indicator of his future with the team, something that might have been previously assumed, given the suddenly crowded depth chart at quarterback.

A CROWD OF FOUR

Although it still seems unlikely because of Sparano's desire to keep players capable of playing multiple roles on the team (something quarterbacks don't do), Sparano isn't ruling out the idea of keeping four quarterbacks on the roster this season.

''I expect that we'll have four quarterbacks for a while,'' Sparano said.

Even if they don't all stick, the coach said no departures are imminent. With Henne and Pennington safe, that means the next two weeks could dictate who stays and who -- if anyone -- goes.

Meanwhile, aside from a defense that needs to do a better job getting the offense off the field, the rest of the Dolphins' roster did little to cause any more discouragement Saturday night.

Running back Ronnie Brown, in the final stages of his recovery from last year's knee injury, got three carries, which was a positive simply from a mental standpoint. And running back Ricky Williams showed he still has the evasiveness of old, averaging 6.2 yards per carry on five touches.

The team also appeared organized during much of the game, a quality that last year's team often lacked, which should allow Sparano to consider his first test as an NFL coach a modest success.

Of course, there still is at least one kink that Pennington knows needs to be worked out.

''We're going to have to figure this Chad thing out,'' Pennington said. 'We're going to have to start calling [Henne] `Rook' or call me 'C.P.' A lot of times, they were yelling for Chad [Henne], and I thought they were yelling for me.''

Soon enough, Chad.

Soon enough.