Pennington stellar in Dolphins debut

Dolphins QBs Pennington, Henne shine vs. Jaguars


Associated Press


JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Chad Pennington is already giving the Miami Dolphins something they're not used to.
A win.

Re-air on NFL Network ...
	Dolphins at Jaguars Monday, Aug. 18, 1 p.m. ET Thursday, Aug. 21, 9 a.m. ET
NFL Network is carrying 54 preseason games, including eight live games. Don't get NFL Network? Click here for more information.

A week after signing with the team, Pennington led two scoring drives in his Dolphins debut to lift Miami to a 19-14 preseason victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars on Saturday night.
Pennington, cut by the New York Jets to make room for Brett Favre, was 5-for-6 passing for 55 yards.
"We're starting to gain a little confidence now," Pennington said. "We just need to keep working on that and realize that we've won a preseason game. It's good in some ways but in others it doesn't mean anything."
Pennington added two nifty scrambles totaling 18 yards, putting Miami ahead 10-0 after his only three drives. Pennington may not be known for his running ability, but first-year coach Tony Sparano liked what he saw out of his new quarterback.
"It was really nice to see him move the ball in the middle of the field and run with it," Sparano said. "I thought Chad did a nice job of managing the game all around."
Pennington had plenty of help.
Ricky Williams had 43 yards on 10 carries, looking much like the player who led the NFL in rushing in 2002. His 4-yard touchdown run gave the Dolphins a 7-0 lead in the first quarter.
Dan Carpenter, who earned the starting kicker's job this week after the Dolphins cut Jay Feely, made field goals of 46, 44, 37 and 31 yards. The rookie from Montana is 6-for-6 in the preseason.
The Jaguars didn't do much to counter.
Third-string quarterback Todd Bouman threw a 12-yard touchdown pass to Charles Davis with 18 seconds left to trim Miami's lead to 19-14. The Jaguars' starters would rather forget the rest.
Maurice Jones-Drew fumbled a yard short of the end zone late in the second quarter. The ball was ripped out by defensive tackle Paul Soliai, and Jones-Drew could only watch helplessly as it trickled out of the end zone
"It was a sloppy half," Jaguars coach Jack Del Rio said. "We didn't move the ball. We got totally stuffed offensively. Defensively, we never slowed them down. Special teams never won the field position. It was an ugly half, to be honest."
The rest of Jacksonville's offense also looked to be in preseason mode.
David Garrard was 7-for-14 for 63 yards. He overthrew several Jacksonville receivers, including a wide-open Mike Walker for a would-be touchdown in the second quarter.
"We're not going to make every play but there were plays we left out on the field," Garrard said. "When I have Mike Walker running down pretty much wide open -- I know he kind of got jammed at the line, but I still have to make that a catchable ball for him. You don't want to miss your layups."
Pennington, still learning much of the Dolphins' offense, seemed more comfortable.
After Miami scored only six points in the preseason opener against Tampa Bay without him, the new quarterback injected some life into what's been a bland Dolphins offense. Pennington connected on passes of 22 and 17 yards to second-year receiver Ted Ginn Jr.
The 32-year-old Pennington, expected to be the starting quarterback, agreed to a deal last week worth $11.5 million over two years. The Dolphins are hoping Pennington can serve as a bridge to rookie Chad Henne and be a mentor.

Official site links ... Chad Pennington was Mr. Efficient for the Miami Dolphins on Saturday night in his first action as the team's quarterback since signing as a free agent exactly one week ago.More ...

Training camp ended this past Thursday but based on what Jack Del Rio saw Saturday night in his Jaguars’ 19-14 loss to the Dolphins, he’d probably like to reopen camp on Monday. More ...

"He's a leader," said Dolphins left tackle Jack Long, the No. 1 pick in this year's draft. "He came in last week and picked up the playbook in two days maybe. He became a leader on offense in the first day."
Henne was 17-for-26 for 133 yards and looked calm in the pocket. Perhaps more importantly, the rookie from Michigan didn't thrown an interception.
But Pennington's arrival has left the future of Miami's other two quarterbacks -- Josh McCown and John Beck -- in doubt. The Dolphins, coming off an embarrassing 1-15 season, will likely keep only one of them on their final roster. However, Sparano has said the team could keep four quarterbacks.
Neither Beck or McCown played against Jacksonville.
If there was any downside for Miami, running back Ronnie Brown left in the first quarter with a thumb injury. Brown said it was just a strain and he should be fine to practice.
It was the Jaguars' poor running game that kept them from coming back.
Jacksonville, which plowed through much of the league last year on the ground, managed just 42 yards rushing. Fred Taylor, playing for the first time in the exhibition season, had four carries for 7 yards.
"We are a tad bit off," Taylor said. "We are going to get back and look at things, make our corrections and try to sharpen it all up. There is no need to panic."
Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press